I'm such a lazy blogger, ha ha, but I absolutely have to say that I was very impressed by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (which is still running/galloping). We (me, Peter Davis, Priscilla [Peter's girlfriend] and Wai Hoong) were treated like VIPs upon arrival in Taipei. Well, the TGHFF team was scouring the airport for the Yeo Joon Han of our opening scene but once they came to terms with the idea that I look like me, they took great care of us. Our film was well publicised/blogged about so we had a sold out screening on 7 Nov 2008. In an ironic reflection of the film, the Taiwanese subtitles worked tremendously well, tickling most of the audience from start to finish. At the end of the film, came the tough questions, all the more tough because I attempted to answer them in my home-use banana Mandarin.

Even though it was my first time in Taipei, I felt strangely at home, probably because everyone's Chinese but also because there's always been some Taiwanese element in my life for as long as I can remember. It's the same with our trip to Hong Kong for the Asian Film Festival. All the more painful then that I had to struggle so hard to find the right Mandarin/Cantonese words to express my thoughts. I need to learn more Mandarin and Cantonese. What I know is insufficient for even the most basic discussion about film. Having Peter Davis (half-banana, half-European) and Wai Hoong (complete banana) standing next to me was not enough of a consolation, ha ha.

I wonder why Malaysians are not more excited about the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. To me, it was like showing my silly film to my extended family and to old friends I didn't know I had. In Hong Kong, I was in fact showing the film to old friends I did know I had and am grateful for still having.

Screening schedule for Sell out! in Hong Kong

Palace IFC

24 OCT 2008 (Fri) 9:45pm 

Cinematheque 

25 OCT 2008 (Sat) 4:10pm 

Online booking: 

http://www3.cinema.com.hk/revamp/html/list_detail.php?lang=e&movie_id=3611