PRODUCER
Chowee Leow

In Chinese mythology there is a Goddess of Mercy who has four pairs of hands, she is resolute and compassionate and would appear magically to help those who are in need. In this production, Chowee is that Goddess. He was there all through the process overseeing every single details of production and took upon himself tasks which were way beyond the call of duty. From developing the characters and the plotline of the story to drawing every frame of the storyboard, from location scouting to booking actors for audition, from transporting props to going through every single note with the composer, from negotiating the music rights to paying the crew’s PAYE, from editing the script over and over again providing artistic input to the design of the website, his support was unswerving. As well as being the lead in the film, he found time to ensure every actor and crew member was having a good time. A dear friend and a Goddess in my life!

Chowee studied at the Central St Martin School of Art and is a fully qualified synchronised swimming instructor. This honed his ability to paddle like crazy underwater to stay afloat whilst smiling serenely and wearing a nose clip! As Associate Artistic Director of Tripitaka Theatre Company, he acted, designed and co-produced the company’s shows in the UK and Asia with Ivan Heng, notably An Occasional Orchid and Hot Dogs and Eternal Triangles.

This is his sixth collaboration with Ray Yeung and not only has he had to slip into another pair of stilettos yet again, but he is also doing it wearing a producer’s hat. Well, at least he’s not fellating a saveloy at the bottom of his garden this time! Current projects in development with Ray Yeung for Rice is Nice Productions include Black Phoenix- Dragged out of the Ashes and Cosmogaysians.

LINE PRODUCER
Celia Z Bargh

Our search for a producer started in May 2004 and within three months we had found and lost two. Both of them felt it was impossible to make the film we wanted on our tight budget. By August, Chowee and I were at an all time low wondering if this film was ever going to happen. Then one rainy afternoon, Chowee bumped into his neighbour, Sally George who works at the BBC. Over a cuppa tea, Sally told Chowee she might have just the solution for us in the form of Celia Bargh. I wasn’t holding my breath, why would an ex-BBC producer with years of experience want to work on a micro-budget indie film? But Celia read the script and loved it. She then watched my last short and decided she wanted to take up the challenge. Without Celia, this film couldn’t have happened. She didn’t just give us her all, she did it with total devotion and belief. With her can-do attitude, she made the impossible a reality including getting HD camera for half the cost and an award-winning DOP thrown in! Now what more can you ask for from a line producer?

Celia has worked extensively in television dramas, documentaries and feature films. She line produced 'Foyles War', 'Pest Control' (Steve Coogan's new perona), ‘Sensitive Skin’ (a six part comedy series) as well as the drama series ‘Waking the Dead’ for the BBC. Her film work includes ‘The Defender’, an action feature directed by Dolph Lundgren and Double Zero, a French co-production. In her years at the BBC, her credits include associate producer on Casualty and Eastenders and working on landmark documentary series such as The Human Face, Changing Stages, Human All too Human and art documentaries on Daniel Libeskind, Mondrian, Shanghai City and the fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Patrick Duval

When I was a child I remember watching ‘Kung Fu’ the TV series. The Chinese sage was still, full of wisdom with a generous heart. This is my impression of Patrick – a Zen Master. No matter how crazy things got on set, how many locations we had to rush to or how little daylight we had left for the day’s shoot, Patrick was always there, calmly humming to himself while he adjusted the lights . With limited resources , a minimal camera team and a silent confidence, scenes were lit and they looked fantastic. Never one to complain about the difficult situation we were in, Patrick was able to guide the whole film from start to finish with sheer professionalism and artistic integrity.

In 1988 Patrick won the Technical Achievement award at the Evening Standard Award and the Cinematography Prize at the Valladolid Film Festival for Distant Voices, Still Lives, directed by Terence Davies. He has worked across genres from feature films to television dramas and documentaries. His film credits include Anorak of Fire and Elenya. Televison dramas include the Just William series, Lifeboat, Nightshift, Itch and Citizen Locke. He has worked on numerous documentaries including Auschwitz & The Final Solution, The Last Tomb Raider, Cleopatra, Faking It, Art and Identity series, Arena on Dirk Bogarde and Bill Brandt, Omnibus - Lord Byron and Vile Bodies series. Commercials include Evian, Persil, Colgate and Sony. Most recently, he shot the television comedy Sensitive Skin, starring Joanna Lumley.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Malin Lindholm

Having worked as a production designer myself for many years, I understand how tough and under-appreciated this job can be. People expect the set to be dressed when they arrive and changed in hardly any time for the next scene. Demands are made and execution is expected yesterday. Given the limited art department budget, Malin succeeded in getting a lot of props. The sets gave an insight into each character’s personalities with cold hard lines for Mel and camp flourishes for Ash.

Born and bred in Stockholm, Malin has worked with set design in a variety of places – Stockholm, New York, Tel Aviv and Paris – before moving to London four years ago. After drama and film studies at the Universities in Stockholm and Tel Aviv and a degree in theatre design from Wimbledon school of Art, she now works equally in film and theatre. Her resume contains: Pilates (musical, New York), 4ever (Pleasance Theatre, London), The Merchant of Venice (film starring Al Pacino etc), Auf Wiedersehen pet (BBC, London), The Magic Flute (opera, Graaz), pop promo -The Burns (Virgin records) etc.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Rosa Fong

Rosa and I met in the early 90s when we were both filmmakers struggling to get the voice of the Chinese heard on film. She is one of the earliest Chinese filmmaker in this country and a great asset to this film. From early on in the process, she helped with structuring the script, giving advice on casting, planning the shots and music, while looking after her two daughters and holding down a full time job!

Award winning filmmaker Rosa has made programmes for both TV and cinematic release. Her credits include “A Dream of Venus Butterfly” and “Linear Rhythm” for the Arts Council, “Red”, for the British Film Institute, “Tian” for the BBC and “Chinese for Beginners” for Channel Four. Other directing credits include corporate videos for publishing groups and voluntary organizations. She has taught Film and Media studies and spoken as a guest lecture for Birkbeck University and the Victoria and Albert Museum on Images of Chinese Women in film.