Uncleboy @ Substation's First Takes

Did you know that The Substation has a free-for-all indie film screening every first Monday of the month?

Frankly, I am super-addicted to First Takes (name of the screening) because I can view all the works by local indie filmmakers from various backgrounds. You can learn the various techniques to filmmaking and most importantly, avoid the mistakes that they have made :) You should come down and view it for yourself and meet fellow film enthusiasts. Do come by on the 6th of April!

UNCLEBOY
By Jannah Monjiat

On 2nd March, I caught 'Uncleboy', a 24-minute documentary, made in 2007 by Jannah Monjiat, 22, a graduate of the Diploma in New Media from Republic Polytechnic (RP).

Basically, 'Uncleboy' is about a 43-year-old Uncleboy, who is fighting alcoholism. The documentary charts his day-to-day life and even has successfully captured moments when Uncleboy was fully intoxicated! 'Uncleboy' shows the different parts to Uncleboy: a dog lover, a friendly man, a drunkard. The documentary had also included a mention of his trial at the subordinate court and what close friends had to say about him.

A MOMENT WITH JANNAH

I caught up with Jannah, the director! Her past works include Carousel Love (2007). FYI, 'Uncleboy' was featured in the debut episode of Channel NewsAsia's iJournalist in 2008.

"The reason why we picked Uncleboy is because of the way he lived his life. How loving he was, how successful he was. It could happen to any of us. We'll never know that we could be him," Jannah explained.

As with any filming, Jannah faced difficulties too: "We had to predict how his life is. On the day (we wanted to shoot), he was drunk and we didn't expect that. So, it was upclose and personal with Uncleboy. It was a pretty much personal relationship with him."

Her secret to a wonderful documentary? Ghazi Al-Qudcy. A name synonymous with filmmaking. Ghazi was also a student from RP. "He encourages me, so-called my mentor. If I do something bad, he'll be critiquing."

Jannah has a few words for aspiring filmmakers. "Be humble. Jangan cakap besar sangat, then in the end, cerita tak menjadi. Also, just enjoy what you are doing, even simple things like FYP (Final Year Projects)."


PHOTO














L to R: Director Jannah Monjiat, Yusri a.k.a Shaggy and Brandon, all are from RP

MY OPINION

To me, 'Uncleboy' was a truthful experience, where an alcoholic's life was exposed and not viewed through rose-tinted glasses. I saw how drunk Uncleboy got and laughed heartily at his antics. Each time Uncleboy gets drunk he would say out the same two phrases to his dog! Truthful because we saw how a man lived his life, how a commoner lived day to day: what he ate, what he did, where he went.

However, technically, I suppose 'Uncleboy''s editing can be better since there were parts where the transitions, both plot and technical, were not smooth enough. I was trying to guess what he would do next and I found it tiring after a while.

I found the documentary had an overall heartwarming effect and I believe, has successfully tugged the heartstrings of the audience. The message was not quite spot on, but through a more careful eye, we can see messages of perseverance, taking life not so seriously and the idiom 'still waters run deep', where we should take time to get to know people around. Watch out for more of Jannah Monjiat works.

This Uncleboy review was brought to you by

Singapore Malay Film Society

SMFS
'Nurturing and Inspiring the Passion for Filmmaking'