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Then I came across something that talked about the Karayuki-Sans in Singapore.

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So I was like, what's that?

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And then, Karayuki-San.

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So, it's a Japanese prostitute.

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Oh.

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Ooh.

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Hi everyone, and welcome to this episode of the Chris Hansen Conversation.

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I have someone with me right now, but before I introduce my guest in the studio,

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I would like to say a very, very big thank you for these little munchkins again.

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I tell you, I just love this.

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I tell you, I'm going to get fatter and fatter and fatter because of these little munchkins.

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They're called vades, and they're from Gordon's Vades.

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And I'd like to thank you Gordon's Vades, especially Vijay, for picking the trip all the time

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before we start the shoot in the studio.

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For really, these little nuggets of absolute, crispiest, fluffiest vades in the whole damn country.

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And it comes with these little, little spicy ones too.

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The cheese is great as well as the prawn vades.

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So, make sure it's on the screen.

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Make sure you call that number or WhatsApp that number or get online

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and get you some of these from Gordon's Vades.

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Thanks again, guys. Thanks, Vijay.

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And now back to the show.

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And in this episode, I got someone really, really special.

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Initially, you know, I wanted him to come on the show because I wanted to be part of the fray

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where Estee was involved.

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Then Mothership wrote an article about him.

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And then I discovered as I was doing my research,

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I discovered that this guy is more than just about that story.

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We'll come to the story in a bit.

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But I've discovered that this guy is an award-winning author, a playwright, a filmmaker,

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and an educator, a performer, and you know, and I realized, my goodness,

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I got myself a gem in the studio.

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It's not just about what he did.

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And I'm going to tell you now, what he did was this guy collects artifacts.

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And then he found some from, you know, that came from the era of the World War II era in Europe.

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And then he found some artifacts and he returned it 6,000, what was it, 6,000 kilometers away.

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And he actually found the people, the families of these artifacts,

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the person that owned these artifacts.

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He found the families and he returned it to them.

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And I wanted him in the studio for that purpose.

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And I really discovered, my goodness, this guy's a raw talent.

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He's absolutely talented.

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And he's here with me and welcome to the studio, Wesley Leon Arzoo.

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Thank you so much, Chris. Thank you so much for your kind words.

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Did I get it all right?

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You returned the artifacts to the families upon which these artifacts belong to someone,

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a family member, an ancestor?

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Yes, the person's son.

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Oh, the person's son. Wow.

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And that son is no longer around?

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The son is around.

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Oh, the father owned it. Okay, okay. I was wondering.

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Sorry about that. Brain's not working.

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Okay, so, you know, honestly, I remember what I said.

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I wanted you in the studio for that story.

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Then I discovered more things about you.

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I mean, dude, you write, you teach media, right?

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Script writing.

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You've done a film that has had so much accolades, isn't it?

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Don't be modest, man. Don't be modest. Come on.

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And, you know, I thought, my goodness, there's more to this guy than just that story.

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So let's start from the top.

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Author, playwright, filmmaker, educator, performer.

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So which one of these came first for you?

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It was filmmaking, actually.

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So it actually started when I was just in like primary four or five.

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No way, dude. That's nine, that's ten, eleven years old.

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Yeah, a really long time.

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Not by chance because it's actually quite an interesting story.

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So me and my sister, we were eating Kinderberino chocolates.

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And then the competition, there was a competition,

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and the first prize was to go to Disneyland in America, I think.

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So we were like, oh my gosh, we got to win first prize.

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So we ate the chocolates, entered the competition,

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we drew the little letters and stuff like that.

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And then we didn't win first prize, but we won second prize,

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which was a Sony Hi8 Handycam.

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Okay.

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Yeah, and then since then, I mean, me and my sister had a camera there.

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We were playing at home, making films with each other,

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some funny stories, coming up with funny characters.

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And then I think it was from there that I realized,

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hey, actually I kind of like doing this.

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And when it came after all levels,

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I had to choose which polytechnic to go to,

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I then chose, okay, maybe I can try filmmaking in poly.

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And that's how my journey kind of started.

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Wait a second. Filmmaking in poly. Which poly was this?

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This was the Mastiff Poly.

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Ah, okay.

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Filmmaking in poly, because back in my day,

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there was no such thing.

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So you got to be really kind of young.

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I think back then, even there were only like maybe two or three

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courses in Singapore that did filmmaking.

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There's one in Nian, Tumasik Poly at the time.

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But nowadays there's like so many more.

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Yeah, nowadays.

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So, okay, how young are you, man?

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Sorry?

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How young are you now?

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Now I'm 38.

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Okay, don't be shy.

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Nothing to be shy about. I'm 53, nothing to hide.

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Okay. So yeah, okay.

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So you went into Tumasik Poly and you went into filmmaking.

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What happened next?

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I was doing films, having a lot of fun.

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And then of course, I went to National Service.

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And after that was done, then I decided to continue filmmaking.

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Not a very exciting journey, but basically I went back to

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film school to do my degree.

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And I just, for me, while doing films in school,

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I think it was during the holidays, like school holidays.

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That's the period where I would do film projects with my friends.

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And then with the films, we would submit to festivals or

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screenings in Singapore, et cetera.

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And that's what I did for like many, many years, really.

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Did you find that when you got a Handycam when you were,

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what, 10, 11 years old, did you find that you had an innate talent for it?

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Or did you have to work hard at it eventually as the years went by?

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And you went into Polytechnic and then, you know,

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did you find that you were natural, these sort of things?

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I think I generally like to tell stories.

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So when we were playing with Handycam, it wasn't just, oh,

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filming the hamster running in the cage,

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but it was filming a story, a story that me and my sister would make up.

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So I think from young, I love telling stories.

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I think I was, I wouldn't say I was like,

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perfectly good at it, but I was very interested in it.

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And I think since young, when I would play with my toys,

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it's actually the same thing when you're moving your toys around

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and they're all acting, it's a bigger thing.

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It's actually, yeah, so I think it all came from that really.

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And my dad's a big movie buff.

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He watches TV all day long, so I think that had an influence as well.

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So do you owe any of these to anyone?

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I wouldn't say the skill sets, but I think when you go into filmmaking

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or you go into anything that's arts-related,

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having the support of your parents does play a huge role.

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So because if the parents are not supportive,

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then you might detour and go to science, right?

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And you might forget about your arts thing.

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But my parents were very supportive,

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so I think that helped a great deal for me to like,

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okay, continue this journey and see where it goes.

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I think for many people, they never had the opportunity to even see like,

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oh, where would this go?

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It just kind of stopped there as a hobby.

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But for you, you were well supported by your folks, right?

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How about you teach? Where do you teach now?

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I teach at LaSalle.

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And you're teaching?

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I teach in the film programs. I teach screenwriting and documentaries.

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Do you find that today, the kids that you're teaching,

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or the kids you have been teaching as well,

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do they have that kind of support from home?

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Because this is nothing like being a doctor or going to be a lawyer

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or going to be an engineer. It's film, right?

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So do you hear any feedback coming back from these kids about

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how much support they get from home?

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I think between me and my students,

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we have like a 20-year age gap.

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So I studied 20 years ago. They are studying now.

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So the biggest difference is that nowadays,

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it's a lot easier to study arts,

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where it's a lot more accepted, a lot more courses.

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Parents can see like, okay, my kid's going to be fine.

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They can get a job and they'll be fine.

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So for them, I noticed that they don't have as much of that stress

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or lack of support from their parents.

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But as compared to other fields, we are still way, way miles off.

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So some students still feel the pressure

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because it may not come from the parents,

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but if you go CNY visiting and then your relatives ask,

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what do you study? Film. What? What's that?

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So that pressure can come from there as well.

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I think people who do that kind of shit,

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it's real fucking sad. Why?

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Because if I were a kid today,

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and one of these students that you just mentioned,

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someone, a relation or relations would make mention like,

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why are you doing this kind of things?

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It's so discouraging, isn't it?

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But then again, then again, that being said,

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your guy that's been doing this for how long?

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Sorry?

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Someone being a filmmaker,

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for how long already have you been doing this?

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Besides teaching, you're in the field, you're in the industry.

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About 20 years.

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20 years, okay.

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For a guy that's been in it for 20 years,

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I'm going to throw this at you then.

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When people ask kids these sort of questions,

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like why are you in media? Why are you in filmmaking?

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Why are you in film? Per se.

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Is there a future or not? Because Singapore is so small.

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Look, we've only got, how many big players do we have here, man?

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One.

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And if you are a picture company,

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you also look towards this one to commission you

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to do stuff for them.

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Documentaries, yada, yada, yada, yada, right?

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Which I'm sure you've had experiences with.

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And is there any truth that the young people today,

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should they go into filmmaking or not?

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I ask this question, practically on with a lot of my guests.

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Like, you know, is there, people who do interesting things,

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even if they're hobbies, but hobbies that earn money, okay?

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Would it be okay for the young person to go into this field?

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Like you've got students already on this course, right?

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If I were one of your students and you have this question coming from me,

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what would your answer be to them?

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So I think it depends. My answer to them would be,

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what do you rank higher in your life?

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So if something that's in the financial side of things,

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you want to earn a lot of money,

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then probably not to go into the arts because,

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unless you open your own production house,

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or maybe you get a really high position, then yeah, sure.

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But generally, I think when they did a survey of graduates from NTU,

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from all different courses,

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the arts related course was the last one in terms of when graduates come out,

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how much pay do they get?

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So it was last by a big gap from the first one.

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So if money is an issue, then probably not the best thing to take up.

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The other thing is that if you're also someone who needs that kind of encouragement

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for people to go, hey, no, you can do it, you can do it, you'll be fine,

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and you're still unsure, then maybe this may not be for you

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because if you're going in for the long run,

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you can't always depend on this kind of like encouragement and support.

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This is something you need to have in you because I want to do it.

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Self-motivated.

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Yeah, so it really requires a lot of that.

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Sometimes it may not come just then and that, say you're 17 years old,

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you may not have it yet, but it may grow over time,

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but usually there's something there that's kind of just...

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What do you mean? Something that you mean a seed?

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Yeah, correct.

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All right. But Wesley, what you just said, thank you so much for your candor.

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Let me just angle it this way.

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What would you think in your opinion, and by your experience,

244
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can be, should be perhaps done in the arts, for the arts perhaps even,

245
00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:51,400
to make sure the vibrancy is just going to grow and get bigger and better

246
00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:57,400
for young Singaporeans who really have a drive and a passion

247
00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,400
to get into this field of work?

248
00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:03,400
When you're thinking ought to be done, should be done, could be done,

249
00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,400
must be done, maybe, what do you think?

250
00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,400
We're definitely growing a lot.

251
00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:09,400
We are?

252
00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:10,400
So we have a lot of...

253
00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:12,400
Fuck me, I never realized that.

254
00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,400
I mean in comparison to like 20 years ago.

255
00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:18,400
Really? I thought we were doing more stuff back in 20 years.

256
00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,400
Pardon my puny brain, man.

257
00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,400
But we talked about 20 years ago, right?

258
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:29,400
We've had in the 70s, dude, come on, we had the Shaw Brothers here, man.

259
00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:35,400
We had in Sigalap, next to I think Ocean Park got a minimum is now,

260
00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:40,400
where Jackie's Bowl used to be, I think there was a movie studio there, right?

261
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:47,400
We had the silver screen people, Saloma, P. Ramlee, the Malay dramas, isn't it?

262
00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,400
Even though Sandy Waro is quite something.

263
00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:56,400
I mean, okay, I'm old, dude, I'm old.

264
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,400
Okay, older.

265
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,400
So I mean we've had so much happening then.

266
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:09,400
We even had our own, there's this action star, I can't remember her name, oh gosh,

267
00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:14,400
in the 70s and it's a female action star.

268
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:15,400
Cleopatra Wong?

269
00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,400
Cleopatra Wong, thank you so much.

270
00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,400
Talk to a film guy, he knows all this.

271
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,400
We even had the bionic boy, right?

272
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:23,400
Oh, I didn't know that.

273
00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:24,400
Yeah, we had, we had.

274
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,400
He was a St. Stephen's school boy.

275
00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,400
Johnson Yap, that was his name.

276
00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:34,400
He was older than me, I think by two or three years.

277
00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,400
When I got into school, I was in St. Stephen's and St. Pat's, right?

278
00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,400
So this guy was from the school.

279
00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,400
Johnson Yap was his name, right?

280
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:47,400
And his younger brother was in, was my batch, he was, and he's a whole Te Kwan Do exponent.

281
00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,400
And he became, he became, he had that one film, you know?

282
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:57,400
So I don't know, man, I mean, if you ask me, I think things were a lot more, hey,

283
00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,400
happening way back when.

284
00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:04,400
But compared to today, today, if we're talking about, when you say the arts,

285
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,400
I know this is where I'm at odds with things, about things here.

286
00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:16,400
I've always felt that there is, seem to be a separation between, let's have a debate about this,

287
00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,400
between the arts and entertainment.

288
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:21,400
Agree or disagree?

289
00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:27,400
Yes, so entertainment could be more leaning more towards something a little bit more commercial, perhaps.

290
00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,400
But arts could be something a bit more independent.

291
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,400
So if it's more independent or a bit more indie.

292
00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,400
So indie don't make money?

293
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:40,400
It may not make as much money, yeah, the venues they may be playing in may be so small.

294
00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,400
Yeah, so, yeah, those kind of things.

295
00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,400
So that's the problem, isn't it?

296
00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:50,400
It is. But in terms of like the arts, I think we are growing in other areas, for example, animation.

297
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:53,400
So we have a lot of big companies come in Singapore, like Ubisoft and stuff like that.

298
00:15:53,400 --> 00:16:00,400
But in terms of cinema, yeah, definitely we had a big, a kind of like a setback for quite a while.

299
00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:08,400
And I think because, I don't know, cinema costs so much money to make something where, I don't know,

300
00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,400
it's just a, it's a whole different thing.

301
00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:17,400
I think even if we have a Singaporean film in the cinemas here in Singapore, Golden Village or Kete or whichever,

302
00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:21,400
it's very different from, let's say, the cinemas in Japan.

303
00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:26,400
So cinemas in Japan, they have a quota of like, oh, how many local films can we show and how many international?

304
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,400
And with that, they are able to have more Japanese films.

305
00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:34,400
But in Singapore, there isn't that because Golden Village, Kete is a business, they're not arts organization.

306
00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,400
So if you have a Singapore film for a week and no one's watching it, they'll just cut it.

307
00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:42,400
You know how it sounds, what you just told me? I tell you how it sounds like, okay?

308
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:48,400
It sounds like, and we can both relate because I know we're fans of the same football club.

309
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,400
We've only just met. We've only just met and I found that out.

310
00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:58,400
And the problems that football club has is because it's got owners who's more interested in the commercial aspect of the club

311
00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:06,400
rather than the spirit and culture and pride and the history that came along with that club, right?

312
00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:07,400
Yeah.

313
00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:10,400
Yeah, it's about the freaking money, right? So right now it sounds like that.

314
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,400
So if that's the case, if the arts is all, okay, indie stuff, and it's not about making money,

315
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:24,400
then I tell you, there won't hardly be a future, wouldn't there? For the kids today that's on courses like yours.

316
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,400
There will be, but...

317
00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,400
They have to spread the wings, they've got to get out of Singapore and Singapore will never grow.

318
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,400
So what the fuck's happening with the arts in Singapore then?

319
00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:38,400
There will be, but it just may not be a route that has so much money involved.

320
00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:48,400
That's what I'm saying, man. But in Singapore, living, working, having children here, owning a piece of property,

321
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:52,400
sometimes I don't think we're given a choice, isn't it?

322
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:59,400
Depends on what kind of lifestyle we want, I guess, because I have a lot of friends who are musicians or artists.

323
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:00,400
Yeah, so do I.

324
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,400
And the lifestyle they have might be very different from a typical Singapore lifestyle,

325
00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,400
which means equals to like, oh, that person has made it in life, nice house, nice car, that kind of thing.

326
00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:15,400
But they might not even be interested in that, they're all fine living in a different lifestyle, spending a bit less.

327
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:23,400
Don't get me the wrong way, man. I am always a guy that loves musos, love people who are in the arts.

328
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:31,400
I'm a staunch supporter for all my friends. I'm an entertainer as well. I sing, I act, I do all kinds of...

329
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:39,400
Fuck you, you have my studio, yeah? So I'm asking these questions because these are the thoughts in my mind, in my opinion,

330
00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:46,400
that run through the heads of many Singaporean families and their kids who have passion for other things.

331
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:52,400
You know, I dread to think when a kid comes, I hope, you know, like my kid, I have a certain fear inside of me,

332
00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:57,400
that one day, but I know it's not going to happen, thank God for that, if he were to come to me and say,

333
00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:02,400
I want to be a painter, and I go, oh fuck.

334
00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:16,400
Because who the hell in Singapore is going to support that? I've got another friend, great artist, great, great really,

335
00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:29,400
with his pencil, also with spray, you know, and he's great, yeah, great. But he can't do that for a living, you know,

336
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:38,400
and it's sad, right? And guys like you, guys like me, you know, we understand the joy of these things, of the arts,

337
00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:44,400
and it irks me too when I hear a lot of young people today, now most of them are not that young,

338
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:54,400
and they go, what's the point of learning history? It's pointless. And I think it's so freaking sad, because why?

339
00:19:54,400 --> 00:20:00,400
It's got nothing to do with me, it's not going to teach me how to live my life moving forward. I say, you're fucking kidding me.

340
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:07,400
You live your life, well actually the world doesn't learn it as well either, you know.

341
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:16,400
I mean, wars that are happening, you know, all the strife and conflict and all the political discourse that's going on globally,

342
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:22,400
even world leaders are all brimming with freaking degrees, don't learn from history, you know,

343
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:29,400
and the things that's occurred in the past that you can look at, examine it, and make sure it doesn't happen again.

344
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:36,400
We don't learn, right? So it's really, really sad, it's more prevalent today that I don't need to learn literature,

345
00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:41,400
I don't need to learn history, it's pointless, it doesn't get me anywhere.

346
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:49,400
And I feel that it's really, really sad, because culturally, if we continue on this route, culturally we've lost it.

347
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:54,400
Yeah, I agree, especially in Singapore where things move so fast, right? So it's even more prevalent.

348
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:59,400
Yeah, you know, like I said to some of my muso friends who came in, you know, my previous talk shows,

349
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:08,400
and I've said this before and I'll say it again and I'll continue saying it, the moment a nation loses its music, it's lost its soul.

350
00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:18,400
So the concern I have is, if we have all the talent, guys you are teaching, guys and girls you're teaching,

351
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:26,400
and then there's not enough jobs out there, what are they going to do?

352
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:32,400
And then they go, hypothetically, they go away, they go to Australia, they go to the UK, they go to the US,

353
00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:42,400
and they have thousands more of people to compete against, and then we have that one gem, like Malaysia had Michelle Yeoh, right?

354
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:47,400
Every now and then, as a matter of fact, she's the first, it's not even every now and then,

355
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:53,400
and then Malaysia says, yay, we've got, you know, Dr. Michelle Yeoh and she's an Oscar winner.

356
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:58,400
And then we have someone like that in Singapore, and then we lost a talent.

357
00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:02,400
Now of course, the argument could be, we didn't lose a talent, that fellow Singaporean can't change the fact,

358
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:10,400
the guy's there and he's doing great, great, yeah, we applaud him, we should, but we didn't groom him here.

359
00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:16,400
You see where I'm coming from. So I think, and the next argument would be, come on Chris, come on,

360
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:24,400
it's, we're Singapore, it's just a tiny little place, what do you expect? But can we think out of the box?

361
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:31,400
Why do I do what I do? It's a tiny place, I'm not thinking about just Singapore, that's my point, right?

362
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:35,400
So where you're sitting right now, I'm thinking so much talking, you should be the one talking.

363
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:41,400
Where you're sitting right now, man, you know, based on the things you've just heard me say,

364
00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:47,400
what do you think, what should be done, what could be done?

365
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,400
Opinion, I threw a spanner, I know.

366
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:59,400
I think it's definitely tough, I think because of Singapore being so small, it does affect greatly for certain art forms.

367
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:07,400
For example, cinema, like filmmaking for the big screen, because our nation is not that many people,

368
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:14,400
so even if everyone went to watch the film, it still may not make back the money to some degree of how big the movie is.

369
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:19,400
So, which is why a lot of films that are made in Singapore, their target is not just Singapore,

370
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:24,400
but maybe it's Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, you're making like a Malay horror film.

371
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:28,400
That's your target because you want, that's the only way to recoup back your losses,

372
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:34,400
because if it's a Malay horror film and if every Malay speaking person went to watch in cinema in Singapore,

373
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,400
probably still can't make a profit, that's severe.

374
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:43,400
But that's for cinema kind of stuff, but it costs so much money to make.

375
00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,400
But for other art forms, like I don't know, I'm not so sure what's going on,

376
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:54,400
but definitely we could use a lot more help in the grant department.

377
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:58,400
So I have friends who are musicians where when they're applying for a grant,

378
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,400
and if they don't get a grant from a certain organization,

379
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,400
it means that they may not have enough money for the next two years,

380
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:10,400
because the grant will last them two years, and it means that, okay, they might stop playing music or just be done.

381
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,400
So, which I'm guessing a lot of artists may fall in that category of,

382
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,400
oh, they did not get a grant, they just can't continue,

383
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:21,400
because that grant actually helps them to create certain works and also give them some kind of,

384
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,400
I don't know, some kind of money to sustain a certain period of time.

385
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:27,400
You're talking about IMDA?

386
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,400
No, no, IMDA is friend.

387
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,400
So, yeah, but those kind of stuff does affect.

388
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:40,400
But again, I mean, we can't, I'm not sure what's going on in the organization,

389
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,400
but they can't support everyone who applies.

390
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:44,400
Sure, I've heard that before.

391
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:51,400
So what do you think young people today, freaking talented, come together,

392
00:24:51,400 --> 00:25:01,400
and they go, let's be enterprising, let's be entrepreneurs, and let's start from the ground up.

393
00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,400
You know Sandy Tan?

394
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:04,400
Yeah.

395
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:05,400
Hey, Sandy, shout out to you, Sandy.

396
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:07,400
I hope you're doing great in the US.

397
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:11,400
She's done great, but she had to get out of here.

398
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:12,400
With a book as well.

399
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,400
Yeah, I mean, very, very happy for her, really.

400
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,400
She's so passionate about this, yeah.

401
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:22,400
Sandy Tan is now thriving in the US.

402
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:27,400
But like I said, if we could do something out of Singapore,

403
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:33,400
plan produced out of Singapore by Singaporeans,

404
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:39,400
and we can film something that takes the world by storm, you know,

405
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:44,400
I think that's going to be great, and I don't see why we should lose sight of that.

406
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:51,400
I feel perhaps maybe people have just given up too easily or can't get the grant, you know,

407
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,400
and we're too over-reliant on grants.

408
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:59,400
If we can't get a job, then we create it for ourselves.

409
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:00,400
I don't know.

410
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:07,400
I mean, is there something missing today, maybe in courses like yours perhaps, you know,

411
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,400
and telling your students that, guys, tell you what, man,

412
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:15,400
think out of the box and start your own thing.

413
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:16,400
It's digital.

414
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,400
You don't need to have reels and reels of film anymore, right?

415
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,400
It's digital.

416
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,400
It's not that much more expensive.

417
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,400
It's digital, and I think it can still be done.

418
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,400
My take.

419
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,400
Anyway, I wasn't digressing, you know, whatever I've got planned,

420
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,400
because really it's something that's always been a heavy on my chest,

421
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:41,400
because when grants are offered to the arts community,

422
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:46,400
the issue I think people, you know, some segments of the people in the community

423
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:51,400
that got impacted are basically the musos.

424
00:26:51,400 --> 00:27:00,400
If music, and we've got great ones here, can be respected for what they do as professionals,

425
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,400
and they write their own original stuff, and then we get noticed.

426
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,400
I mean, wouldn't that be the bomb, really?

427
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,400
You know?

428
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:16,400
Pretty soon, the next episode, I'll be having the good people from an iconic band in Singapore.

429
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,400
They'll be here with me in the studio, and I'll be talking to them.

430
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,400
They wrote a fantastic song, and that song took the charts, man.

431
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:29,400
Guess what? One and only.

432
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:35,400
You know, and I'm asking myself, why?

433
00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,400
Why can't we go on doing stuff like this?

434
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:44,400
Back in the 80s, music was thriving in this country.

435
00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:49,400
Who was talking about grants then? No one.

436
00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:52,400
We were not, it was even a word that we don't even think about,

437
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:56,400
because we hardly hear about it, you know?

438
00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:58,400
So why, right?

439
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,400
But you did something.

440
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:07,400
You had this wonderful film called I Want to Go Home.

441
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:12,400
And that one had its world premiere at the Busan Film Fest,

442
00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:16,400
and nominated for the, let me, I hope I pronounce this right, the Messe Net Award?

443
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:18,400
I think so.

444
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,400
Hey, Kai, you can put that one up now, I Want to Go Home.

445
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:26,400
Yeah, that one. Yeah, here we go.

446
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:33,400
And ST said, I Want to Go Home will pull tears from even the most hardened soul.

447
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,400
Can you tell us a little bit more about I Want to Go Home?

448
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:43,400
Sure. So I Want to Go Home is the story of a man named Yasuo Takamatsu.

449
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:44,400
Japanese, huh?

450
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:50,400
He's a Japanese man, and he lives in Onagawa, Japan, which is on the western coast of Japan, not far from Fukushima.

451
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:55,400
So in 2011, when the tsunami hit Japan, he lost his wife.

452
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:56,400
Oh dear.

453
00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,400
And at that time, he was already in his 50s, but then he decided to take up scuba diving,

454
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:04,400
and he would search for his wife every week, so he'll dive and find for his wife.

455
00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:12,400
So when I read the story on the Daily Telegraph, I think in 2014, I was very inspired by him because I found him to be amazing.

456
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:18,400
This was a man who was diving in the sea, took up scuba diving at like 50 plus, and then dives in the sea to search for his wife.

457
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:19,400
Every day?

458
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:20,400
Every week.

459
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:26,400
And then most people would say to him, like, hey, Mr. Takamatsu, are you out of your mind?

460
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,400
You're obviously not going to find your wife.

461
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,400
But for me, I found, like, wow, this guy's amazing. I need to meet him.

462
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:40,400
So in 2015, I met him in Onagawa. I spent a week with him and then realized his story has a lot more than just that article that came and went in 2012 or so.

463
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:46,400
So I decided to write a book about him, and there was also a documentary.

464
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,400
It was actually just supposed to be a book.

465
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,400
We were talking about grants just now. So it was supposed to be a book.

466
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,400
And I was applying for grants for a book, but I did not get the grants.

467
00:29:55,400 --> 00:30:02,400
So until I was talking to an organization called Tokyo Film Ex in Japan, when I was doing a book.

468
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,400
I was part of a workshop, like, many years ago.

469
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:06,400
And every year, they would ask me, Wesley, what are you doing this year?

470
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:12,400
And so that year, in 2014, 2015, I told them, oh, I'm going up to Onagawa, actually into Japan to write a book about this guy.

471
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:18,400
And they're like, oh, you know, we actually can fund you if you do a documentary, then we can fund you the thing.

472
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:24,400
So I was like, oh, that's interesting. So in my mind, I'm thinking, if I do the documentary, I can then also write my book

473
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:29,400
because the funding is kind of the book funding I needed is to go there and meet him for a week.

474
00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,400
So because of that, I had to do a documentary because it was part of the funding.

475
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,400
Of course. Yes, of course. Yeah.

476
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,400
So I wrote the book. That was my priority. That's what I wanted to do.

477
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:47,400
Right. I also did the documentary. When I did the documentary, I brought my student up with me at the time because we didn't have enough budget.

478
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:52,400
Right. So we went to film and it was time to show the documentary.

479
00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:57,400
It was like an hour long because that was the requirement. And I felt like, OK, not to show up to the documentary.

480
00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:01,400
I think I'm going to put it on YouTube or stuff like that. That was my intention. OK.

481
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:05,400
I was thinking, oh, you know what? Maybe I'll just try and submit to some festival, see what happens.

482
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:11,400
So I submitted to Busan because that was the festival I always wanted to be in as a film student when I was a student.

483
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:16,400
So before doing this film, I was doing short films like all the time. So there's maybe like 12 or 13 short films.

484
00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,400
So every short film I have, I'll submit to the Busan Film Fest. I'll never get in.

485
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,400
So this time came where I had the film. I was like, OK, I'll just submit. Maybe because it was longer.

486
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:28,400
Yeah, it was. I'm only kidding. I'm not saying it's a sweet story. I think it's a sweet story.

487
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:36,400
Yeah. And then it was selected. And it's kind of interesting because now with the book and the documentary out, we have two versions of sharing his story.

488
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:44,400
Right. Just now, the year 2023, Mr. Takamatsu still dives in the sea every one to two weeks. He's already 65 or so.

489
00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:52,400
I still talk to him from time to time. But he's really happy now because he's now a grandfather.

490
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:59,400
So his daughter gave birth like two years ago. So he shares with me pictures of him and his grandson. So he looks happy.

491
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:05,400
I even eventually, I think my main thing was to find out why is he still diving? Why are you doing this?

492
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:13,400
So I can't put it too straightforward. So eventually I asked him and he said, I dive because that's the only way I can feel close to my wife.

493
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:26,400
And I kind of understood that. And I kind of, okay, you know, if that brings you some amount of closure to some degree, or you feel happy when you're underneath the water, feeling close to her. Sure.

494
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:35,400
Oh, man. Poignant story. So to this day, he still dives, hoping to find his wife.

495
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:39,400
This is going to go down into folklore for the next couple of hundred years, man.

496
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:45,400
Yeah, the guy who dives. Yeah, the guy who dives is like the dog. Oh gosh.

497
00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:54,400
Achigou. Thank you. Oh boy. Happens only in Japan. People and even animals are so loyal to each other. It's amazing, man.

498
00:32:54,400 --> 00:33:00,400
Yeah. Wow. So this is an interesting article. Kai, I don't know whether you put it up yet just now.

499
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:07,400
The LaSalle teacher gets his biggest break at Busan Film Fest 2017. Here we go, man. There you go.

500
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:18,400
Yeah. And yeah, it's I think it was a great idea. I mean, coming across the story of his and then, you know, filming it and all that. Wow. Wow.

501
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:27,400
So, what you call yourself, man? A Renaissance man?

502
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:32,400
Because that's what I'm naming this episode. That one with the Renaissance man.

503
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:45,400
I mean, I like to try different things. So, dude, I mean, come on, man. I mean, you write. You teach, you know, and it's the arts and the literary world that you are involved in.

504
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:52,400
Yeah. You do. You're a filmmaker. I mean, how can you not be a Renaissance man?

505
00:33:52,400 --> 00:34:05,400
On top of that, you know, you besides the film, right, that you've done, I want to go home. You also wrote a book that became the Singapore Book Prize winner.

506
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:17,400
And that is this one. I'm showing it because I just been gifted this from Wesley, the Pungkawala and the prostitute. Can you tell us a little bit more about this one?

507
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:24,400
Singapore Literature. I love the artwork, man. I feel like getting inked with this.

508
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:35,400
So, this one came about after I want to go home. So, when I finished it, I spent like two weeks in the library just reading poems by Sylvio Wong and just reading Singapore poetry.

509
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:41,400
Yeah. So, I was just doing that in the school library. And then next to the school library is next to the section of Singapore books on literature.

510
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:48,400
That was the Singapore books on history. So, as someone who is interested in history, I went over there and just flipped around.

511
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:59,400
And then I came across something that talked about the Karayuki-sans in Singapore. So, I was like, what's that? And then Karayuki-san. So, it's a Japanese prostitute.

512
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:06,400
Oh. Yeah. So, as I researched more about it, I realized, hey, how can I not have known I'm like at that time 35 or something?

513
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:12,400
How I have not known that we had Japanese prostitutes in Singapore for a very big period of time. From when to when?

514
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:20,400
At least from the 1850s to the 1910s. Really? Yeah. That's like... You mean this is pre-war? Yeah. Correct. Wow. Okay.

515
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:31,400
And that's a huge amount of like 60, 70 years considering Singapore is like 200 years or so. Right. So, and how come in school, in our history textbooks, we never really...

516
00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:39,400
Come on, dude....was not really like mentioned, right? Come on, man. I mean, it's like we don't talk about prostitutes in our school history textbooks. No damn way you'll be allowed.

517
00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:47,400
Yeah. But... Right....Bai Fail was so... It was important. Why? Why? Why was it important?

518
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:56,400
Because I think Singapore history is not just about, oh, British masters, successful immigrants who did this, did that, formed a big building. But everyone else who played a big part.

519
00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:06,400
So like our convict labourers who were here... Yeah, that one's in our history books. Yeah. Right. That one, the convict labourers like Cathedral of the Good Shepherd was built by them too.

520
00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:13,400
Should be, yeah. Their jail was just next to it. Was it? Yeah. Over SMU is where the jail is where they live every day. Holy crap. Really? Yeah.

521
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:27,400
Shit. In fact, there's still a tree there that one of the, supposedly one of the convict labourers planted as when he was a prisoner and the tree still resides in SMU. Hey, SMU students, your school is a prison.

522
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:36,400
Yeah. Let me guess, you think it's a prison still, right? Okay. Yeah. So the whole area is interesting. So I decided, oh, I would like to explore this story a little more. Yeah.

523
00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:49,400
But again, why was it important? I mean, don't skip the subject. You talked about Indian convicts, right? But why would something like this be important? I'm really seriously asking. I'm not trying to trap you.

524
00:36:49,400 --> 00:37:00,400
Sometimes people think I'm trying to trap. I'm not. I really want to understand. I want people who watch the show to understand why would that be important to me? As I said earlier, right?

525
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:09,400
Oh, history is not important. I don't know anything about me. I mean bollocks. You know, I don't hear it from you. It's important because so along Middle Road was actually known as Little Japan.

526
00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:17,400
So this wasn't just. It was? It was called Little Japan, like a little India Chinatown. We actually had a Little Japan, which will still be around if things went differently.

527
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:33,400
But so over there is not just Khariki Sands. We had a big Japanese community in Singapore, actually. So there were tailor shops, carpentry shops, dentists. They were all there. Like, I can't imagine like a mini little India.

528
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:44,400
Middle Road. Yeah. The whole stretch. Wow. Wow. So the Khariki Sands were there. In fact, the brothel is right at where Bukis Junction is today.

529
00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:52,400
The facade of Bukis Junction, they kept all the shop house. That is the brothel, which we don't know. So people are shopping under armor, buying their clothes. Wow, nice.

530
00:37:52,400 --> 00:38:05,400
But you're talking about Bukis Street, that whole stretch where the. Yeah, Bukis Junction itself. Bukis Junction itself. Oh, you mean the shopping mall where they had the air conditioning walkway? Yes. That was. That is the brothel.

531
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:15,400
Oh, yeah. Which nobody knows because there's never going to be a signage that says Khariki Sands is to stay here. And people are like, what? Bukis Junction. You all were a brothel before, no? Okay. Yeah.

532
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:29,400
The good thing about that is that they managed to keep the architecture there still. So that's great. I applaud them for keeping it. It could have been easily gone. Yeah, okay. Yeah, but still there. Minus the red lanterns. Minus the red lanterns. Yeah.

533
00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:44,400
Cool. So, okay. So maybe that's the reason why that was a Japanese red light district that then you had Bukis Street across, right? And it became our infamous Bukis Street back in the 60s, 70s.

534
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:56,400
And wow, I'm not talking about the time when Kuma was there for boom, boom, boom. Yeah, I'm talking about way before that. Maybe that's why, maybe because the influence all seemed to be congregating around there.

535
00:38:56,400 --> 00:39:08,400
Maybe, maybe. I mean, there's a big gap in between. Yeah, definitely. Big gap. I don't know, man. Maybe that place is meant to be. Okay. Vibe, vibe. But today, no. There's no vibe there for this. I know that.

536
00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:22,400
So what's the story about for this one? It's about two characters. One is a girl called Oseki who is sent from Japan who is tricked to be sent from Japan to Singapore thinking she's going to get married, but then she gets tricked to be a Khariki.

537
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:36,400
So she's trapped here and she wants to return back home to Japan. Sorry, curious. How do you spell K-Karayuki? K-A-R-A-Y-U-K-I. It sounds so strangely similar to karaoke. Yeah.

538
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:49,400
It does. Yeah. I was trying to clear the air about that one. So it's nothing to do with karaoke. Yeah. So, okay. So it's about this girl. Now, it doesn't sound very far-fetched because that's what's happening today too.

539
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:57,400
We're talking about sex trafficking. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So lots of that's happening in the world today. That's a massive problem. Yeah.

540
00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:05,400
I think that was one of the intentions of the book to also show that, hey, we have progressed so much, but some things have not really progressed that much at all. Damn straight. Exactly.

541
00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:14,400
And there's two characters. So the other one is an Indian convict labourer who's brought to Singapore to work on the streets and stuff like that and not really given like a very good life.

542
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:23,400
And how much have we progressed from there as well in Singapore? So I wanted to kind of compare that. Right. Okay.

543
00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:34,400
I was just, you know, breezing through and looking at the stuff, how you write and your quotes and stuff. Wow. I mean, this is like a lot of work, right?

544
00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:49,400
I mean, call me a dunce. The only thing I've ever done when it comes to writing is I contributed a story or not story, a letter to Felix Cheong's letter to my son. Oh, lovely.

545
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:59,400
So I wrote one. One of the pieces in there belonged to me. So, okay, maybe you can say I'm kind of a kind of published author. Yeah, you are. You are published.

546
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:08,400
Goodness. Yeah, I was. Yeah. It was just a contribution as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, it was. It was. I enjoy doing that.

547
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:18,400
But something like this, you know, and my sister writes as well and something like this. And I look at it and I go, my goodness, amount of work you got to put in and the style.

548
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:27,400
How would you describe your style? Hmm. I think a lot of people who read the book said that it's very cinematic. So I think that's because of my scriptwriting background. Yeah.

549
00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:34,400
Okay. And I think as someone who writes, I actually don't read that many books like fiction novels. Really? Yeah.

550
00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:42,400
So maybe growing up, I read a lot more. But nowadays, maybe like two books a year, perhaps. I read a lot of books, but they're more nonfiction actually.

551
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:58,400
Yeah. I mean, I don't know. There's something about people in film. I realize they like to read nonfiction stuff. Yeah. I like to read nonfiction stuff. I hardly read fiction, frankly.

552
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:14,400
Go ahead, please. You can whack the body to whenever you want. Okay. How does one actually write an award-winning novel?

553
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:28,400
Hmm. So for me, I never really had, sure I did scriptwriting, but I never really had, I never went for any class that taught me how to write a novel. So taking on this book, I had no idea how to do it.

554
00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:35,400
So I actually approached it the same way I would write a script or like any of my projects really, which is to plan it out.

555
00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:45,400
But that's you. That's me. If you were to give advice to a first-time writer who's yet to publish his first piece of work, what would you say to that guy?

556
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:58,400
I think for most people, they work a lot with rhythm in terms of habit. So for me, I do that a lot. So I need to write on an almost daily basis once I'm in the midst of like writing the writing part of the project.

557
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:09,400
So, and then you may be someone who has a day job and that might disrupt your writing kind of a habit per day. You might be don't have time, that kind of stuff.

558
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:19,400
So for me, what I did was in order to have this rhythm, I would, if my work starts at nine and I'm waking up at 7.30, and I know when I come back, I'm going to be tired.

559
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:30,400
So I would wake up at like five and write from five to seven or so daily. Wow. Two hours? Yeah, usually more. That's the minimum.

560
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:37,400
Yeah. So, and that would go on for, so the book took three years. Three years? This took three years? Yeah.

561
00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:44,400
One year to research, one year to plan the story and one year to write.

562
00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:52,400
Holy crap, man. Three years. It would be shorter if you were like a full time writer. Okay, I'm not going to write my book. Three years is too long, man.

563
00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:57,400
It is too long. I think it should have been shorter.

564
00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:07,400
Oh, wow. How about a film? What do you, in your opinion, your advice, first time filmmaker, what would your advice be to make a good film?

565
00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:14,400
Wow. I think it'd be great if you can tell a story that is unique to Singapore.

566
00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:24,400
Why? You know, I tell you honestly, man. Can I tell you from a consumer point of view? Yeah.

567
00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:38,400
Sometimes we just like to stray away a bit from content that is largely Singapore. I think it's getting a little bit ridiculous. I'm sorry to say this, but I'm saying it.

568
00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:55,400
It seems to me that including our own soul, only lonely major broadcaster, seem to only want to have something that is beneficial to society and is Singapore based.

569
00:44:55,400 --> 00:45:04,400
I mean, look, I understand. I understand the virtue and the value behind something like that. But shouldn't we like explore other things?

570
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:10,400
It can be explored in a different way. So if you look at films like Parasite, that is about Korea and the living conditions.

571
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:13,400
Oh, here we go. The comparison you're going to make. I know where you're going with this.

572
00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:19,400
It's important because I think that is the only thing that we have as an upper hand against anyone else.

573
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:24,400
Because if you're going to look at technical aspects of things, we are behind if you want to compare certain things.

574
00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:31,400
This is a lot of films. But when it comes to stories, no one can tell the same story that you have in Singapore.

575
00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:36,400
So that is one way to have a bit of upper hand in terms of comparison.

576
00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:45,400
Okay. Since you've brought up Parasite, let's talk about crazy rich Asians. I mean, that's not entirely Singapore, isn't it?

577
00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:48,400
But I mean, that's not considered Singapore.

578
00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:58,400
Okay. So it's a cultural phenomenon, isn't it? It's not a Singapore. That's what I'm trying to say. Why can't we think outside of that?

579
00:45:58,400 --> 00:46:02,400
That one is unique to America. It's about American-born Chinese.

580
00:46:02,400 --> 00:46:07,400
Yeah, unique to America. But Singapore was also featured inside the movie, isn't it?

581
00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:10,400
American-born Chinese feature, okay, okay, we're done by American-born Chinese.

582
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:16,400
But acted by people that are not American-born Chinese.

583
00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:24,400
And that our talent on that side across the coast, oops, sorry, talent across from there, moved over to the US.

584
00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:30,400
This is what I mean. When we do something here, must it really be telling a story about Singapore?

585
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:41,400
Why can't we write a story that is a story that doesn't have to stem out of, say, our history, for example?

586
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:53,400
You know, why must it be about that? Why can't it be about a story that is completely, you know, outside of the boundaries of our culture?

587
00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:59,400
I think you can. Yeah. But there's just too much of that going on. You know where I'm coming from?

588
00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:05,400
In fact, a lot of the grunts usually lean a bit more, like if you have a Singapore stanza, oh great.

589
00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:13,400
See? This is what I mean. This is what I mean. That way, we're narrowing down our creativity, right?

590
00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:21,400
That process of thinking of a new idea, it narrows it down. Oh, we can't get a grant if we're not going to do it this way, we're going to do it this way.

591
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:30,400
And then it stymies a lot of your right brain, man. Again, my opinion, and I don't give a shit, I'm saying it, you know.

592
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:35,400
Really, I really think, because I'm a consumer. I'm not about to go and make a film tomorrow. No, I'm not.

593
00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:42,400
It's just that this is what I want to enjoy. I want to see that we can think out in the box, we can do something different.

594
00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:47,400
What is it? Hell, I don't know. I'm not a filmmaker. But as a consumer, I'm saying it.

595
00:47:47,400 --> 00:47:57,400
I think it's getting a little bit too staid for years. As far back as I can remember, it's always been about, yeah, you know, it's about the history of this and this and this and that.

596
00:47:57,400 --> 00:48:01,400
Even the documentaries these days are based on these sort of things, right?

597
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:08,400
Nothing wrong with it, man. Nothing wrong with it. But I think we need to really do something fresh, something new.

598
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:13,400
Stop circulating around, you know, based on the same genres, you know? Yeah?

599
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:23,400
Same thing when we have artists nowadays. More often than not, for certain things, they're still circulating around the same people.

600
00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:28,400
We're not getting a lot of fresh faces, but when we do, they're not really up to standard.

601
00:48:28,400 --> 00:48:37,400
Again, this is me. That's why I think as a consumer, and as a consumer, I can voice my opinion. Yeah.

602
00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:47,400
So you're saying that, again, to make a good film, do something that's within the scope, within their...

603
00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:51,400
What they can relate to, relate with?

604
00:48:51,400 --> 00:49:01,400
Something that you want to say is extremely important. Not just to entertain, but if you have a message to share, that always helps a great deal.

605
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:09,400
To me, I think that's important. Because you can do both, you can entertain and you can have a message. Thank you. At least that one came out.

606
00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:16,400
Yeah, so that'd be nice, but yeah, I think filmmaking is tough, but nowadays filmmaking is way easier than like 20 years ago,

607
00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:21,400
because everyone can film stuff now with their phones. So it's a real different thing.

608
00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:26,400
Well, you know, this is where I will say this also. Film stuff with their phones, you're right.

609
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:33,400
A little great creative stuff I see coming out on TikTok and stuff, right? I'm not on TikTok because mine's always a long ass show.

610
00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:42,400
And mine is not for those who have some attention issues. Yeah. People who can't just sit in their backsides and listen to good shit.

611
00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:50,400
You know what I mean? Yeah. So this is where there's a problem as well. I mean, I know short films, you know,

612
00:49:50,400 --> 00:49:58,400
but this is getting a bit ridiculous because it's too damn short now, especially when you go to social media and you look at all these things, right?

613
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:03,400
And I think it's sad because people don't really sit down and enjoy things anymore.

614
00:50:03,400 --> 00:50:10,400
They just want it quick and fast and everything's quick and fast, including your own leisure and entertainment. I mean, it's really sad.

615
00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:19,400
Yeah, I agree. I'm getting too old for this shit. Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. Let's discuss that elephant in the room.

616
00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:27,400
Which is the reason, initially, why I called you to come here. And that is to tell us a story.

617
00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:34,400
Please don't tell us in the same fashion that you told the others. I'm pretty sure you can sense that this is not the same kind of interview

618
00:50:34,400 --> 00:50:43,400
because compared to the ones that you've had before, right? For the same subject. Let's talk about that. You collect artifacts. Okay.

619
00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:51,400
It's a hobby. Yeah. Right. How long ago have you started this hobby of yours? Maybe like six years ago. Why?

620
00:50:51,400 --> 00:51:01,400
So for me, wow, why do I collect? So I started collecting old video game consoles just to get back like, oh, I had that when I was 12.

621
00:51:01,400 --> 00:51:05,400
Now I want to buy it back. Oh, you mean like the Sega Saturn and oh, wow, wow, wow. Okay. Okay.

622
00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:10,400
So I started with that and then it went on to, oh, I want to get back all the toys I used to have because I don't have them anymore.

623
00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:16,400
I don't have any toys. And then it came to like, oh, I like collecting like I needed all furniture to put.

624
00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:22,400
So basically memorabilia. Yeah. Like old stuff. Yeah. So you started with memorabilia, not artifacts. Yeah.

625
00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:29,400
Okay. Okay. Okay. And then as I went along, I, you know, after you collect your toys, then you complete the whole collection.

626
00:51:29,400 --> 00:51:34,400
Okay. I'm done. Move on to the next thing. And so eventually I came up, chanced upon many different things.

627
00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:42,400
I have this collection of old vintage medical equipment from the 1960s in Singapore.

628
00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:50,400
Wait, wait. Yeah. What are we talking about? Old bandages and stuff? All like the medical instruments.

629
00:51:50,400 --> 00:51:56,400
So like, like what? So you mean you mean you mean syringes and scalpel, scalpels? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

630
00:51:56,400 --> 00:52:07,400
That's kind of stuff. Yeah. What? So why do it is weird, man. She's like Mike Myers or what? It's cool because I like, I'm interested in the history behind the items.

631
00:52:07,400 --> 00:52:15,400
So these items came from a clinic that used to be in Singapore and have locked road in the 60s, 70s. Okay.

632
00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:19,400
They also treated a lot of the victims during the Bokeh Hosea fire. Okay. Around there.

633
00:52:19,400 --> 00:52:25,400
And then so this instrument belonged to a doctor. He then retired when he's really old. The shophouse looks really cool.

634
00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:30,400
And so when I got instruments, I was like looking more into it and found they were actually really interesting.

635
00:52:30,400 --> 00:52:42,400
So. Okay. Interesting because, because why? Because it was used to treat people like from the victims and casualties from the Bokeh Hosea fire.

636
00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:52,400
Yes. And in general, this doctor was really cool because he practiced till really, to really old and then he passed away. And his grandson took over the place.

637
00:52:52,400 --> 00:53:00,400
So he's old school. Yeah. It's old school. Yeah. And I think what's cool is that a lot of instruments were used for the delivery of babies.

638
00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:06,400
So back then, I'm guessing you could go to your clinics to do that. And so, yeah, so the instruments, most of them were dead actually.

639
00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:13,400
So, oh dude, are you sure you're okay, man? I like collecting old postcards, anything old from.

640
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:22,400
I can understand that man. Come on, syringes and scouples and stuff. I mean, used on other people already.

641
00:53:22,400 --> 00:53:27,400
Wow. Look at that face. He just went, yo, yo.

642
00:53:27,400 --> 00:53:31,400
It's part of our history. I like the thing. I think it's interesting.

643
00:53:31,400 --> 00:53:46,400
I can understand that it's kind of interesting because it's part of our history. But these are medical instruments, man. Used on other people already.

644
00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:52,400
Despite the, okay, you have no taboo over that. Okay, let's move on. Let's move on.

645
00:53:52,400 --> 00:54:01,400
So from memorabilia to stuff like medical instruments. And then what else? Other than old postcards, old food signages, those kind of more normal.

646
00:54:01,400 --> 00:54:06,400
Oh, food signages. You must live in a freaking mansion to put all these things up.

647
00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:09,400
Yeah, so they're all around the house. Oh boy. Okay.

648
00:54:09,400 --> 00:54:18,400
And eventually I found these items from Carousel. They were pre World War II items. So they look kind of like this kind of stuff.

649
00:54:18,400 --> 00:54:24,400
Okay, what is this? This is a... It's got a name on the corner here. Yeah, it says Vico Gustav.

650
00:54:24,400 --> 00:54:32,400
So this is a work booklet that someone would have in the 1930s in Germany. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Check this out.

651
00:54:32,400 --> 00:54:37,400
This has got a swastika there. It's a Nazi swastika.

652
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:45,400
So pre World War II when Hitler was slowly getting into power, he came up with certain rules where everyone had to go to work and stuff like that.

653
00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:50,400
So this is a work booklet that someone would have and inside there, they would stamp and say like, okay, I went to work this week.

654
00:54:50,400 --> 00:54:57,400
I went to work this week. So it's a way of checking. So it's like a punch card. Yeah, it's like a punch card in a way.

655
00:54:57,400 --> 00:55:02,400
I'm sorry, I don't have my glasses on. Can you see this? What year is this? 1896.

656
00:55:02,400 --> 00:55:13,400
Oh, this is his birthday. 1896. My goodness me. Looks ominous, man.

657
00:55:13,400 --> 00:55:17,400
He looks so ominous and he didn't really work very hard.

658
00:55:17,400 --> 00:55:24,400
There's only one stamp here, man. He's going to work one day and then what happens next? Fired.

659
00:55:24,400 --> 00:55:30,400
I hope he was fired. Nothing worse than that. I mean, you know, well, hang on a second. There are stamps here, man.

660
00:55:30,400 --> 00:55:40,400
No, no, he worked really hard. Cool. He worked really hard. Okay, okay, hang on. Oh, wow. Yeah, there you go. There you go. The entries here. Yeah.

661
00:55:40,400 --> 00:55:47,400
So what's cool about this is that... Wow, look at this. Can these guys see this? Okay, here we go. Can we see this? Yeah, okay.

662
00:55:47,400 --> 00:55:52,400
Check this out. These are stamps. These are work stamps. Right? And this is a workbook. Okay.

663
00:55:52,400 --> 00:55:59,400
So what's cool about this booklets is that it came with a lot of other stuff. In particular, it belonged to two brothers.

664
00:55:59,400 --> 00:56:05,400
It belongs to two brothers and it wasn't just like work booklets. It included immigration documents, family documents.

665
00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:12,400
So the two brothers, one brother was named Wolfgang and his younger brother, Waldemar. Okay, so Wolfgang and Waldemar, they are German.

666
00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:17,400
Correct, yes. Okay. Okay. Okay. Go on, please.

667
00:56:17,400 --> 00:56:28,400
So I thought these booklets were really cool to look at. So I was like, wow, I was looking through and kind of saying like, oh, I could actually trace what the brothers were doing from 1930s, 40s, 50s to the 80s.

668
00:56:28,400 --> 00:56:38,400
Because the booklets really took them throughout the last 50, 60 years during that period. So I was like, wow, it'd be great for them to have this back because it was a lot of documents that I think the family would love to see.

669
00:56:38,400 --> 00:56:45,400
Because especially the immigration documents had photographs of the family, the kids. So I was like, okay, that'd be nice to return it back to the family.

670
00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:53,400
But it's always like an idea in my head. That's nice to do, but I might not do it. So eventually I did do it like a month later.

671
00:56:53,400 --> 00:57:03,400
So I started to search like the names, Waldemar Shack, which is the surname Wolfgang Shack. But it's impossible to find Google unless they did something pretty significant in life.

672
00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:15,400
Yeah, no, in Google. They were a musician or a dancer or something like that. Okay, but it'll pop up. So it didn't pop up. So I searched around for many months. I think it took me like eight months or so.

673
00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:18,400
How do you eventually find them if Google didn't really work, man?

674
00:57:18,400 --> 00:57:23,400
So I had to hunt down the, not hunt down, track down the... That's fine, man. Say hunt down if you want to.

675
00:57:23,400 --> 00:57:32,400
Track down the children of Waldemar. So Waldemar has four or five children with different names.

676
00:57:32,400 --> 00:57:40,400
And then so I would search their names and then I wouldn't find anything. I would search on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn.

677
00:57:40,400 --> 00:57:46,400
I was desperate. I was searching on Instagram, everything I can hold on. So if the kids are still around, they would be in their sixties.

678
00:57:46,400 --> 00:57:53,400
And because of that, they may not be on social media. So I knew, okay, I may not get them there.

679
00:57:53,400 --> 00:57:58,400
So I was searching around until one day I managed to find an Excel sheet document.

680
00:57:58,400 --> 00:57:59,400
Right.

681
00:57:59,400 --> 00:58:06,400
While searching names because I felt they might be in Australia because one immigration document said they migrated to Perth in the sixties.

682
00:58:06,400 --> 00:58:12,400
So I thought, okay, they might be there. So I was searching things like Michael Shack, Perth, and then nothing pops up.

683
00:58:12,400 --> 00:58:19,400
So I think, oh, maybe they moved around in Australia. So I searched like Michael Shack, Brisbane, Michael Shack, Melbourne, yeah.

684
00:58:19,400 --> 00:58:23,400
And all these things and not just for Michael, but for all the different siblings and anything I can get my hands on.

685
00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:30,400
And eventually I got this Excel document that I could not read, but I managed to open it in some software and a lot of words came up.

686
00:58:30,400 --> 00:58:38,400
And in these words were Michael Shack and the words Queensland Rail. So I knew, okay, Queensland Rail is in Brisbane.

687
00:58:38,400 --> 00:58:45,400
Right. So there's a chance he might be there. And so I reached out to Queensland Rail. They didn't reply me thinking I'm crazy.

688
00:58:45,400 --> 00:58:48,400
Eventually, a few weeks later, I reached out to...

689
00:58:48,400 --> 00:58:50,400
See, she's talking about the sirens going by.

690
00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:53,400
Yeah, I think they're coming on to me.

691
00:58:53,400 --> 00:59:00,400
So I reached out to their Instagram and strangely the Instagram person replied me saying, oh, hi, Wesley. Yeah, let us look into it.

692
00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:05,400
We'll get back to you. I'm like, what? You're going to help me, Instagram person of Queensland Rail?

693
00:59:05,400 --> 00:59:10,400
She's probably like intern or something. So I was like, wow. So the person reached out and found Michael Shack.

694
00:59:10,400 --> 00:59:14,400
So Michael used to work. I mean, he works. He still works for the Queensland Rail.

695
00:59:14,400 --> 00:59:17,400
Wow. Yeah. And then that's how I kind of linked with him.

696
00:59:17,400 --> 00:59:26,400
And even talking to Michael, it took a while because Michael was a bit more apprehensive or like a bit worried.

697
00:59:26,400 --> 00:59:29,400
Like, you know, I was some kind of scammer saying, hi, hi, all this stuff for you. Yeah, I'm sure.

698
00:59:29,400 --> 00:59:32,400
And I'm just going to scam you. It is dude from Singapore, man. Who's this crazy guy?

699
00:59:32,400 --> 00:59:40,400
Yeah, exactly. And all that. So it took a while to convince him. Like, he knew that.

700
00:59:40,400 --> 00:59:44,400
So I took a while to convince him. And then when he said, okay, yeah, you can meet me.

701
00:59:44,400 --> 00:59:50,400
So me and my wife, we flew to Brisbane and went to meet him and shot a small video and then give him back all the items.

702
00:59:50,400 --> 00:59:55,400
And how did he receive them? I mean, was he elated?

703
00:59:55,400 --> 00:59:59,400
He was. So he never seen any of the material before. Right.

704
00:59:59,400 --> 01:00:04,400
In one of the booklets was a picture of his uncle, which would be Waldemar's brother Wolfgang. Wolfgang. Yeah.

705
01:00:04,400 --> 01:00:08,400
And that was the first time he saw how Wolfgang looked like from the photo. Wow. For some reason.

706
01:00:08,400 --> 01:00:14,400
And the reason why he hasn't seen Wolfgang is because in the 60s, Waldemar migrated to Australia.

707
01:00:14,400 --> 01:00:20,400
He had a family, had five kids. Right. Wolfgang, the other brother, stayed back until he passed away in the late 80s.

708
01:00:20,400 --> 01:00:25,400
So while he was working there, he was during the separation of Germany with East and West. He was there.

709
01:00:25,400 --> 01:00:29,400
He couldn't really fly out or something. And also his brother couldn't visit him.

710
01:00:29,400 --> 01:00:35,400
So he was, he was, did you know whether or not Wolfgang was in the East part of Germany or was he from West Germany?

711
01:00:35,400 --> 01:00:42,400
He was in the East, I believe. Oh dear. Yeah. He was in the East. Oh my goodness. Part of the Eastern Bloc. Yeah.

712
01:00:42,400 --> 01:00:45,400
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He was really couldn't do much. Oh yeah. Hell yeah.

713
01:00:45,400 --> 01:00:53,400
He wasn't until the Berlin Wall fell and then the brother in Australia, he was pretty old, went to find him for one, for his last time.

714
01:00:53,400 --> 01:00:59,400
And that's the last time they ever met. Oh wow. So it's kind of cool. And things in terms of the material, he found it cool.

715
01:00:59,400 --> 01:01:04,400
He shared it with his siblings as well. They wrote to me saying, hi Wesley, thanks for sending all this.

716
01:01:04,400 --> 01:01:08,400
It's really nice to see, you know, because their father has passed away.

717
01:01:08,400 --> 01:01:13,400
So having all this material and finding out, oh wow, dad used to do this, dad used to do that, which dad never told them.

718
01:01:13,400 --> 01:01:22,400
They found it very fascinating. Okay. Let's pull out that picture. Kai, the one that says the purchase of pre-World War II items.

719
01:01:22,400 --> 01:01:31,400
Yeah, that's the one. So that is his son, right? Correct. Yeah. Michael. Michael. Yeah. Michael. Okay. That's cool, man. That's cool.

720
01:01:31,400 --> 01:01:37,400
You can put it up a little longer Kai. Don't worry about it. Don't be shy. Oh, it's there still. Okay. I'm sorry. Me being stupid.

721
01:01:37,400 --> 01:01:47,400
Okay. Have a good look. So that's the workbook with the picture of Woldemar. That's Wolfgang actually. Oh, that's Wolfgang. Oh, okay.

722
01:01:47,400 --> 01:01:58,400
That's a brother. Okay. That's cool. That's cool. Okay. Wow. Wow. I guess I was really lucky because the chances of actually finding him is very low.

723
01:01:58,400 --> 01:02:04,400
It just so happened, I mean, I guess this intern on Queensland Rail was really hardworking and decided to go like, wow.

724
01:02:04,400 --> 01:02:09,400
I mean, that guy deserves an award, man. Yeah. I have no idea who he or she is. Get him a tiger, dude.

725
01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:16,400
I mean, come on. I mean, he really, yeah, he really reached. He didn't have to, you know. Most people won't.

726
01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:21,400
I mean, if you're in charge of the Queensland Rail Instagram, you're probably the intern doing media stuff or something.

727
01:02:21,400 --> 01:02:27,400
Yeah. Yeah. It's nothing to do with you. Yeah. And yet you went on to ask your boss, hi boss, I have this. Can I, who do I contact? You know.

728
01:02:27,400 --> 01:02:33,400
Yeah. So I think. Well, that's really cool, man. It's really, really cool. I see that one with a Nazi iron eagle.

729
01:02:33,400 --> 01:02:38,400
Yeah. There you go. Oh gosh. What the heck is this? So this is part of my collection.

730
01:02:38,400 --> 01:02:46,400
This is a work, not work booklet, something a medic, a German soldier medic in World War II would have with them.

731
01:02:46,400 --> 01:02:53,400
And inside they would teach you how to see to someone who is injured. So if you have your arm blown off, what do you do?

732
01:02:53,400 --> 01:02:58,400
If you have your toes cut off. Kill him. What do you do? What kind of bandages? Chop it off.

733
01:02:58,400 --> 01:03:01,400
That's what the Nazis would say, wouldn't they? So it's kind of cool book.

734
01:03:01,400 --> 01:03:07,400
And I got this when I was in Germany, actually, many years ago. And there was a book, a book fair, like a flea market.

735
01:03:07,400 --> 01:03:14,400
Yeah. For a whole pile of like old books. But most of the old books are like your normal old books, like in it blighted, you know, it's there.

736
01:03:14,400 --> 01:03:20,400
And I was just looking through and I found this. I was like, what is this doing here? So I bought it for like two bucks and I brought it home.

737
01:03:20,400 --> 01:03:24,400
I just, I just, I just, I think it's a nice piece of history. It is, yeah.

738
01:03:24,400 --> 01:03:32,400
I actually love the color of the book, that light blue color. It's a strange, strange thing to like. But I thought it's a nice blue. Yeah.

739
01:03:32,400 --> 01:03:39,400
What have you got? There's transparency here as well. It goes over. Well, you got to say, you got to give them credit, man.

740
01:03:39,400 --> 01:03:44,400
I mean, at least they got themselves really organized. Amazing. This is for a Nazi medic.

741
01:03:44,400 --> 01:03:54,400
That's a medic. Well, I can't see whether it's Nazi or not, because even back then the Wehrmacht, which is the regular army, they have the same symbol.

742
01:03:54,400 --> 01:04:03,400
Yeah. Unless you see the SS and the deaf head, right? Then perhaps, yeah. This is so cool, man. Thanks so much for sharing this with me.

743
01:04:03,400 --> 01:04:11,400
What's the other stuff? I brought some stuff here that's kind of interesting. So these are all, okay, not that interesting.

744
01:04:11,400 --> 01:04:21,400
This is something linked to my medical stuff that I kind of like. So these are all invoices from the early nineties of dispensaries or clinics in Singapore.

745
01:04:21,400 --> 01:04:29,400
And it's kind of cool. So this invoice is from. This is not an invoice. I think this is more like a prescription. Yeah, like a prescription receipt kind of thing.

746
01:04:29,400 --> 01:04:41,400
Medical office chemists, drugists and opticians. Dr. P.E., I think it's pronounced this way, Cray MD. Yeah, well, check this out, man.

747
01:04:41,400 --> 01:04:46,400
And what's cool about it is that from this like prescription invoice thing, you can tell what the person is being prescribed.

748
01:04:46,400 --> 01:04:55,400
So I think that's the writing of like sodium bromide, which is something people in the past who gets prescribed if you have like, for example, epilepsy.

749
01:04:55,400 --> 01:05:03,400
Something that's not done today because if you eventually found out, okay, it's not the best thing because it has some disadvantages to it.

750
01:05:03,400 --> 01:05:09,400
They use it today for tranquilizers. Oh, gosh. I mean, it's like, okay, what did people used to do before?

751
01:05:09,400 --> 01:05:17,400
For people with mental illness back then, they used to bore a hole in the center of your skull or something like that. What's it called?

752
01:05:17,400 --> 01:05:25,400
What's it called in Ukrainian? What's it called? Lobotomy. Yeah, they call their robotic crazy people back then.

753
01:05:25,400 --> 01:05:34,400
And people used to suffer so much. Prescriptions accurately prepared. The dispensary limited.

754
01:05:34,400 --> 01:05:40,400
I tell you, you're right. All stuff is cool. You look at even the design and even the fonts.

755
01:05:40,400 --> 01:05:45,400
So much effort went into it, right? So much effort. And it's not freaking Photoshop, man.

756
01:05:45,400 --> 01:05:50,400
It's all handwork, really. Thanks so much for sharing that. Really, really.

757
01:05:50,400 --> 01:05:58,400
So what's your next plan? Anything planned? Anything exciting you'd be doing? Like maybe a new film, a movie?

758
01:05:58,400 --> 01:06:03,400
Do one that's action packed or something, man? I don't know.

759
01:06:03,400 --> 01:06:09,400
I would love to do something that's still history based. So I'm still seeing if I can explore something there.

760
01:06:09,400 --> 01:06:14,400
I know I won't be writing a book that's not in the plans. Right.

761
01:06:14,400 --> 01:06:21,400
But I would like to do something a bit more film related because I think the last few years I did a bit more writing than film related stuff.

762
01:06:21,400 --> 01:06:29,400
So I think it's nice to go back to that. But I'm always looking for new opportunities. I would love to do something music related.

763
01:06:29,400 --> 01:06:37,400
Something that's more theatrical in its own life. Or more life in a sense would be cool.

764
01:06:37,400 --> 01:06:45,400
OK. Yeah. So those are the things I'm thinking about. But yeah, I think exciting times, I guess.

765
01:06:45,400 --> 01:06:50,400
You play any instruments? I used to play quite a fair bit, but then I've not over the last 10 years.

766
01:06:50,400 --> 01:06:55,400
Maybe it's time for you to start picking them up again, man, and then start working on a musical.

767
01:06:55,400 --> 01:07:03,400
Something like, I don't know, please don't do it. I mean, no, your typical musical kind of thing.

768
01:07:03,400 --> 01:07:09,400
You know, I mean, you know, I was so glad when School of Rock came out and stuff. Right.

769
01:07:09,400 --> 01:07:15,400
You know, and that one with Tom Cruise. Did you see that one? What's it called now? Rock of Ages.

770
01:07:15,400 --> 01:07:24,400
I haven't seen it. Tom Cruise as a rock lead singer. Wow. Geez. Great. Good. Great. That movie was brilliant.

771
01:07:24,400 --> 01:07:29,400
You know, Rock of Ages. I mean, do stuff like that, man.

772
01:07:29,400 --> 01:07:38,400
I know your typical Rogers and Hammerstein's, you know, and then your OK, Webbers, Lloyd Webbers fine, you know.

773
01:07:38,400 --> 01:07:46,400
But then again, we got too much dust. You had your Timmy some dotties, you know, I mean, a bit of Greece is cool.

774
01:07:46,400 --> 01:07:52,400
You know, stuff like that. Something out of the box, man. You know, out of the box.

775
01:07:52,400 --> 01:07:59,400
You know, I mean, let's get away from the usual. It's so boring. God, really. Yeah.

776
01:07:59,400 --> 01:08:03,400
Anyway, it's great having you on the show. Thank you so much for sharing.

777
01:08:03,400 --> 01:08:06,400
Thank you so much, Chris. No, no, no, not at all, man. Pleasure is all mine.

778
01:08:06,400 --> 01:08:10,400
You know, I hope I didn't throw you off. No, all good. All good.

779
01:08:10,400 --> 01:08:16,400
I just wanted to hear. But yeah, I like to do this. I like to collect stories and I like to collect people's opinions.

780
01:08:16,400 --> 01:08:22,400
Yeah. Without any disrespect to their own opinions, of course, you know, and I will always stay in mind.

781
01:08:22,400 --> 01:08:35,400
And I really I'm one guy all these years. I've been an advocate for let's get things better here in Singapore, not just for the arts and not just for the for entertainment, but also for sports.

782
01:08:35,400 --> 01:08:43,400
You know, I mean, having seven seven new but that question is really quite unforgivable.

783
01:08:43,400 --> 01:08:50,400
I mean, yeah, I think there's so much we can do. I'm happy for our SEA Games athletes, for example.

784
01:08:50,400 --> 01:08:56,400
You know, I think fantastic stuff, you know, and Rui Yong. Shout out to you too, man. Great job, dude. Really.

785
01:08:56,400 --> 01:09:02,400
I mean, sharing water with you. Yeah, I mean, my goodness. He's a stand up guy.

786
01:09:02,400 --> 01:09:09,400
I mean, I met Rui Yong. He was on one of my shows in my previous chat show before. Yeah, you know, it's a stand up guy.

787
01:09:09,400 --> 01:09:18,400
And this is these things that make me really happy. See Singapore stepping up, you know, and how we've been winning our goals.

788
01:09:18,400 --> 01:09:31,400
So it's not just about the arts. It's just about everything. Yeah. I think we need to really think beyond whatever we're used to and do something that's really different.

789
01:09:31,400 --> 01:09:43,400
There's no reason why we can't do a career, a South Korea that is. There's no reason why we can't do that. Right. So reason why we can't come up with talents that can rival the rest of the world.

790
01:09:43,400 --> 01:09:53,400
I don't want to. I don't want to believe that. I don't want to believe that we can't do better just because we're a little tiny little red dot on the on the global map.

791
01:09:53,400 --> 01:10:01,400
I mean, no, man, we can go more. We can do more. We can go further. You go much, much further.

792
01:10:01,400 --> 01:10:13,400
But again, thank you so much for being on CHC. And we'll. Hmm. I noticed. Do you need me to say I will say do it this way, Kai.

793
01:10:13,400 --> 01:10:17,400
Thank you so much for watching CHC. And I hope to see you again soon.

794
01:10:17,400 --> 01:10:24,400
We've got two more episodes to go before we call it a day for season one. And I'd like to thank you guys for being with us so far.

795
01:10:24,400 --> 01:10:34,400
But then again, please, whatever you do, stay safe. Think out of the box. Do something worthwhile if your life, if you love something that you really love to do, go and do it.

796
01:10:34,400 --> 01:11:02,400
Don't stop yourselves until next time. This is Chris Hansen saying see you again. Bye bye.