A salute to local showbiz
I cannot stress enough how I love a good movie. I am fortunate to be in an industry where I can be involved in the making of stories. Maybe the neurotic part of me needed this as well.
It is no secret that the local show business has been under a lot of pressure to achieve greater heights, with the increasing expectations of local audience and competition from fellow film makers. The short history of local showbiz, limited demand, budgets, time constraints hinder the works of the team in so many ways.
But the thing about show people is that we have an innate interest in life. What I mean is, show people see life from a third person’s point of view. We recreate them for the screen. And I don’t mean just the actors, but everyone in the team… the script writers, camera crew, directors, editors, and eventually we transfer this interest to the audience.
During lunch breaks, or as and when we have a chance to bump into experienced seniors, there will always be fruitful discussions about the artistry. In a rare occasion, I had the privilege to talk to a respected and solemn director. He told me he watched a Korean film and was touched by how well it was made. He kept thinking about what he could do to produce such works.
I was impressed by the humility he showed despite his seniority and the zest to improve his artistry. I felt really hopeful then. Immediately, I had recollections of how in school, we would watch a documentary and have a class discussion over it.
There could be a movie night once a month or something and we can have a discussion of the movie over a light buffet dinner. All involved in the drama production should be invited.
Every profession has a role to play in the society. Drama producers (in all departments) are artists, responsible to document the memories, social state of our generation. It is not just pride we should have in our works, but honor.
