Singapore’s Chew explores sex in ‘Shadows’
We also notice that the female protagonists in many erotic (art) films are usually victims or fiends. If they are allowed to assert free will over their sexualities, they are left miserable, dead or gone amok in the end. ‘Shadows’ is a subversion of these tendencies.
SINGAPORE: Underground Singaporean filmmaker Chew Tze Chuan’s latest film title is a mouthful – Shadows of Fiendish Ancestress and Occasionally Parajanov on Durian Cialis (Lesser # 9)
This week, the film will have its world premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival.
Chew is fascinated with depictions of native sexuality in history and his body of work is based on a personal philosophy he calls Lesser, a mixture of ideas culled from cinema verite and Dogme 95. Shadows follows a hermaphrodite who comes to town to impart a wisdom that proves to be both untimely and too carnal.
Chew first appeared at SGIFF in 1994, with his debut short Loving Sappho. Since then he has had a varied career, debuting as a producer with Abdul Nizam’s Daturathat won best short at SGIFF 1999. He performed the function again in 2000 for Haura,
Chew Tze Chuan, director
Nizam’s segment in Zhao Wei Films’ omnibus movie Stories About Love. In 2004, he edited and produced cult film Zombie Dogs and in 2006 he directed the feature Carnaval.
“Lesser# 8 is a head- on confrontation with the issue that my late collaborator, Abdul Nizam and I encountered when making Haura in 2000,” said Chew. “What happened to the ancient text or oral transmission of the native’s erotic imaginations? Are there any myths and legends on the natives’ sensuality? Since we could not obtain any authentic materials, we decided to invent the genesis of the native’s erotic myths in Lesser# 9.”
“We also notice that the female protagonists in many erotic (art) films are usually victims or fiends. If they are allowed to assert free will over their sexualities, they are left miserable, dead or gone amok in the end. Shadows is a subversion of these tendencies,” Chew explained.
In Chew’s unique worldview, any form of external film funding is censorship, which is why the films are all self-funded and the budgets are under US$ 6,000 ( RM25,200). The same worldview is applied to sales and distribution as well.
“We have recently sent our film screeners to various independent, LGBT, queer, erotic, porn, underground and experimental film festivals around the world,” said Chew. “Let’s pray that they love to see and hug our baby Lesser# 9 too. We do not have a sales agent. Because our baby is not for sale.”