MALAYSIAN filmmaker Bradley Liew is looking forward to show the world his first full-length feature film, Singing in the Graveyards, at the Venice International Film Festival. The film is one of only seven films selected for the competition in the Venice Critics Week by the National Union of Italian Film Critics in cooperation with the La Biennale di Venezia that will happen from August 31 to September 10.
Singing in the Graveyards is a coproduction between Malaysia and the Philippines, and is the only purely Asian collaboration for this independent section of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival.
We met Liew a few years ago through his Filipino fiancé Bianca Balbuena, a much-esteemed film producer and a well-loved personality in the international film festival circuit.
We caught up with Liew after he wrapped up postproduction work for this debut feature, giving us a chance to know more about one of the fastest-rising film personalities in the Asian region.
How did you find out that your film was chosen for the Critics Week in Venezia?
We sent a work in progress to the festival Head Programmer Giona Nazzaro less than two weeks after we wrapped up shooting in March, and he sent us an invitation not long after. I’m really humbled at how much he believed in the film, and how he was willing to take a risk in inviting us even with just a work in progress.
Has this been the movie in your mind when you were in your own process of becoming a filmmaker?
Honestly, I had no idea this would be the story I would make for my first feature film. There were always lots of different ideas swimming around in my head. I guess it just naturally evolved as I experienced more in life and met more people, most notably Pepe Smith. But after the death of my grandfather, I felt this story demanded me to commit to it, and once I did, I found so much in common between Pepe Smith and my own grandfather that I then knew this would be the film, that this had to be the film.
Where did the seed concept come from? Any collaborators in the development of your story?
The story started with me; I was 23 at the time and had just arrived in Manila, meeting and getting to know Pepe Smith with no prior knowledge of his cultural significance. So I knew him first as Pepe the elderly musician with an incredible heart and sense of humor, rather than Pepe Smith the rock icon. He then told me he had never written a love song in his life because he felt that he needed to relate to the things he writes, and as long as his songs made people happy, there was no need to write a love song. I then wondered, could it be this 66-year-old rock star who has lived such a colorful life never truly fallen in love?
Bianca and I then started working on this small idea that led to the film. My writing process, with Bianca has been wonderful. We would just talk about the character and figure out how to push the story forward. I would then put in a couple of days of solid writing before we would brainstorm again, and repeat for three years. Somehow, it worked.
How long did it take you to finish the film?
Because Pepe Smith is not a trained actor, I had to mould the film, including the entire shooting process, around him. With him, I decided from the beginning that there would be no wrong way of acting and it was more of giving him an indication of how the scene would start and end. With these two points, he would then fill in the spaces in ways that only he would know how. It was an extremely organic process. We shot for 10 days and for all those days, we never exceeded 12 hours. Some days, we would shoot just seven hours. The idea was to keep Pepe fresh and full of life. This also led to a very happy set with the crew being able to focus creatively, rather than slugging through the hours. But this is just my personal process and I’m glad it worked for this material.
What were the most difficult challenges that you faced in the process of making the film?
The financing process was very painful, with a lot of rejections. I think this is something all filmmakers can relate to. How do we fund the film? How can we afford these things? It took many long years but I feel that every rejection made me go back to the script even more to try and figure out how to improve and develop it further. We knew it became very possible once we received the Visions Sud Est Production Support grant late last year. Eventually, with the help of my amazing Bianca Balbuena, we managed to find wonderful executive and associate producers to finish financing and make it all come together.
Shooting the film was wonderful. We had an amazing award-winning team in legendary cinematographer Larry Manda, production designers Benjamin Padero and Carlo Tabije, sound in Mickey Macachor, and many more. We were always laughing and singing on the set. The experience was absolute joy.
Finishing the film, hilariously I’d say the greatest difficulty was the subtitling part. We speak very fast in this part of the world.
Tell us something about Bradley—his dreams, his training, anything interesting.
I never went to film school. I’m actually a business graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Commerce, majoring in Economics and International Business with a minor in Management. I started from the bottom up in Malaysia as an intern, so I know what it’s like to have only your hopes and dreams in your résumé.
What brought you to the Philippines?
I fell in love!
How did the Malaysia-Philippines production venture come about?
It was a collaborative effort between Bianca and myself, sourcing financing from both Malaysia and the Philippines.
Who will you be wearing for the red carpet and world premiere?
I’m terrible at these things. Admittedly, my laid-back Malaysian upbringing makes me walk around all day in shorts and T-shirts. So, dear Filipino designers, please save me from fashion faux pas when I go to Venice.
What more do you want to achieve with this debut film, both on a personal and professional level?
On a professional level, I hope this film would create lots of positive buzz and stimulate discourse. I also hope the film will take on a life of its own and get distribution worldwide, most especially in Malaysia and the Philippines, since this is a child of both countries.
Personally, this film is a humble attempt to show the Filipino people the real man behind the name Pepe Smith. I want people to see that he is human just like the rest of us. He suffers, bleeds, hurts and cries just like you and me. I hope in the end, the audience can relate to him as one human being to another.
And by doing so, I guess this film is my way of reconnecting and preserving the memory of my grandfather.
All the best, Bradley Liew. Make Asia proud in Venice.