The topic of working with friends has always been one for debate, and for local actors Lawrence Wong and Yeo Yann Yann, it wasn't all fun and games.

AsiaOne attended a press conference on Oct 3 by animal welfare group SOSD who will be launching Homebound, a movie consisting of short stories centred around rescue dogs.

Lawrence, 36, will be making his directorial debut with Esky - a story he came up with overnight and cast 47-year-old Yann Yann for.

"I was one of those actors who never thought of becoming a director… Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the whole process. It was really inspiring and gave me a kind of spark that I needed to express myself greatly," said Lawrence, who added that he came up with the storyline based on his memories of one of his late cats Esky.

The emcee for the event then asked him about the "heated discussions" that happened on set with Yann Yann and Lawrence laughed in reply: "Don't work with your friends."

Yann Yann explained that it happened while they were shooting one of the "highest emotional points" of the film.

"We had quite a different take on it and how the emotions should be portrayed," she said.

Lawrence chipped in: "The funny thing was, while I was explaining the scene to her, the more I talked about it… I started tearing up uncontrollably and everybody was passing me tissues."

In the short film, Yann Yann stars as Yann, whose pet dog Esky struggles to understand her emotions and indifference.

As she grapples with memories of Esky's illness, her life sinks back into familiar depression.

After the press conference, AsiaOne sat down with the two "longtime friends" to find out more.

"I teared up because I was trying to explain the whole scene and emotions that I thought were required of Yann Yann," explained Lawrence.

"I guess it was due to the story and the whole scene being relatable to me - as I've mentioned before, the film is largely based on my memories of my late cat - it just evoked some emotions in me."

Without giving too many spoilers, Yann Yann said they disagreed on how her character should "release her pain", but she gave in to Lawrence eventually as she "relates" to the loss of a pet being equivalent to losing a loved one.

When we asked Lawrence why he decided to cast Yann Yann, the latter joked: "How dare he."

Lawrence was full of praise: "To be able to work with her, even though we are such close friends, is a privilege. She's such an accomplished actress. I'm not saying this from a PR point of view."

He added that he knew she would be able to handle her character's emotions easily without him having to "dig it out of her".

"It's an obvious choice. I have a friend who can work for me and I don't think she can say no," he said cheekily, and Yann Yann joined in on the joke: "Without thinking about how much he's gonna pay me."

We were also curious to know why Lawrence agreed to direct even though it was a last-minute call.

"I guess it sounded fun. I'm always up for doing things that are new and which open myself up to new possibilities," he said.

"I think it's also the fact that I really relate to the cause behind it. Trying to raise awareness and encourage people to adopt and not buy pets."

Yann Yann had similar reasons for coming onboard: "If you want to have a pet, not just a dog, you should adopt because there are too many people who didn't think before they got a pet. They adopt, they get a pet, and they just abandon them."

Lawrence shared that working as a director for the first time was "an experience" because he had to make an actor see his point of view.

"We are both actors. It can be easy, it can also be not easy," he said.

"There are perfect moments, there are also arguments, which is great," remarked Yann Yann.

Homebound features four other short stories: Bacon directed by Rui En and starring Andie Chen; Tejas Ewing's Echo starring Shabir Sultan, Remesh Panicker and Oon Shu An; Friday No. 2 helmed by Jason Lee and featuring Ya Hui; as well as Frida which is led by directors Jeremy Kieren Ng and Zhang Minhua who cast Lin Meijiao and Toh Han Wei.

Patrons who make a $50 donation at https://bit.ly/SOSDHOMEBOUND will receive one ticket to a charity screening at Conrad Centennial Hotel on Oct 30, 7pm.

syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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