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.