Qi Yuwu’s short film directorial debut stars Sharon Au, Darren Lim
Local actor Qi Yuwu is moving from being in front of the camera to behind it.
The 47-year-old China-born, Singapore-based star posted about his directorial debut on Instagram on Aug 28. There was a video and several photos of himself on set. He can be seen looking at the monitor and chatting with the lead actress, local star Sharon Au.
The accompanying caption read: “It is my first time seeing my name on the clapperboard through a monitor. Although it was short, it felt unreal.
“Taking on the new roles of director and screenwriter has been a new experience. And while the filming period of 3½ days is neither fast nor slow, it took me back and forth between my emotional and logical sides. I believe everything has worked out for the best.”
Qi did not say when or where the film will be released. According to an Aug 28 interview he did with Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, Where The Heart Is is in Mandarin and 20 to 25 minutes long.
Paris-based Au, 49, flew back to Singapore for the filming, which wrapped on Aug 25. She and local actor Darren Lim, 51, play a couple.
Qi said of her casting: “Her character is unmarried in the story and has a certain level of life experience in her 40s. She’s not like an elderly person who is ready to just accept what comes. She still looks forward to the future. It’s a character who is very richly layered, helpless, contradictory and complex. Sharon fits the role well with her background, experiences and current stage of life.”
Qi said he did not cast his wife, actress Joanne Peh, 41, for the role, as she is too young for the character. But he added that she offered her thoughts on the screenplay. Peh previously wrote and directed Under The Tree (2019), a 30-minute film which was screened on Channel U.
Au told Zaobao that Qi is an “actor’s dream director to work with”.
“He is both a director and a psychologist. Under his direction, I feel motivated to keep living well, face my true self, reconcile with the character I’m playing and re-examine myself and my relationship with the world,” she said.
Lim, who previously acted with Qi on series such as The Little Nyonya (2008) and The Family Court (2010), said he was impressed with his direction.
He added: “He didn’t reach out to me directly. I took on the job through my manager and charged the usual market price as well, so I found out only at the last minute that the director is A-Wu (Qi’s nickname).”
Qi said helming his first short film has been good training. “All I can say is that this experience has been very enjoyable. I’m quite proud of myself now that filming has wrapped,” he added.
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