WHITE DAYS |白色時光 

Singapore | 92 min | English, Mandarin & Hokkien | English Subtitles | HDV

In Competition for Fipresci Award and Official Selection in Indie Power Section,
Hong Kong International Film Festival 2009 (World Premiere)

Date: 29 Mar 2009 Date: 01 Apr 2009

Time: 12:15 PM Time: 7:30 PM
Code: 29UC3M2 Code: 01UL4E1
Venue: UA Cityplaza Venue: UA Langham Place

(Director, actress and editor will be in attendance for both screenings)

Page 1 of 6

 
Synopsis

WHITE DAYS involves three characters who are dealing with their own personal crises.
The film begins with a young man, whose trip out of the country is abruptly canceled
when the friend whom he was supposed to go with dies. He reconnects with his friends
back home, including a religious fanatic who has just returned from a pilgrimage to
Israel, and a translator who has always wanted to move out of Singapore. Through a
series of mordantly funny conversations, these young people gradually realize that what
faces them is not the futility of life, but rather the transience and impermanence of it.

Director's Statement
WHITE DAYS is a slice of the lives of three young Singaporeans. The story and its
characters are inspired by the dreams, hopes and fears of the actors themselves. I hope
the film has captured a slice of time in their lives. Through making this film, I've
discovered that they were all searching for something missing in their lives. Either by
going for a religious pilgrimage, watching and making films, or yearning to live
somewhere faraway from home. Each of their personal stories seems different on the
surface, but deep down they are the same... This film is a celebration of their continuous
search for the meaning and purpose in life.

Director's Biography
Born in Singapore, this is Lei Yuan Bin’s debut feature film after working for five years
as a cinematographer. His cinematography work includes HAZE which competed for the
Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival 2008. He graduated from the
National University of Singapore, majoring in Sociology, before attending film school. He
was mentored by film maestro Hou Hsiao Hsien at the Asian Film Academy (Pusan
International Film Festival 2008) and spent a month in Taipei working as the art
assistant intern in Tsai Ming Liang's new feature film, VISAGES (FACE).

Page 2 of 6

 
Interview with Lei Yuan Bin

Why is the film called WHITE DAYS?

The title, White Days, is an homage to the Andrei Tarkovsky film, MIRROR, which was
originally entitled A WHITE, WHITE DAY. I also found it interesting that the Chinese
character for 'white' came from the shape of the human skull. Bleached bones connect
us to Death, while the white of milk and eggs speaks to us of life. As such, the
dichotomy between life and death is itself inherent in the Chinese character for 'white'.
White also denotes emptiness which, contrary to nothingness, suggests a transitional
state filled with limitless possibilities. Similarly, the film is about a period of time – a slice
in the lives of three characters – and I felt it was important to draw attention to the
notion of time in the film. These ‘days’ do not just describe those of the three characters,
however. They describe a period that we all have to go through in life, a period in which
we are all struggling to make life decisions. I wanted to situate the three characters
within a certain 'now-ness.' Thus, the film provides no resolution because I was more
interested in the process of making these everyday decisions.

How did you conceive of the film?

The original idea for the film came from a question I asked myself: 'What film would
Yasujiro Ozu had made if he had lived in Singapore?' The film came as an answer to
this question – a simple story of everyday people living everyday lives, in the everyday
cityscape of Singapore. A crisis descends upon them, and they have to resign
themselves to things, drifting toward an uncertain future. The script was largely inspired
by three friends of mine, whom I got to play themselves in the film. Chris, the character
who went to Jerusalem, really did just came back from Jerusalem during the time of
shooting; Vel, the translator, really did want to change her job and travel to Taipei.
Daniel, the filmmaker, was the only character who was given a fictional story-line, one
that was loosely based on my own personal experience. With this film, I wanted to
document their states of being and their collective psyche in that particular moment in
time. Real life always struck me as being more interesting than the stories in cinema.

Page 3 of 6

 
But it is only through cinema that we can defamiliarize everyday life and see it more
clearly from a different perspective.

Was your camera style influenced by any filmmakers/artists?

It was actually due to practical concerns. We were filming in a crammed HDB apartment
– a type of government flat that houses 75% of Singapore's population – and so there
was very little room to move or track the camera. I was inspired by how Yasujiro Ozu
adapted the camera, which is basically a Western invention, to suit the interior
architecture of Japanese homes and offices. Similarly, I thought I could best showcase
the everyday HDB apartment with a wide angle lens and static, long master shots.

Could you describe your working methods with the actors?

The three actors I chose were close friends of mine, so we were very comfortable with
each other during filming. It was interesting, however, because I had to distance myself
from them and see them, instead, as characters in the film. Throughout this process, I
am consciously aware that it is impossible to know their true thoughts and feelings, or
that of anyone else in real life. Because the film was made on an extremely low budget,
I had a lot of freedom to film in a discreet and unobtrusive manner. It was almost like
shooting a documentary. Instead setting up scenes, I spent more effort creating a
comfortable atmosphere for the actors to perform. The narrative structure was thus
developed in an organic fashion. I did not give the actors a script; I simply gave them
skeletal guidelines before every scene, and allowed them to improvise their dialogue
around these points. In addition, my takes are often so long that the actors forget the
camera and the fact that we are shooting a film. Through this, I wanted to capture the
nuances of these characters – the pregnant pauses, uncomfortable silences and
uncertainties that come through their dialogue and body language. It was incredibly
important that they react instead of act. This gives them the freedom to be themselves
but, at the same time, within a certain framework laid down by me. This experience of
being alive – of existing in a time and space – cannot be performed, only lived.

Page 4 of 6

 
 Credits

Director: Lei Yuan Bin

Writing credits: Lei Yuan Bin, Chris Yeo

Producer and Cinematographer: Looi Wan Ping

Editor: Liao Jiekai, Looi Wan Ping

Music composed by: Gesang Martohartono

Music performed by: Arief Yudhanto

Sound post-production: Takuya Katsu

Cast

Chris Yeo, Daniel Hui, Vel Ng, Yeo Kwan Hua

Page 5 of 6

 
Press / Sales Enquiries Contact

In Hong Kong International Film Festival (23 March – 2 April 2009)

Renaissance Kowloon Hotel, Hong Kong
22 Salisbury Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon Hong Kong, China

Bee Thiam TAN

bthiam@gmail.com
+65 9768 9986 (SG)
+852 6476 4282 (HK: 23 Mar - 2 Apr 2009)
13littlepictures.com

Page 6 of 6