Ng Yiqin is the director of the Viddsee Original short film, Something I Wanted To Ask, produced as part of an anthology series ‘Scene City.’
It’s a story that explores identity and masculinity through a boy’s eyes. He struggles to understand the relationship between his parents and straddles between two perspectives, one of uncertainty, the other of horror.
This is her director’s statement, in full.
Ng Yiqin: When does a playful jibe become an insult? At which point does a person change? Is violence just women’s issues or men’s issues too?
In my first draft, I just wanted a story that had a dramatic arc. I made it violent for the drama to seem physical and visual. I was more excited about the chance to choreograph fight scenes so this became a creative exercise that led to something more.
During research, I was surprised to learn of acquaintances who had lived experiences of sexism and domestic abuse. It could be a father venting his day’s frustration on his daughter, it could be a boyfriend feeding his insecurities and turning it into something else.
Most of the time, the aggressor is a trusted person. Of course, there are instances in which women are perpetrators too. Listening to their stories troubled me as I thought about why violence is so prevalent in this day and age.
I used my notes and wrote about a couple that had seemingly normal quarrels that escalated to violence. Sometimes it’s a thin line. When is it passion and when is it violence? When is it okay and when is it not?
Watch ‘Something I Wanted To Ask’ by Ng Yiqin (Singapore) on Viddsee:
Trigger warning: Contains scenes of domestic abuse and violence.
I asked these questions through the eyes of a young boy. I prefer to use this perspective as a young person’s views are often uninformed, fluid and open. Along his search for answers, I hope he can throw up some useful questions that our audience can take home.
Yiqin speaks to our editorial team about ‘Something I Wanted To Ask’, read it here.