The Road Less Travelled

Director/writer Lim Suat-yen, 25, producers Jason Lai, 25, and Zaihirat Banu, 24, had to overcome obstacles similar to those of their movie's characters. Lim had won the Best Director and Special Achievement awards at the last year's Singapore Short Film Competition for Sense of Home, which depicted her homecoming after studying abroad. Lai and Zaihirat are graduates of Ngee Ann Polytechnic's film studies department. Unable to get financing from corporate sponsors, the three garnered the support of their families. They took bank loans to raise the S$350,000 needed to make the 90-minute film. The trio set up Oak 3 Films last July, Lim penned the script and 100 crew members set out for about 35 locations here to shoot the film. It premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival in April, along with Hugo Ng's God or Dogand Eric Khoo's 12 Storeys. The Road Less Travelledportrays a journey down the often-solitary artistic path by a group of four friends. The central theme is that of the conflict between youthful idealism and reality. It is told through the protagonist Ah Jie (Jack), played by TCS Star Search 1995 finalist Robin Goh, 26. Ah Jie is torn between pursuing his ideals and being filial to his divorced mother who objects to his desire to be a musician. About the film, the director says: "It is not just about local singers, it's about what we can do with our lives and talents. There's a lot more to life than the conventional things; we should continue dreaming and work at it to make our dreams come true."