CHOICE

The making of CHOICE

CHOICE (April 2003) 20mins, directed by Patrick Lim

Director's note - Part 1

An Introduction

We, Malaysians as a whole are lost. Our national policy of our national language has been ever evolving. Is it Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Baku or Bahasa Melayu? The battle between the Government and the opposition over the true meaning of Islam has caused the government to overcompensate by regressing in its plight. Racial tensions are swept under the carpet by showing a superficial unified lot.English has been given an importance as we head into the globalized arena but are we ready to be part of the larger picture. Malaysia is in fact in a limbo state. So, where does that leave our youth?

The Beginning

That was the anchor to CHOICE but I needed to flesh out other social issues within CHOICE. Originally set to be a trilogy where I start with the middle (being CHOICE), LIFE and DEATH would compliment the social issues that we deal with.The idea of a girl torn between her wild free lifestyle and her upcoming marriage to a Malay man came to mind and I had the premise of a party among three friends as the basis. A party, with the right atmosphere and substance is a ripe place for a lot of things to happen. Immediately, I wrote an outline of CHOICE down and that was in early March 2003.For CHOICE to work, I needed to get actors who have been friends for sometime. There are many times in our own lives when reality becomes difficult to be differentiated from illusion, which is why the emotional content in CHOICE had to be truthful to its source.

to be continued...