JESMEN - POLLING DAY
Synopsis
In the thick of election fever,
Gregory Lim is seeking his first job fresh out of university. However, he finds
that he has to compete with foreigners for what few jobs around. Upset with the
way his life has turned out, he turns his resentment towards the government and
his father, resulting in a heated confrontation. Gregory has his chance to
voice his opinion with his vote, but the question is- does it even matter in
the end?
The issues that the film aimed to
communicate were familiar and clear. How was the story crafted? Is it really
clear?
Initially,
the writer, Shane Mok wanted to explore on how all the individual members in
the family are affected by the election. Then slowly we minimize to the
protagonist, Gregory (the fresh graduates). I think the reason is that I always
have an issue with people who abandon their roots and complain how the
society not giving them opportunities.
Could you explain your choice of characters
in the film, in particular a father who is a SAF regular, a grandfather
character, a Caucasian job candidate who can speak Mandarin and a Chinese boss?
Why were these characters important in forming your story?
This is
pretty hard for me to recall now. The father and the grandfather basically
represent man's mentality at different generation, the change in
Singapore. The Chinese boss and the Caucasian candidate
represent foreign talents coming into Singapore, it's a wakeup call for
the new generation. I also forget how and why we created them, but that's basically
my reasons.
Is the talent who acted as the Chinese boss
a real Chinese PR? What were his thoughts being an antogonist in the film?
Yup, he
was a BA student in our school, Lasalle majoring in Performing Arts. As a
Singaporean, I would say sometimes, we're too arrogant and rude towards the
Chinese PR. When I shared with him about the character, he said: "I've
been wanting to do this."
When was this film made? Was it a reaction
to the 2011 elections?
It was
after the 2011 elections. It wasn't really about the 2011 elections, but it's
more about how the younger generation sees the elections.
What were the biggest challenges in making
the films? Any interesting anecdotes from making the films?
Communicating with the DP. Short anecdotes...a bit hard to remember.
But I really like working with the grandfather.