'Am I even doing this right?' Rui En makes directorial debut with SOSD's short film about pet loss grief
Rui En spoke with AsiaOne on Oct 3, 2024, about making her directorial debut.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Jordan Tan
PUBLISHED ONOctober 08, 2024 8:13 AMByJordan Tan
Stepping into a new role can be daunting, even if it is an industry you are very familiar with. Which is the position veteran local actress Rui En found herself in recently.
AsiaOne attended a press conference on Oct 3 organised by animal welfare group SOSD who will be launching Homebound, a movie consisting of five short films centred on rescue dogs.
Rui En makes her directorial debut with her short film titled Bacon, based on the story of how Dr Siew Tuck Wah, president of SOSD, came to adopt Bacon, learnt to cope with the sudden loss of the dog and the importance of cherishing memories.
Bacon is the mascot on SOSD's logo and the short film stars 39-year-old Andie Chen as the main lead.
Rui En, 43, was initially concerned about directing a film that required working with an animal.
"I was actually really apprehensive, because I wouldn't want to, you know, have a debut directing experience and decide that I'm never going to direct again," she jokingly said during the press conference.
The emcee then asked her about how she went about the technical aspects of filming to which she admitted: "I'm not proficient in those things. I would like to think I am, but I'm not."
AsiaOne sat down with her after the press conference to learn more about what compelled her to try directing.
"It was important for me to make something about grief," Rui En stated.
"That really grabbed my attention because I relate to that. I've lost two cats very suddenly and they're like my children. So I thought that's something I can do… Grief over pet loss and grief in general applies to humans, so that was the angle I started with," she added.
Going behind the camera
We also asked about her thoughts and experiences going behind the camera after being in front of one since 2002.
She expressed that it was very challenging: "It was so disorienting. I thought it might be easy, and it's really not… I didn't know which way was up.
"As an actress, I've been doing this for so long, that's muscle memory, but when you're stepping out of your comfort zone, you do something completely opposite from what you're used to, you're just like, 'Am I even doing this right?'"
She added that the experience was like "feeling your way in the dark" but she "chose to embrace it even though it was very uncomfortable".
Rui En also told us she found the ending, where they filmed a confessional scene, the most emotional.
"I decided to add that into what is usually a normal short film, and suddenly, break the fourth wall and have the character speak directly to the camera."
She further shared that it was inspired by her love of documentaries: "I'm a big documentary fan, like Netflix documentaries, like true crime, so I really love that whole confessional."
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She also spoke about how grateful she was to have help from Walter Tan, a creative director from video production studio Assemblyclan.
Her focus was on coming up with the script for the short film and so she left the technical aspects of filmmaking to Walter.
When asked if directing is something that she would want to try doing more of, Rui En said: "As an actress, I feel that what I do is storytelling, and as a director, you're storytelling from a different angle… So I do love this element. I would be open to it."
In an Instagram post on Oct 3, she mentioned that she also received help from Star Awards' Best Director winner Wong Foong Hwee, whose notable works include All That Glitters and Oppa! Saranghae, which is also Rui En's most recent drama.
She dedicated her film to animal supporters who work to contribute to the same cause that SOSD is striving for. "This is for all the animal rescuers who have invested entire chunks of their hearts into what they do," she wrote.
Homebound will also feature 5 other short films: Esky directed by Lawrence Wong and starring Yeo Yann Yann; Tejas Ewing's Echo which stars Shabir Sultan, Remesh Panicker and Oon Shu An; Friday No. 2 led by Jason Lee and features Ya Hui; as well as Frida which is led by directors Jeremy Kieren Ng and Zhang Minhua and stars 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.
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jordan.tan@asiaone.com
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