KELVIN TONG Weng Kia took a step back after the success of his first feature, Eating Air, in 1999. Despite winning over critics and crowds, the 32-year-old Singaporean director felt he needed to learn the ropes of filmmaking. So, he concentrated on TV, where he could 'test some ideas and learn the craft in a controlled environment'.
This year, Tong has made a roaring return with a horror film, The Maid, which is released today in Singapore and Malaysia and will make its way to Hong Kong in October. That month, Tong will also start shooting a chick flick, The Pool Chronicles, under the banner of Andy Lau Tak-wah's Focus Films, with the Hong Kong actor slotted in for a cameo. And in November, Tong will take suspense/thriller 1942 (set in the Malayan jungle during the second world war) to the American Film Market in Santa Monica.
'We've had some interest from European distributors for the film in Cannes,' he says. 'But we want to see the response in Santa Monica before releasing it.'
Hopes are high that The Maid will help Singapore break into the western film market. MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, which produced the film, has increased its budget from S$1 million ($4.5 million) to S$1.5 million - making it the largest of its kind for a Singaporean film, according to chief executive Daniel Yun.
The film revolves around Rosa Dimaanon, a 20-year-old Filipino maid played by Alessandra De Rossi. Rosa starts work with the Teos, a friendly opera couple, on the first day of the Hungry Ghosts Festival. But, oblivious to Chinese customs during that month, she sets off a series of frightening encounters.
Anchoring the script during the festival gives the film a strong Singaporean flavour because 'the level of paranoia about that month is markedly higher here'.
'In Singapore, the seventh month is more than just a family affair,' Tong says. 'It's also a big neighbourhood affair.'