INRI studio | the.writing.on.the.wall

It has begun.

2012-01-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

FREEDOM. CHAOS. CONSPIRACY. REBELLION.

The Word is Out. The stage is set.

2011-12-29T09:35:00.001-08:00

Feature Film with secured International Distribution, seeks actors with talent, flair and fire. Roles are dramatic and challenging. Candidates must have a fluent command of English. Actors with experience favored for lead roles.

TITLE: FRVL

GENRE: TEEN ACTION / DRAMA

THE CHARACTERS

1) LAER, 16-25, Lead Role

Complex Teenager, one that has been through things. A ticking time bomb. Befriends a group of losers and convinces them to stand up against their bullies.

2) BELLE, 16-25, Leading Role

Rebel Queen, Sexy, Radical, Dangerous. Devil may care attitude. Anarchist, Intellectual, Modern day Vigilante.

3) CHLOE, 16-25, Leading Role

Starry-eyed Student Reporter,

Photographer, Smart, Curious, Petite, Disarmingly Lovable, Earnest.

4) THE JOCKS, 16-25

School Bullies. Athletic Rugby players.

Constantly pick on Laer and his friends.

Tease girls in school.

5) POLICE MARSHAL, 25-45

Compassionate. Figures of authority who maintain order in the campus.

6) THE CALVARY, 17-25

Male Models. A fraternity of gentlemen. In charge of keeping order in place. Intelligent. Good looking Preppy. Achievers from uber-rich families.

7) THE PRINCIPAL, 40-65

The Patriarch of school. A distinguished gentleman. Handsome and Powerful. An Omnipresent force.

8) ROXY & THE GLAM GIRLS,

16-25, Dramatic roles, glamourous, gorgeous but cruel teens hell-bent on dominance in school. Party Animals.

9) REPORTERS, male & female,

News anchor for live broadcast.

10) HIP HOPPERS, SKATERS, PUNKS, GOTHS, GEEKS, 16-25

Supporting Characters and cliques that add colour to the school.

Groups of people may apply together.

11) FLORENCE, 18-27

Dramatic role. Young woman who gets pregnant after an assault. Stays strong in spite of her predicament. Keeps the baby and braves on, with grace.

12) BOY LAER, 6-10

Boy version of the older Laer. An abused kid living in a rough family.

Interested Parties please email your photos and CV to: audition@inristudio.com

You will be notified by phone to come down for an audition.

For Enquiries, contact Casting Manager Rina Rosli. rina@motion.com.sg

Shoot dates: Early 2012. (exact dates are TBC)

Independent Filmmaker launches New Workshop for Musicians

2011-07-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

Tzang Merwyn Tong (director of V1K1 + A Wicked Tale) launches a new Music Video Workshop for aspiring rock stars at Republic Polytechnic's Ignite Music Festival. The workshop designed by Tzang for Thunder Rock Music School hopes to empower musicians, Rock, Rap, Metal or Pop, with skills to shoot their own Music Videos, using whatever equipment they have, to create powerful videos.

Workshops will be held on the premises of Thunder Rock School, and is open to all bands and individuals (not restricted to RP). Participants will be mentored by Tzang to build their own MVs.

For more information on the Workshop, visit Thunder Rock School on facebook.com/thunderrockschool, or call 68416806, or email info@thunderrockschool.com

Photos by Thunder Rock.

V1K1 unleashed at London Luxury Goods V Festival

2011-07-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

Back to the city where a Mid Sommer Night's Dream was born, V1K1 premiered at The Courtyard Theatre Hoxton to a full house crowd. This Poster placed at the entrance of the Theatre was stolen off the wall before midnight.

Tzang named as one of VIP's seven most exciting Singaporean iconoclasts

2011-06-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

In The Media

VIP Magazine Issue 2: Jun 2011

They stand at the fringe of the Art Establishment, sending messages to their audiences in voices that are as powerful as they are unique. Seven young artists provide Singapore with new, exciting ways to look at art.

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

They’re young, talented and brimming with energy and promise. They are today’s iconoclasts but very likely tomorrow’s icons. By Tara Rushton.

My journey of exploration into the Singapore art scene is one of pure excitement. I meet up with artists to explore their lives and histories and how they used these to lay a foundation to their art. After days of research, phone calls, viewings, skype interviews and even trips to McDonalds, I felt exhausted yet incredibly proud to be living in a country that is the Mother of such creative minds. A country with a flourishing arts community is a country with an expressive society.

5. [TZANG MERWYN TONG]

Tzang Merwyn Tong started making films when he was 19. He had held a camera before, knew how to switch one on but that was it. It was a passion inside him – or what he calls a ‘reckless desire’ – to tell stories that made him pursue it. His first feature film e'Tzaintes, based on teenage misfits living in a fictional world dealt heavily with adolescent issues of belonging, won him various film awards.

Even at nineteen, Tzang was already creating a dialogue that had audiences relating and sympathizing with the protagonists of his films. His stories come from a personal place: “We all have our own little misfit stories.” Tzang followed his debut film with A Wicked Tale – a dark take on Little Red Riding Hood – before changing tack and shooting his first sci-fi film titled V1K1. Tzang has a cult following from audiences who are drawn by unconventional themes and genres that are meshed together in his films.

Tzang is aware that he is working against the grain and not moulding to the formulaic films that attract the most commercial success such as horror and comedy. But he remains ambitious. “I want to offer something different. I’m an artist with a desire to break some new ground. It’s difficult for me as well but it keeps me alive.”

His next project is titled FRVL and he describes it as “Fight Club-meets-Romeo and Juliet’, Again this film delves into issues of rebellion and self-expression amongst teens. Tzang tries to become a pioneer within a system he believes is afraid of being pioneering. By no means is he bitter that an underground or indie film culture is non-existent in Singapore.

He just hopes he can push for a little change. “I hope I can inspire more people to do something different.”

Other Featured Artists

1. Swee Boon: Dancer and Choreographer

2. Kevin Ou: Photographer

3. Jackson Tan: Phunk Studio

4. Traseone: Grafitti Artist

5. Tzang Merwyn Tong: Independent Filmmaker

6. Robert Zhao: Artist/Scientist

7. Stefen Chow: Photographer

A Nutshell Review on V1K1 - A Techno Fairytale

2011-04-19T04:20:00.000-07:00

If you’re looking for consistently unconventional short films in Singapore, look no further than the works of Tzang Merwyn Tong, who throws up non-formulaic tales that fuses fairy tales with edgy punk and heavy techno influences concocting a strange amalgamation of genres that always somehow click and work wonders. Known for e'TZAINTES and A Wicked Tale, the latter which took on Red Riding Hood in more adult terms before Catherine Hardwicke's came along, Tzang embarks on yet another tech-influenced project this time with students from a local Institute of Technical Education.

As such, while the film undeniably has Tzang’s signature treatment all over it, the execution though did come off more as a student project to allow his largely student crew a first hand experience in making a film, never shying away from dabbling with special effects that worked in some moments, while others did come off as slightly raw. But no venture no gain, and hopefully Tzang did manage to influence some of the students to further explore the technical competencies required in filmmaking, and hopefully we do see a fresh crop of graduates skilled in both the art and science of genre and fantasy filmmaking as the years move along, possessing no fear in tapping onto their imagination to tell stories.

And a fantasy sci-fi story this is, with a group of what’s termed as Fairies of Misfortune having to spend time on earth as self-proclaimed agents of change, possessing supernatural powers that remained under wraps until an action filled final act. In the meantime you get plenty of philosophical talk between Fairies, and a scientist who had captured one of them for further research, the former who unwittingly discovers a weak point in the chinks of the Fairies’ armour that provides for an upper hand in negotiations, or so he thought. Ah, the follies of the human being.

In some ways this short film also served as a showreel of sorts to demonstrate the raw energy that the ITE students bring to the table. Granted not all aspects of this film is as polished as Tzang’s earlier works, but you’d realize that perhaps one of the best and more direct ways of learning is to walk the talk. And at times I felt the techno-babble came on a little too strong for the actors to grasp, that their rote memorizing of lines unfortunately rang through to take some shine off their performances. But it more than made up for it with some incredible VFX stunt sequences for a modestly budgeted film.

Still, for its objectives set forth, V1K1 managed to have the Tzang rubber stamp in concocting a tale of the unconventionally engaging, and one wonders just how different this would have turned out with if the writer-director had a much larger budget at hand. For those who are keen to catch this, you can do so this Thursday at Sinema Old School, and details of the encore screening can be found here. - Stefan S.

About the Reviewer: Stefan S. is a Singapore based film buff and a keen supporter of Singapore films good and bad. He has been writing about Singapore Cinema and Singapore film-related activities since 2005. He is also a contributing writer at movieXclusive.com, TwitchFilm.net, and Sinema.sg.

Taken from: http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2011/04/v1k1-techno-fairytale.html

F*** Mag talks to the Tzang about alternative cinema

2011-04-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Part of a new breed of Singapore filmmakers, the alternative film director Tzang Merwyn Tong tells F*** about his vision and his latest sci-fi project, V1K1 – A Techno Fairytale.

By Lisa Twang

Excerpt: How did the V1K1 film project come about?

As an adjunct lecturer at ITE College West, I was approached to direct a short film using a student crew from the Digital Audio Video Production course. We called ourselves the Dreammakers Lab. The goal was to introduce the first-time movie-making experience to these students, and inspire them with the process. But it was these students who ended up inspiring me. Their energy and enthusiasm was highly infectious, and although many of them were touching equipment for the first time, we made a wonderful film that we’re all very proud of.

How would you describe your audience?

Brave, intelligent and curious. Brave and curious because it takes wonder and courage to buy a ticket or DVD for something outside the mainstream; and intelligent, because my films tend to ask questions, that requires the audience to do a bit of thinking themselves!

In your first film, e’Tzaintes, you played a character named W. Ashe Faeke; a makeup-wearing, poetry-spouting goth prophet. Is he your alter ego?

As Faeke, I’m a social outcast trying to rally other misfits into my “world of nonsense and whatever.” I suppose I do share his illusions of grandeur; I believe you have to be somewhat delusional to stay passionate about something. But in reality, I’m a lot less flamboyant than Faeke; I’m actually quite a shy person.

Also, I am not an anarchist at all, but a pacifist! My new film, the FRVL project, is essentially a critique on rebellion. It questions a generation of teenage idealists and activists, and it’s very ambitious. It’s something I’m working very hard to get off the ground, and I’m looking for brave souls who understand it and are willing to invest in it.

As a filmmaker, what is your greatest fear?

Passion. The truth is, I’m worried sometimes that I will be consumed by the films I make. I always put in 200% of what I have; so much that I lose myself completely. It’s something I have to be careful of as a responsible human being. When passion takes over over, I’m afraid I will lose it all by sacrificing myself and real things that are important to me.

V1K1 opens at Sinema Old School 21st April 2011. Pre bookings of tickets can be made here through tix.sinema.sg, You may RSVP on facebook too.

For the full article, read the April 2011 Issue of F*** Magazine.

Storyteller of the Fairy Kind

2011-02-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

SINdie - Singapore Independent Films Only talks to Tzang Merwyn Tong on his inspiration for Indie Sci Fi V1K1. Click here for the full article. Includes never-before-released images from the upcoming movie. Not quite what you expect of a Singapore film, I know.

Read it here: http://sindieonly.blogspot.com/2011/02/production-talk-v1k1-by-merwyn-tzang.html (Special thanks to the SINdie team)

Rise of Asian Cinema (Business Times Article)

2011-01-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

Brave New Asian arthouse film-makers take on the Box Office, reports Dylan Tan

It's been 13 years since an Asian film has won the prestigious award and its director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who will be in town over the weekend for a charity screening of his movie and to conduct a masterclass, is the first independent filmmaker from his country to receive the honour.

'The indie film-making scene in South-east Asia has been thriving which is evidenced by the strong presence of independent films from the region in the programmes of international film festivals,' notes Karen Chan, acting director of Asian Film Archive, a non-governmental and non-profit organisation founded to preserve the film heritage of Singapore and Asian cinema.
'This is particularly so in the past five years; South-east Asian film-makers have been recognised for pushing the boundaries of film-making, imbuing cinema with refreshingly unique voices and vision,' she says, adding Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia have all made a major impact on the arthouse scene in recent years.

Chan also notes Weerasethakul's win comes hot on the heels of another Asian film-maker, Filipino Brillante Mendoza, who picked up the Best Director award last year for his movie Kinatay.

'Having attended film festivals around the region, I've noticed a lot of new indie film-makers creating good works,' says Thomas Chia, director of Lighthouse Pictures, which has been distributing arthouse films from all over the world here and in the region since 2003.

Like Chan, he too cites Indonesian and Thai indie cinemas as the ones to watch out for. There's a general consensus among industry players that the appeal and following of art films is getting stronger in Singapore.

Local art film buff Norman Loong says, 'Compared to mainstream cinema, indie films are more exciting; no two films are alike, the storylines are always original and th

e makers don't rely on sequels, remakes or gimmicks like 3-D to sell.'

The growth is also evident from the number of screens now dedicated to art films.
From just one venue in 1997 when The Picturehouse launched, there are now other speciality halls of various sizes like Sinema Old School, Cinema Europa and The Arts House that screen indie movies on a regular basis.

'The Picturehouse has always held a special interest in Asian art films especially since we are the first theatre in Asia to dedicate an entire hall to arthouse cinema,' says its spokesman. 'We believe some of the best films in the world do come from Asia.' Among some of The Picturehouse's upcoming attractions are Anh Hung Tran's highly acclaimed big screen adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood and Hindi film Road, Movie.

'Singapore audiences have become more refined and sophisticated in their taste; many regional indie film-makers have premiered their works at the Singapore International Film Festival,' observes Chan.

'Lighthouse has come to be Singapore's 'home' for Takeshi Kitano's films,' says Chia, referring to how well-received the Japanese actor-writer-director's works, including last year's Outrage, have been. Negotiations for its sequel to be screened here later this year are on the cards, he reveals. '(The late Malaysian director) Yasmin Ahmad's Muallaf was also a success in 2009 but it did not come easy as the film-maker and I had to put in a lot of effort to promote the film in the virtual and real worlds,' Chia adds.

Such is the difficulty indie film-makers in general face when trying to make their movies on a shoestring budget, then trying to promote them with little or no money.
The problem is worse for Asian independent directors because the audience base is not big enough to sustain an already niche genre.

Gathering momentum: HK's Derek Tsang co-directed Lover's Discourse (above left, starring Kit Chan and above right, Jackie Heung and Mavis Fan), which earned its stripes premiering at the Pusan Film Festival and travelling the promotions circuit before recently opening on general release in Asia.

'Every time I release a movie, I lose money because of the advertising and promotions, so I'm not sure if it's worth it, even though I would love to show it at home', Unce Boonmee's Weerasethakul tells The Hollywood Reporter.

'The population of Hong Kong is not like the St

ates,' says Derek Tsang, co-director of Lover's Discourse, a low-key Chinese ensemble movie that earned its stripes premiering at the Pusan Film Festival and travelling the circuit before recently opening on general release in Asia.'People who make indie films in Hong Kong do it on a very, very low budget and even then you don't get a lot of your money back,' he adds.

Citing the example of Wong Kar Wai as an exception, Tsang explains, 'There's a misconception people have about Wong; he's an artist first but he's also a very smart businessman. His market is different from a lot of other Chinese directors because his films get released in a lot of different places in Europe and he makes a lot of money from there.'
Others like local underground director Tzang Merwyn Tong says independent film-makers remain at the mercy of the gatekeepers - distributors, exhibitors, censorship regulators and festival programmers.

'Being an independent film-maker is really about a spirit; it can be heartbreaking trying to make your way through a world that will give you more reasons to give up than continue,' he says.

Tzang, however, beat the odds and enjoyed worldwide success with his movie A Wicked Tale, simply by giving it away.

'The movie took a life of its own after I allowed a group of German teenagers to screen my films in their underground film festival. It became a little bit of a surprise hit, with audiences asking for copies to bootleg it. I gave them permission to do whatever they wanted, and before I knew it, different groups of people were screening it to different audiences in pubs, clubs, house parties and venues, in Berlin, Potsdam, Munich and Frankfurt,' reveals Tzang.

'A Wicked Tale then travelled to Canada, with tickets sold out to a full house crowd as the Closing Night Film in Montreal FanTasia - the festival that first introduced (Japanese horror movie) The Ring to western audiences. And then somehow it found its way to Toronto, Lund, Leeds and Tel Aviv through small screenings organied by groups of people I don't even know,' he adds.

ASIAN arthouse cinema found itself in the international spotlight when Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, picked up the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival.

Similarly, Malaysian-born, Singapore-based director Lee Thean-Jeen foresees a changing landscape for indie films in the way they're made, marketed and screened, due to new media as well as former arthouse directors like Michel Gondry and Jiang Wen moving towards commercial films with The Green Hornet and Let The Bullets Fly respectively.

'Film-makers like David Lynch are making movies and posting it on YouTube or their own websites so a lot of people who used to go to cinemas for art films are getting them from other sources instead,' he says. 'The game for film-makers now is not whether you want to be arthouse or commercial anymore; it's how you want to tell a good story and where you want to find that audience.'

'I've learnt that a film with its heart in the right place will somehow find its rightful audience,' says Tzang. 'You just got to be rock 'n' roll about it.'

The Singapore Premiere and charity screening of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (with director Apichatpong Weerasethakul chairing a discussion ) take places tomorrow, 7pm at Cathay Cineplex. For tickets and more information on Asian Film Archive and Weerasethakul's masterclass on Monday, click on www.asianfilmarchive.org. Lover's Discourse is now screening exclusively at Cathay's Cineleisure Orchard and AMK Hub. Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

V1k1 - A Techno Fairytale

2010-10-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Tzang Merwyn Tong's 2010 collaboration with the staff and students of ITE College West.

"It's one enjoyable filmmaking experience, owing much to the ITE students, ITE staff and the Team involved in V1k1 - collectively known as The Dreammakers. I like it that I get to collaborate with Producer and Veteran Art Director Samantha Sng, with Kian Seng from ITE College West on Visual Effects, and Amanda Ling (ex-Electrico keyboardist) on Music and sound design.

I like it that there are many parts to a film. Many parts to make a film work. Many ways a film can fail. It is this unpredictability that brings out the madness of everyone involved. And speaking of unpredictability, we have a whole crew of students (aged 16-19) to work with.

Whatever these students lack in experience, they matched it and doubled it with passion... the word that the industry use so much... but rarely understood what it meant once they graduate into the 'real world'. Even the actors are infected by the Dreammaker spirit. Can't wait for the day it gets screened. It's all in ITE's hands now." - Tzang M.

V1k1 is expected to tour Film Festivals in 2011.

Join our FB page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/V1k1-atechnofairytale/109118675813500

Save The FRVL Project Fund - The List of Supporters (so far)

2010-10-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Little by little step by step, we're making history.
Names of People who have contributed to The Save The FRVL Project Fund - the very names that will be immortalized in our film when we get it made.

- Rina Rosli, method maverick

- Hajar Manaf, content queen

- Edict Navarro, media maestro

- Junyi Zhao, designer

- Nadia Nahar Azmi

- Amanda Kwok

- Rio Matthew, mograph artist

- Juliana Mattar, boss

- Eva Fang YH
- Woei Na, designer
- Chew Soo Wei, personality
- Caroline Cheong, actress
- Lisa Twang, writer
- Jon Teck Teo
- Jerald Ang
- Nicco Lim
- Mio Shiraishi, doctor
- Fion Boon
- Cheryl Lee

- Rebecca Tan, designer
- Lee Amizadai, producer
- Danny Tan, entrepreneur
- Melissa De Silva, dreammer
- Linda Ong, Lunarin musician
- Leanna Tan, actress

- Lyon Sim, actor
- Amanda Ling, Musician
- Samantha De Silva, Novelist
- Liew Shi Xiong, Filmmaker
- Tan Jin San, Executive
- Siau Xindi, Stylist
- Ruth Tay, Student
- Muerte Bella, Artist

Highest Donations
1) Mio Shiraishi, $310
2) Chew Soo Wei, $100
3) Lee Amizadai, $100
4) Eva Fang, $62
5) Tan Jin San, $62
6) Amanda Ling, musician, $50
7) Linda Ong, $50
8) Leanna Tan, $50
9) Samantha De Silva, novelist $50
10) Cheryl Lee, $50
11) Ruth Tay, $50
12) Jon Teck Teo, $50
13) Lisa Twang, $50

Thanks for the encouraging start. I received many good msgs that more will be coming. Appreciate it. Will look forward to your support.

"I may not be able to give 31 bucks but I can give in 31 hours instead. Or more than that. :)" - Esther Tay, Student

Carry this banner and link to www.inristudio.com/writing if you want to support us.

Bob Dylan knows its Christmas

2009-12-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

Something fun for the season.

The Weeping Song

2008-10-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a video i just feel like sharing.
The Weeping Song by Nick Cave

Encore! The 'Before It Disappears' Screening

2008-09-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

The Wickedness will be over when it's over. A Singapore film unlike anything you've seen before.

This is your last chance to experience the wicked... if you haven't already watched it... Life is short. Don't hesistate and regret later. If you wanna watch it again on the big screen... just follow your heart and do it. Invite your friends to join you. Let's make this last night a memorable one.

[e'TZAINTES] + A WICKED TALE - The 'Before It Disappears' Screening

SINEMA OLD SCHOOL

Saturday, SEPTEMBER 13 4:00pm

Call: 6336 9707 to book your tickets.

When music and passion take over

2008-08-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce to everyone to my co-producer, Armen Rizal Rahman, the man behind the music of e'TZAINTES + A WICKED TALE, the Danny Elfman of INRI studio (in case you don't know, Danny Elfman is the composer who did the music for most Tim Burton movies, including Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

Music is to me one of the most important factors of filmmaking and it is so important to work with somebody who understands the story inside out. For it is with music that the undertones are delivered, filling up parts that visuals, colour, words and movement cannot express.

It is hard to believe that the music for e'TZAINTES and A WICKED TALE is done by the same person, just like it's hard to believe that e'TZAINTES and A WICKED TALE is written by the same writer too. They are two very different films that require different types of musical style. For e'TZAINTES, to be loud, imposing and majestic to celebrate the decadence of youth. For A WICKED TALE, to be almost invisible, atmospheric, to create a sense of tension and psychological manipulation, that is in appropriate for the fairytale.

A lot of research has been put into our work. From cinematography to props, acting style to set design, art direction and makeup, storytelling style and music. No one aspect is less important than the other. We know we do not have a big budget for our work. We were amateurs when we first started. But that does not stop us from investing time, energy, spirit and dedication. That's passion I guess. The edge that allows us to do what we do in spite of all the odds that stand in our way. And it is infectious! (Tzang M)

For those of you interested to DOWNLOAD the two songs in the e'TZAINTES EP composed by Armen, log on to www.myspace.com/tzaintesmovie and click on the download button.

1) CATASTROPHE by Ubermensch featuring Wesley Choo
2) STREAKS by Ubermensch featuring Wesley Choo

Spirit of the Underground - Fights back to Old School

2008-08-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

The relationship between film and audience is an interesting one. We can make the films. But it ultimately belongs to the people who watch it. THE AUDIENCE.

We're glad to know that the e'TZAINTES + A WICKED TALE screenings reached its right audience with this double screening, dedicated to artists and dreamers, misfits and thinkers, poets and believers. And we've SINEMA OLD SCHOOL to thank for that. It was a glorious homecoming. We worked hard to bring the films back after their epic run in the worldwide underground film festival circuit. All this done with the help of Eswandy and Antoinette from Develope Communications, who helped us with the promotion and publicity of the films.

The reason why the screening happened - WE REFUSE TO BELIEVE that 'Singapore audience are not ready for films like e'Tzaintes & Wicked. WE REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT SINGAPORE AUDIENCES ARE ONE AND THE SAME, who prefer to watch films about heartland angst set in coffeeshops and shophouses featuring ahbengs and ahlians, uncles and aunties. THERE EXISTS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SINGAPORE AUDIENCE - people who believe in the power of expression, people who believe in the importance to breakout of the mould that we've created for ourselves, people who are sick and tired of the same old shit, people who desire for something new.

And for THIS DIFFERENT TYPE OF SINGAPORE AUDIENCE, WE HAVE FOR YOU A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SINGAPORE FILM. This is what INRI studio is here for.

In the words of David Bowie - "If you're like everyone else don't try to be different. If you're different, don't try to be like everyone else."

A big thank you to all the people who showed up at the premiere of e'TZAINTES + A WICKED TALE. Please continue to spread the word of the wicked. We need your support to continue doing what we do. Never say die. Rock N' Roll!

A WICKED TALE Writer/ Director Tzang Merwyn Tong,
with Co-producer Selvam Dass and
Producer (Music) Armen Rizal Rahman

Fairies wear boots.

Our most attentive guests.

Sympathy for the Wicked - Gothic Lolitas on our Opening Night
with director Tzang Merwyn Tong & Lisa Twang.

They came for two nights. Lolitas who brought their dolls to the screening.
Doll's who're fans of the movie.

The T-shirt Crew. Renegade warriors led by Tzaintes Actor Toilet Duck.

A Doll owner posed his doll with the Wicked Flyer.
A picture within a picture within a picture.

Paul Twohill with Tzang M.

Fiercely promoting the flag of our guerilla marketing campaign.

The TZAINTES ARMY. Tzang with the 12 walking Apostles.

Somebody who brought with him a sexy eight legged friend to the screening.

Our after-party @ Home Club.

TZAINTES NOT DEAD

Our friend, Ming on the decks at Home Club.

They came, they saw, they terrorised.

Q&A session with Armen. Selvam and Tzang

Johnny Shameless & his Minions @ the TZAINTES NOT DEAD Party
Bringing scum rock back to the people. Wankers Lamers Losers, aren't we all?

Shameless, Saints and Scums

2008-08-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

Loud, raw, brash, unapologetic and in-your-face!
No, I am not talking about [e'Tzaintes] (though, by now, you should already know that those words apply too) I am talking about JOHNNY SHAMELESS AND HIS FUCKING MINIONS! (Armen)

Photography by Jiahao Loh.

Kindred Scum
by Tzang M.

I'm too inspired not to write about it. So I thought I'll just hijack this entry and add on. What is it that makes Johnny Shameless & His Minions so different? They are shameless. Unafraid to go out there and whip their shit out and see what comes out of it. Unafraid to play the fool, take a piss at the world and see what people makes out of it. I especially like the reaction of the crowd. Even by Home Club standards, Johnny Shameless and his Minions are … how should I say this… ‘deviant’ perhaps. It’s easy to call them poseurs … they stand out like a rude exposed erection - a trait perfect for our wankers, lamers, losers campaign. The music is loud, dirty and furious - infectious enough to get their heads knocking, blood throbbing and nerves rattling… but yet, we have a crowd full of people waiting for each other to do the first thing. Their stage presence is there, the shit is there, but with antics too out of sync from the Singapore comfort zone, people falter. There is apprehension. Nobody wants to be the first to mosh. There is awkwardness. And this is power. This is Rock N’ Roll! Not rock n’ roll the way Christian rock bands are performing for their friends in church. Not rock n’ roll in the way multi-platinum artists are performing at high profile rock festivals, but rock n’ roll in the way Iggy Pop is, Jimmy Hendrix is, and the Beatles are, when they were little rock-lings still trying to be accepted by the world. We’re not sucking up here. We truly enjoyed ourselves. And we’re honored to have shared the stage and night with scums whom we hardly know (but are just like us, in spirit), even for a few minutes, on a night we will all remember as 'TZAINTES NOT DEAD'. (Tzang M.)

Battle of two Underground films

2008-08-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

Online Surveys & Market Research

You've seen the films. Now make a stand. Which do you prefer?

A WICKED TALE - The Infamous Trailer

2008-08-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Please comment on our tagboard.

[e'TZAINTES] + A WICKED TALE - TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

2008-08-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The wait is over. The lines are open. Wickedness officially begins this Saturday! $6 for both [e'TZAINTES] + A WICKED TALE.

For wicked phone bookings, call: 6336 9707

For online bookings, email: oldschool@sinema.sg
Tickets also available from the box office at Sinema Old School. (Book early to avoid disappointment. Don't say we didn't warn ya.)

Have you seen the trailer for A WICKED TALE?
It's now up on http://www.inristudio.com/

SHOWTIMES

Saturday 16 Aug: 7.45pm (Opening Night)

Saturday 16 Aug: 9.15pm (Opening Night)

Sunday 17th Aug: 7pm

Friday 22nd Aug:7pm

Saturday 23rd: 7.45pm

Sunday 24th Aug: 2.30pm

Friday 29th Aug: 9pm

Saturday 30th Aug : 4.15pm

Sunday 31st Aug: 6pm

TZAINTES NOT DEAD T-SHIRT 2008

2008-08-09T01:55:00.001-07:00

TZAINTES NOT DEAD BLACK SHIRT 2008 Limited Edition released!
$25. Available in men's cut and ladies' cut. Small, medium and large sizes. To pre-order, email ministry@inristudio.com T-shirts can be collected on screening days @Sinema Old School. Delivery can also be arranged. Email if you have enquiries.

T-shirts for a cause. Wear it with pride. The earnings from these TZAINTES t-shirts will help us pay for the publicity of the [e'TZAINTES] + A WICKED TALE run @ Sinema Old School. Please support with a kind donation, in exchange for a T-shirt as a flag to champion our campaign!

e'TZAINTES represents a no-holds-barred guerilla DIY attitude to filmmaking. It's designed by the same team of people who sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears to get the film made. They were 19 year olds when the film was shot. Amateurs with neither professional knowledge nor technical experience about filmmaking and music making. Underdogs who refused to be put down by what they do not know and cannot do. Amateurs with spirit. Made-in-Singapore.

T-shirts for a Cause

2008-08-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

TZAINTES ORIGINAL BLACK SHIRT
Limited Edition

$25. Available in men's cut and ladies' cut.
Small, medium and large sizes.
To pre-order, email ministry@inristudio.com

T-shirts can be collected on screening days @Sinema Old School. Delivery can also be arranged. Email if you have enquiries.

Scum Rock saving us from sanitization

2008-08-08T02:38:00.000-07:00

The two videos that introduced me to Johnny Shameless and His Minions. They will be performing at the TZAINTES NOT DEAD PARY @ Home Club 15 August 2008. I can't wait.

"Streaks of numbness; heal me, I implore you" - e'TZAINTES soundtrack online release (part 3)

2008-08-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Download the third track from e' TZAINTES OST online release here:

www.inristudio.com/writing/eTzaintes-ep-Streaks.mp3

STREAKS | UBERMENSCH

feat. Wesley Choo of E.P.I.C
Music and lyrics by Armen Rizal Rahman

+ LYRICS +

Suddenly, it seemed that you're the victim,
But I don't mind.
Found that eyes are wide, when we are just
Doing fine.
Hearing whispers on the train, on the bus,
And on the street.
Telling me I'm criminal when love is all
That I speak.

So they made you popular
So they made you perfect
Worship

CHORUS

Streaks of numbness; heal me, I implore you
Streaks of numbness brings me down again
Streaks of numbness; heal me, I implore you
Streaks so volatile erupts within me

Hear my laughter, see my tears.
Feel me liqour, glazened eyes.
High on you, high on I, and high in every
Cigarette light (or is it 'lies'?)
Feel the capture, feel the pain. And the rapture
In my veins.
Let the day be leading you, cos when its over
It's the same.
(A fuckin' shame.)

So they made you popular
So they made you perfect
Worship

CHORUS

So they made you popular
So they made me wretched
Bastard
Bless be
Tell me

CHORUS

Streaks of numbness; heal me, I implore you
Streaks of numbness holds me down again
Streaks of numbness; heal me, I implore you
Streaks of numbness makes me blind again

Whatcha lookin at?
Whatcha lookin at?

(Armen)

Aural guerilla - The making of Catastrophe and Streaks

2008-08-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

INRI studio's original tracks for e' Tzaintes, "Catastrophe" and "Streaks", was done exactly the way the "Another Brick on the Wall" cover was done; everything was produced, sequenced, layered and mixed via very simple, download-for-free softwares.

Even vocal recording set up was simple ie cheap karaoke mic straight to the computer' on-board sound device (in other words, BUDGET). The only other live instrument being the guitars, contributed by Wesley Choo of E.P.I.C, played through a multi-fx rack device of which details were not available to me.

What makes "Catastrophe" and "Streaks" different, and even MORE difficult to do is that both songs were made to replace two popular and well recognised tracks. These two songs were used in two very significant scenes, which pretty much sets the tone and direction for the film. The two songs are:

1) "Bullet in Your Head" by Rage Against the Machine, and

2) "Sweet Dreams", Marilyn Manson's cover of the classic Eurythmic track.

(Btw, both these tracks appear in the extremely rare director's cut VCD. Less than 100 of these are made, so if you are one of the lucky few to own it, you have a very priced possession ;-))

One of the biggest issues that we encountered is the fact that reediting the sequence of the shots has become a non-option; by the time we had finished our director's cut version of the film, the system we used for editing is no longer available to us. Putting in a totally different track would endanger the scenes by rendering them grotesque; the music would have the danger of not matching the visuals, and vice versa.

That puts us into very tight constraints and options. Basically, to replace the above mentioned tracks, the new tracks have to meet the following criteria:

1) They had to encapsulate the same spirit and sound that the other two songs had.

2) They had to have the same (or almost similar) musical structure: same length for intro, verse, chorus etc, same climatic peaks, same sound dynamics, and even the same length of songs.

3) They have to be songs that are easy to get copyrights (the reason for replacing the mentioned songs in the first place), or,

4) If composed from scratch, they basically have to sound similar, yet original enough for them to stand on their own and give us the least amount of trouble (if any).

It took us an extra year to have both tracks completed and added to the final version of e' Tzaintes, which we consider as a miracle owing to the fact that we, being complete amateurs in film and music, had to contend with really huge obstacles. However, all that effort was worth the resultant euphoria that we experienced when we watch the finished product.

You might be wondering right now, why so much thought and effort and stress, not to mention the time "wasted", in trying to fit in something as simple as music? Plenty of royalty free music/sound banks are available at affordable cost even back then. It would have been much simpler, wouldn't it?

The answer: Because we love music.

It is really simple to articulate, but very difficult to elaborate. Suffice to say that as how it is a certain piece of art, photography and film can evoke the responses it wants out of its audience, so can a piece of music.

In this case, that ability to evoke response has become a MUST. e' Tzaintes is a raw, brash and rebellious film, hence sounds that sits in the background is just not an option. Instead, the music had to be just as raw, brash and rebellious and it has to be able to take the front seat, yet compliments the film well enough so as to not overshadow it.

(In fact, our philosophy on the importance of sound and music in our film spills over to our post-Tzaintes project, "A Wicked Tale", which hopefully will be addressed in a future blog entry.)

Even now, with almost 10 years after INRI studio was first formed, somethings really haven't changed. We still make or plan to make not-so-Singapore projects, we still love our music, we still find ways to provoke your senses and open your mind. With the upcoming double screening in less than 2 weeks away, we are about to fill our mighty pens again to scribe the another chapter.

To you, it might be just another event. To us, it's another conquest.

See you at Sinema Old School. (Armen)

What's a revolution without a TZAINTES T-shirt?

2008-08-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

Remember the original Tzaintes T-shirt with the killer quote, that was released at the Substation in 2002. Oh well. We're bringing it back for old school's sake! Limited Edition TZAINTES T-shirt. S$25. Only a hundred fuckin' pieces.

Comes with a new quote:
"WE'RE ALL VICTIMS OF OUR OWN TYPECAST." - W. ASHE FAEKE

Presenting the ultra-dude TZAINTES T-shirt with the kick-ass quote at the back. $25 each. (T-shirt designed by writer/creator Tzang Merwyn Tong)

To pre-order email ministry@inristudio.com
With name, size (S/M/L) and contact number.

Also available in 'bad girl' sizes. $25 each.

To pre-order email ministry@inristudio.com
With name, size (S/M) and contact number.

Support the campaign. Fly the flag.

The Joke's on me. Why so serious?

2008-07-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

He did it. I didn't want to like him but he did it. He stole the show and he fuckin' stole the role too. It's him now. He IS The Joker. Not Jack Nicholson. But a 1979er tragic hero. to be worshipped alongside Brandon Lee and the many rockstar types who died at 27/28. Speaking of Brandon Lee, it's precisely why i didn't want to like the man named Heath Ledger. The make up is too Crow-like and the death is too untimely. I felt too obligated to make that sickening connection and I didn't want to jump on he bandwagon to sympathize with him amidst the obvious cult-potential. I told a friend at that time, that I felt nothing for Heath when he died. It's not a loss to the film world, I said. I felt then that the Ledger-guy has yet to prove himself.

Watchin' his performance as The Joker today made me want to eat my words. It was a maniacal performance. Uncompromising at many levels...and yes, maniacal. a nihilist. a bombmaker. a master manipulator who likes to play god. a showman. While Batman looks contrived as mr reluctant saint, aka, the justice soldier- gadget yuppie- wannabe-emo-outcast, Joker recklessly triumphs over with his fiercely defiant portrayal of a sick freak with nothing to loose. Reminds me of those wrestling characters who play mind games, only tighter, darker and more thought-out. And ofcoz, the luxury to bathe in the power and glory of cinema, good thing the role wasn't wasted on him.

Well done. i'm sad now knowing that I'll never see another performance from this young actor again. Why Ledger why? Meet Dean. Morrison. Cobain. Tupac. Rhoads. Vicious. Phoenix and Lee. I'm sure you all have lots to talk about. (Tzang M)

"Inches by inches. Inches grow to a mile." - e' Tzaintes soundtrack online release (part 2)

2008-07-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Download the second track from e' TZAINTES OST online release here:

www.inristudio.com/writing/eTzaintes-ep-Catastrophe.mp3

CATASTROPHE | UBERMENSCH

feat. Wesley Choo of E.P.I.C
Music and lyrics by Armen Rizal Rahman

+ LYRICS +

Like this yall! Yeah. Stop.

Stop. Coz, I'll be coming up and go.
Hell of a fury. In this one man show.
My inside's playing more possum than the dead.
My microphone's untouchable like Elliot Ness.
The irony kills me. Now with a gun to my head.
Try to pull the trigger but the chamber is dead.
I'm regreting my life and all that's past.
The future is here, but it's going too fast!

Inches by inches. Inches grow to a mile.
A mile down the road and you can rest for a while.
But inches by inches are inches off course.
Try to rally like an unstoppable force!
And I take the backseat while my driver is blind.
On a one way street, we cross the middle line.

Crash at the junction with mere inches to go.
The fury's building up and then you explode!

Catastrophe!
Mistakes! Mistakes!
I free myself!

Wait. Wait for the next catastrophe to come.
To place to hide. We die so come and get some.
Belong to a unit. A place you call home.
Belong to another, or walk on alone.

Down the streets in an alley or up the avenue.
And regret your inability to start something new.
So you thought you could take it.
But you kept your head down.
Walking alone and find yourself amidst a ghost town.

Curiosity be killed by the light.
So quench your thirst, while there is still a night life.
Drunk in the back seat while your driver is blind.
On a one way street forget the middle line.

Your headlights are fading. You can't see in the dark.
Your taillights are faulty. And now you're throwing sparks.

Crash at the junction with mere inches to go.
The fury's building up and then you explode!

Catastrophe!
Mistakes! Mistakes!
I free myself!

Catastrophe!
Mistakes! Mistakes!
I free myself!

Catastrophe!
Mistakes! Mistakes!
I free myself!

(Armen)

INRI prepares Themed Launch Party @ Home Club!

2008-07-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

To kick start it all at Home with the help of the Beat! trio, Ginette, Joe and George.

It's going to be a night of decadence and wicked fun when INRI studio joins forces with Beat! for a themed night party @ Home Club. It's going to be christened the TZAINTES NOT DEAD Party in tribute to the spirit in which e'TZAINTES was made in 1999 - a film about the underdog made in the spirit of the underdog... by teenage amateurs... in true guerilla fashion.

Back then, we're just ordinary 19 year old teenagers who refused to be put down by what we do not know and cannot do. With neither technical experience nor professional knowledge, we wanted to make a film ... and honestly, it's is our reckless-ness, stupidity and ignorance about the whole filmmaking affair that got us this far.

This TZAINTES NOT DEAD party will mark the launch of the [e'TZAINTES] + A WICKED TALE screenings at Sinema Old School. Celebrating the spirit in which the films were made, with a salute to punk, goth, glam, rock!

Be ready for a wicked and decadent Friday night next month on August 15.
Set to be curated by the illustrious Beat!

"We don't need no education" - e' Tzaintes soundtrack online release (part 1)

2008-07-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Download the first track of e' Tzaintes soundtrack online release here:

http://www.inristudio.com/writing/anotherbrickinthewall.mp3

The unadulterated version of Another Brick on the Wall, a Pink Floyd cover by Ubermench (now known as The House of Anonymous) featuring Wesley Choo and Bernie Chia (E.P.I.C.).

-------------------------------

I remembered back in 1997, a lecturer of mine gave a comment to the class about the MTV culture:

"The eyes are the windows to the soul. Music soothes the savage beast. MTV combines these two philosophies as a package for the senses".

It is with this philosophical culture that we created what we created: Tzang serves his pallette of artistry through his stories, told through the visual/verbal canvas that is his films. As the music producer of INRI Studio, I support his art through my own form of expression: music. You can see (or in this case, hear) my contributions in the two films of INRI Studio, in which I was the executive music producer for both films.

Apart from that, I founded and spearheads my own personal musical/artistic front: The House of anonymous, which gave me a chance to express myself through my art, and the opportunity to work with some of the most talented individuals in the local music scene.

But as with any story, there is always the humble beginning.

It was at a time when we were neck deep in the editing for e' Tzaintes. It was also the time that I had only started dabbling into audio editing, prior to shooting the film, so my knowledge and skills with music was amateur at best. It was then that Tzang introduced me the song that sets the direction to the music of e' Tzaintes: Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall.

The ambient-like instrumental soundscape, as well as the lyrical words of rebel energy, and the massive chant of children singing, "We don't need no education" truly captured the essence of what we wanted Tzaintes to be. I was inspired. I started working on something, mucking about through trial and error, using softwares that are freely available over the net. I didn't quite know what to make of it at first (again, I had never actually produced an actual musical track before), but I knew at the back of my mind I had one purpose: to make a cover of this, or perhaps pull of something similar.

Through that trial and error method, I managed to create a synth based loop, and started building up layers from there, adding synth drum tracks to the synth loop and laying a rough vocal recording on top of it. But it still had missing ingredients in it, so Tzang introduced me to Wesley Teo, former bassist for the band Optical Brothers/current E.P.I.C.

Fast forward a weeks later, and Wesley and I were laying down the bass and guitar tracks for our Pink Floyd cover. We also enlisted the help of Optical Brothers/E.P.I.C's lead guitarist, Bernie, for all the driven guitar and lead guitar works. After which I had the separate tracks remixed again, which saw the finished production of our cover of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2).

It was never put into the actual film, of course, because of copyrights, but it did set off a momentum for the next two tracks that will become the first original tracks by INRI studio: Catastrophe and Streaks.

What made this track an important part of the whole scheme of things was that it is produced in the same vibe as e'Tzaintes (as how Catastrophe and Streaks was done): without technical knowledge, without experience, without budget, but with a whole lot of spirit.

And today... INRI Studio is sharing this experience with you.

We have decided to have an online release the three tracks of e'Tzaintes to commemorate the upcoming double-screening on August 16 at Sinema Old School. These tracks will be release one by one, over the period leading up to the screening. We decided not to clean up the mixing for the tracks, because that would only destroy the character that makes these tracks special to us, so we are presenting them to you in their unadulterated form.

For those who have been there since day one, this is our way to thank you for your support.

For those who just knew about us, welcome to the madness and magic that is INRI.

Yours truly,
Armen
Co-founder, music and audio experimentalist

The Double Screening of [e'TZAINTES] + A WICKED TALE!

2008-07-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

INRI studio is proud to finally announce that [e’TZAINTES] and A WICKED TALE - are making their re-entry back to home country Sin’gapore. and it's going to be screened as a Double Bill at Sinema Old School. Tickets available from August 16. Some of you might know about these two films. A full house world premiere, a gold remi award in Houston, sell out underground screenings and a closing night slot at the notorious FanTasia Fest.

But accolades doesn’t mean shit (to us as an artists)... if people in our own home country know nothing about our work. This is the homecoming of both these films. And this is 'the run' that we've been waiting for. Forget DVDs. Forget downloads. This run is your chance to catch it on the big screen.

Mark that date! Tell your friends and buy a ticket when the time comes!

These films will change your perception of what Singapore films are all about. Check out http://www.inristudio.com/ for details.

We've been silent for too long...

Be seduced...

A WICKED TALE now available in the international market

2008-07-11T04:36:00.000-07:00

It's the 'second coming' that internet people have been anticipating... and i'm glad that they don't have to wait that long. The link is here. You have to see it for yourself.
http://www.amazon.com/WICKED-TALE-Evelyn-Maria-Ng/dp/B0018C6RPQ/

With the running out of original first edition, and it being unable for the longest time, A WICKED TALE is now being re-released on DVD!

Once again, it's the word of mouth that got this opportunity happening. Curious people from all over the world has chanced upon AWT upon its first release... or while it is travelling at the festival circuit, and am I glad that - of this handful who watched it and got surprised, more get to know about it.

That's the perfect advertising in my opinion. The germinating and multiplying of opinions... good or bad. Your willingness to spread the word and poison more minds... because you just bring yourself to suffer alone. Hehe... maybe i'm exagerating. But still... i want to say thanks. Just not too long ago, (even now), I'm exactly like that - with my movie selection habits.

Most of the films I fell in love with were not introduced through advertising, but discovered because 1) I was curious, 2) because it was recommended by friends... who chanced upon it because they were curious.

So thank you for being curious. I'm glad that the title/artwork has intrigued you enough .... to make you put money out to buy it. And thank you to the people who emailed to tell me that they felt rewarded... ie. not disappointed... it's rewarding for me to hear from you too.

Curiosity is sexual. Curiosity rewards... both ways. This wickedness cannot sit alone. It must be shared. To all who like to seek and discover strange little films in weird little corners, I dedicate this international edition is dedicated to you.

Get it before it sells itself out again. (Tzang M.)

I don't like Mondays

2008-07-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

It's a song that speaks to me every monday once upon a time. So catchy, so melodic, yet so deliciously dark. I realised many years later that the themes discussed in this song is so hauntingly familiar to the theme of my first film, e'TZAINTES.

It seems the idea of a kid coming to school with a gun to kill his classmates is not new. It's like flying in your sleep, dreaming of losing all your hair, fear of being castrated. It's a thought that exists inside the heads of some people, because it's the most natural fantasy to have, esp. when you're beaten up and troubled with no where to turn to... Nobody wants to feel weak. And sometimes the consequences are crazy. It's just a shame that some people choose to act out their fantasies in real life. Anyway, it's a nice song. Check this out.

Check out these links if you're into history...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Don't_Like_Mondays_(song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Ann_Spencer

Wickedness... not everybody can handle.

2008-06-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

It’s official. INRI studio is proud to announce that we’ll be collaborating with Sinema Old School to screen both our films, A Wicked Tale (2005) and e’Tzaintes (2003) at the Old School itself. And for the first time ever, it’s going to be screened as a double bill... All this is going to happen in August. How ironic... as a post National Day thing. That’s two films for the price of one ticket. This screening could not have come at a better time with our DVDs sold out, and the enthusiasm for both these films picking up in the myspace, youtube and amazon world. So we’re glad. It’s our offer to Singaporeans who find it absurd to buy a Made-in-Singapore DVD on Amazon. So this one’s for you.

Now the question. Is it too much? To put both A Wicked Tale and e’Tzaintes together? They are two very different, not to mention ‘heavy’ films. It’s going to be interesting to know what it’s like watching it back to back. Oh well… let’s just go ahead and see what comes out of it.

This is going to be the first time both films are screened as a run in Singapore. All our previous local screenings were ‘one-off’ festival showcases. There’s the legendary Singapore International Film Festival and Dave Chua’s really exciting Singapore Fantastic Film Festival. But the problem with one-day-screenings, is this ... No matter how good the response is, the film dies when the screenings over.

So I thank the forces-that-be for Sinema Old School. The vibe of the place is perfect for some INRI studio’s wickedness/ continuous wickedness/ make that, on-going wickedness. Kudos to the folks, Randy Ang and Nicholas Chee, and David as well, behind Sinema Old School. It’s a great concept and the place is perfect for something like A WICKED TALE and e’TZAINTES.

Talent Campus: Learning from the Masters

2008-06-16T01:43:00.000-07:00

2005. In the winter of Berlin. I was there. The glitz and glamour of the red carpet. The hundreds of filmmakers, writers, composers, actors and sound designers I meet in this short but memorable event. It was a privilege.

It is in this 3rd Berlinale Talent Campus, organised by the Berlin International Film Festival, that I had the luxury to attend master classes conducted by some of the most revered icons of the film industry in 2005.

Celebrated cinematographer Chris Doyle (Chungking Express, 2046, Hero) gives an awesome seminar on 'Painting with the Camera'. It was one of the most inspiring lectures. Chris talks about his working relationship with Wong Kar Wai (Happy Together), Penek (Last Life), Zhang Yimou (Hero), Fruit Chan (Dumplings) and his experience shooting stars like Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and Bai Ling. So cheeky, yet full of heart.

This maverick will charm you with his passion for photography and his understanding of light, colour, space, movement and time. If i remember correctly, he even edited a video of his mistakes for us, fans/students to see and learn, and know that even masters make mistakes they cannot forgive themselves for.

Emi Wada, renowned costume designer (Ran, Hero) in a forum about sets, costumes and production design. She was a young up-start when she worked with Akira Kurosawa for Ran, but went on to be a legend in her own right.

Sir Ridley Scott. (Director of Alien, Blade Runner, Hannibal, Gladiator) An enlightening master class detailing his experience on the set of Kingdom of Heaven, his sci-fi horror magnum opus, Alien, and how conversations about how he was a fan of George Lucas' Star Wars.

Japanese Actor Asano Tadanobu (Ichi the Killer, Zatoichi, Last Life in The Universe) in 'The Birth of Cool' seminar.

I managed to get him to autograph my Ichi the Killer DVD.

(Tzang M.)

Influences. Just some of the many

2008-06-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

Influences, They come from everywhere. music. art. philosophy. religion. culture.
Always good to pay tribute to the great minds that lead and inspire us to do the things we do.

I sometimes wonder what life would be like without inspiration. Everybody needs heroes.

The ancient Greeks have their gods and heroes, Heracles and friends. The Vikings, they have their folklore. The Chinese have legends, monkey gods and mythical beings. Heroes, we've today, they manifest as rock stars, athletics and comic book heroes. Here are some of the deities I consider my influences. Thought it would be fun to share. (Tzang M.)

They said it would never happen

2008-06-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

This is not a joke. It has happened. [e'TZAINTES] giving self deceit a better name, the little underground film we did in 1999 is now available to the world on Amazon.com

It's taken us 9 fuckin years ... but it paid of. This dream of mine, this little film we did, is now on DVD. It might be a low budget guerilla piece, a first-time epic, but it's now up there with Cry Baby, Blair Witch Project, Reservoir Dogs, El Mariachi, Evil Dead, The Idiots and Killers (1996) in the DVD market.

To all the friends we found through [e'TZAINTES], through our film festival runs, through our underground screenings, through our myspace page --- from Berlin to Montreal, Argentina to Tel Aviv, Florida to Berlin, China to Mexico, THIS DVD RELEASE IS DEDICATED TO YOU.

You no longer need to try to download it, or seed it on torrent. You no longer need to wait for another screening. DVD's out now. Because you demanded it, and it happened. Thank you.

NOTHING STOPS UNKNOWN FILMS FROM REACHING
UNKNOWN PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD!

And e'TZAINTES is the testament to that.

Innocence can be a scary thing

2008-06-01T03:13:00.000-07:00

Why did I make A WICKED TALE?

It's a frequent question. I guess, it's because of something i wanted to say... something about innocence, seduction and manipulation... and i thought it's best said through film.

Little Red Riding Hood has always been a special fairytale to me. It was one of the first stories I fell in love with. I have many questions that are unanswered about Lil' Red when I was a kid. Questions I was too young to ask ... let alone answer. Why did this little girl stop to talk to the stranger? Didn't the mother already warn her? Or did warning make her more curious about the unknown and the forbidden? Are little girls turned on by danger? Is she aware of her attractiveness (sexuality)? Did she unconsciously try to seduce the wolf?

As i venture into adult hood, I noticed similar themes tackled in other stories. Bram Stoker's Dracula. Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita. Girls who allowed themselves to be seduced... to see how far their monsters will go before they try to exit... but usually fail when they do so. I start to call it the Little Red Riding Hood syndrome.

After the rowdy e'TZAINTES chapter, I thought I should do something different. Something that is not funny. Something psychological rather than philosophical. Something internal. Something that cannot be discussed easily, because of how personal the themes are. It's a great challenge for me. to try to operate and succeed on two levels, visually and psychologically. It is a film that will let me know if I am the storyteller I think I am.

As my co-director/producer, Selvam Dass, puts it, A WICKED TALE is a film about 'the extremities of the human psyche'. He didn't like the story when i first told it to him. He thought it was too dark. I can even say he was 'put off', because he didn't talk to me for 4 days after that. But we met again and he decided to do it with me, anyway. He sees the strong reaction he gets from the story as a reason for him to work on the film.

And thus, A WICKED TALE was born. (Tzang M.)

The Struggle behind e'TZAINTES

2008-06-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

.Sweet Dreams are made of these.

The year was 1999. We started with big dreams. The producers, Lee Amizadai, Rizal Rahman and Tzang Merwyn, had hoped to make an independent film of some a kind of cult status, probably the first of its kind in little Singapore. A story which teenagers can relate to. A movie about an underdog’s ‘triumph’ over the oppressive elements of copy culture.

None of us are proficiently well versed in the technical knowledge and professional experience onfilmmaking. However, we do not want to be put down by what we do not know or cannot do. We wanted to see how far we could go. We wanted to make a movie with the raw-ness and brashness of the young and the restless.

We wanted to have the opportunity to experience for ourselves as well as all the people involved, in the making a film which they would be proud to be part of. Clichéd though it seems, but we wanted to do the ‘impossible’ - to make a no-budget film. We figured that the brashness camera handling and technical inconsistencies of this film could be a ‘style’ since [e’Tzaintes] is a film about the teenager. The world of an ostracised youth is often filled with perceived imperfection, impulsiveness, irrational behaviour, distractions and embarrassing difficult situations. Wewanted to show that with the way the imagery is captured.

.Lights, Camera, Action … wow.

As soon as it began, everything was chaos. However we like to see it as a ‘good’ chaos, the kind with creativity dangerously exploding everywhere. There were so many people (people that we do not even know) turning up to be part of the film. They had heard about this project from the web and through word-of-mouth. Many of our cast members had their own interpretations of the characters they are playing and their own perceived motivations. After some thought we decided to be adventurous and gave them the free play to build their own characters the way they like, includes tailoring their lines to suit the character.

We could not find the right person to play Wynn Low and W. Ashe Faeke. Wesley Teo who only wanted to be our on-site photographer was pulled in on the first day of filming to play ‘Wynn Low’. Tzang Merwyn, who is suppose to direct the movie has to fill in the acting shoes of W. Ashe Faeke at the last minute. Both had no prior acting experience. Lee Amizadai is already the camera person and Rizal Rahman had to play the Backside Boy 2. Thus the film was made without a director.

There were countless of problems given such an enormous cast and a small crew. We do not have a set manger or director to keep everything in check. The two camerapersons, Lee Amizadai and Karan Low had to double up as cinematographers and directors of photography. They had no storyboard to follow through so shooting was by instinct with both cameras operating at the same time. There was no boom operator; the boom was handled by any extra who was free at that point of time. Given the constraints, the crew (what was left of it) put in their best effort, and managed to deliver better than expected footages.

The cast however was tremendously supportive. Many brought with them their own props, costumes and make up to share with everyone else. We just told them what was going to happen in the particular scene and how it was going to be shot. Independently, they put on theirnew personas and had fun. Most of them had no experience in acting but their ability to relate tothe character which was cast for them shows quite well on tape. On many occasions also, we had to use the same extra in different clothes playing different roles for the same scene. We need to do that to create the very busy, vibrant and colourful atmosphere of Faeryville.
Such was the creative chaos started our fire burning.

.Along came the money.

The funding from the Singapore Film Commission could not have came at a better time. Not only did the funding provide the needed monetary support, (perhaps more importantly) it boosted the moral of the producers. We realise that we are not working for nothing now. There is an organisation that was supporting us to make this dream a reality properly.

We drew out a plan with the new budget that we had. We plan to keep the rawness of the initial production but put it together in a presentable package with the wonders of editing. It was only half of the $5000 contracted, thus we had to rely on someone to lend us the rest of the money first.

We proceeded to purchase the required hardware for our editing system. It took a while for us to put together an editing system because of the lack of funds. We eventually found a person who could lend us a sum of money to put the system together.

Because of the number of footages we have gathered in the three weeks from a very disorganised no-holds-barred shooting, scenes have to be painstakingly logged and re-organised. Editing was delayed for a while when the one of the producers Lee Amizadai went overseas for a social visit. The other producers then take turns to come to the place where the system is left and continued from there. However their time for such was limited because of National Service.

.Down came the rain, and wash the spider out.

A tsunami of problems emerged when we were given a short notice to pay back all the money that we owed for the editing system . Rizal Rahman and Tzang Merwyn were still in National Service. Lee Amizadai has no choice but to take a day job. This delayed the production even further. Together with the meager sum of money that the two NSFs can earn per month, we struggled to pay our debts by installments.
For the next six months, the producers literally lived in poverty, ill health and lack of social life, trying to complete the madness that we have started. Despite that, it is amazing how we still believed in this project, how we are putting our very best each time we work to salvage the brash footage and bad sound we had with editing. We also know that we had the cast of forty odd people to answer to. Its amazing how these people are still looking forward to see the movie when it is out.

. Welcome to the END
The REVOLUTION BEGINS today.

After a gruelling two years and three months, [e’Tzaintes] was finally completed. The wonders ofediting, complementing animation and sound sfx has helped to put the raw footages we shot into a presentable package. We, the producers, the very people that once thought that they could fly without wings have landed gently down to earth, worse for wear, but still breathing. That flight was good while it lasted; we had learnt a lot with this dream that got us trying. We saw the power of teenage creativity as we gliding and realise that there is only so high you can go, given the money, time and energy you have.

We are proud to have survived the real world of film-making. We were proud to have tried and notallowing ourselves to be put down by what we do not know or cannot do.
This is INRI studio’s first major production. We hope for more to come.

Written by Tzang Merwyn Tong
in Oct, 2001 when editing was first completed.

Meet Our Friends.

2008-05-28T02:27:00.000-07:00

Meet Our Friends. Ah Hock. Toilet Duck and W. Ashe Faeke. More images at myspace.com/tzaintesmovie

Shot in 3 Weeks. 18 Hours of Footage. 40 people in the Cast. Only 3 in the Crew. No Budget. No Technical Experience. Lousy Acting. Bad Sound. 1 Script. No Director. This is No Holds Barred Amateur Filmmaking. This is the Spirit of the Underdog. This is [e'TZAINTES]

[e'TZAINTES] giving self deceit a better name. Pronounced as The Saints. but that's just the official pronunciation. [e'Tzaintes] is one of those titles that you can pronounced it any way
you wish.

* * *
"INSANE ... WONDERFULLY THEATRICAL, BIZARRELY BAROQUE..."
-- FiRST magazine

"... LACK OF EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS FUNDS, DID NOT STOP THEM..."
-- Life!, Straits Times

"EMBELLISHES, COMPLICATES AND PROVOKES,"
-- Adrian Tan, author of the best seller, The Teenage Textbook

"VERY BALLSY ... "
-- CheeK, Director of Chicken Rice War

"WELL, IT DID MAKE IT... "-- WORLDFEST Houston

The Substation was there when it happened

2008-05-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

It was our very first underground screening. An unofficial private screening on 26 October 2001. Just a few weeks after September 11, I remember. In a classroom of the legendary Substation in Singapore, we played the first edit of [e'TZAINTES] using a VCD player on TV. The version of [e'TZAINTES] we screened that night had really bad sound. We even used copyrighted music for the film. Rage Against the Machine / Marilyn Manson, and screened a video footage of Amizadai (in Australia) saying hi to the audience. for this, we invited cast, crew and friends, who in turn invited their friends. We sold T-shirts.

The screening was packed. Many people came and there's no way everybody could fit into this classroom to crowd around a TV. The audience made it happen. They started stacking chairs.

So that more people could come in and sit on the floor. It was amazing. You can see in the picture that the classroom was really stuffy, but the people who came didn't mind. That was the spirit.

Jaki (@ashangel), Keith (shade), Tzang, Wolf and soon-to-be-warrior musician Armen.

Giving a speech before the show.
To mark the end of two years of work, I shaved my head.

A packed classroom @ The Substation from once upon a time, with folks overcrowding and choosing to sit on the floor.

The angels and the saintes - Armen, Tzang, Sukaimi and the remarkable Richard (Ah Hock). October 2001.

No sense of What a Budget is

2008-05-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

.These Gardenia mascots are working to raise money for their films. Please support them by buying a copy of their DVD on Amazon.com

I remember the day we finished our first edit of [e'TZAINTES], which is also our very first film. It was surreal. I was looking at Armen by the editing system. "It's done?"2 years of our lives had just flashed past us. Amizadai was in Australia. Editing her bits in australia, while she's studying and workin part time, I think. Armen and myself were in National Service, using our NS pay to feed ourselves and our passion. I was doing freelance (ontop of some mascot work) to help pay for the things we need to buy. "Is there life after e'TZAINTES?" I asked Armen. He looked at me and said, "Dude, I need to catch the last bus." Frantically, he grab his bag and off he went, at 11.45pm, out the door, down the stairs, onto the road, across the bridge, to catch his last bus... a bus he MUST catch, becoz he had no money for cab fare.

That's how it was for us as teenagers working on this epic b-grade project. Putting everything we have into it. Working on something think we can do, with no sense of what a budget is. Truth is, we never treated [e'TZAINTES] like it was a mindless artsy fartsy short film to be made so that it can be screened in artsy festivals and earn us some artsy cred. WE BELIEVED IN IT. We believed it was something bigger than ourselves, because of how it turned out, how we got 30 people we do not know on set to pull this through. How we got people who want to see it work come to us with their own lines, own ideas, own costumes and own props to help make this film bigger than it is. That chaos... that madness .... and that excitement... and that high... is enough for us to keep going... After 3 weeks of shooting, with the boys being sent to NS to have their hair chopped off.... and the raw tapes in our hands. The pressure from the faith that the cast and crew had in us, to want to know how the film will turn out .... we told ourselves.... we have to get it made... by whatever means possible.

It was crazy. because we were amateurs. wannabes with illusions of grandeur but no experience and no knowledge in filmmaking and production. We were young, reckless and stupid... or should i say ignorant. Ignorance is what got us this far. Ignorance allowed us to move on not knowing what's coming our way. Ignorance gives us the will to not to be put down by what we do not know and cannot do. It was our coming of age film. It was a film that we grew up to. It was what it was. [e'TZAINTES]

Tzang M.

Nothing's ever complete

2008-05-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

From the makers of A WICKED TALE and e'TZAINTES, comes a blog (yes, a blog) - which we do not know how long it'll last. fuck that. It will last as long as it's meant to last. This is where we've arrived and this is how the story continues.

Things I can already see about this new mode of communication that is gonna be exciting. Nothing's ever complete in the world of blogs, unlike films, music and other works of art. it's changed the way the world sees itself. There's no last act, no last say. Because there'll always be another comment. another feedback. and another new entry. It goes on, the way life does.

Nice. Let it all begin.