Pleasure Factory
Reuters.
Jan 30, 2007
By Miral Fahmy
Ekachai Uekrongtham loves a sordid story and the award-winning Thai
director wants prudish Singapore to hear this one.
This week, Uekrongtham finished shooting "Pleasure Factory", a film
about Geylang, the city-state's red light district, which he wants
to release in the second half of the year.
"In this very orderly society, this very pristine place, Geylang is
very unexpected," he told Reuters by telephone.
"Geylang is a black hole which Singapore often pretends does not
exist but which, of course, does exist."
Singapore, one of Southeast Asia's most successful economies,
prides itself on its propriety. The government has a long list of
things undesirable that includes chewing gum, homosexuality, public
protests, the local patois and even satire.
Prostitution is legal in Singapore. But Uekrongtham said "Pleasure
Factory" focuses on the illegal aspects of the industry and tries
to show that the world's oldest profession, which is often deemed
seedy, can also be beautiful.
"Geylang is equated to sex, but to me sex and the human body are
not bad things, they're beautiful," he said. "Providing pleasure,
and seeking it, are good things."
Inspired by the stories Uekrongtham heard during his many visits to
Geylang, "Pleasure Factory" revolves around a prostitute, played by
renowned Taiwan actress Yang Kuei-Mei, who watches a young girl
being drafted into the profession.
Sex and substance
Shot entirely in Geylang, the film casts another Asian heart-throb,
Australian-Laotian actor Ananda Everingham, as an art director who
roams the streets of the district.
Many of the lesser-known actors were not allowed to meet before
filming their scenes to give the film a realistic edge, Uekrongtham
said.
He also features people on the fringes, such as the cleaners who
empty bins filled with used condoms and tissues.
"In reality, the characters of the 'pleasure factory' are
strangers. These are not sad, wrong people, they're humans who are
strong, resilient and who deal with hardship," he said.
"Of course there's sex and nudity, but the film also has a
heart."
The director has lived in Singapore on and off for about 20 years
and used to visit Geylang a lot as a student.
But despite his intimate knowledge of the area and the warm welcome
he got from many sex workers, filming "Pleasure Factory" was
fraught with difficulties.
"Geylang is not an easy place to navigate, especially with a film
crew. We had to get a lot of permissions (from the government) and
it remains to be seen whether the film will be allowed to show in
Singapore," he said.
Uekrongtham's fascination with the unorthodox was manifest in his
2003 film "Beautiful Boxer", inspired by the true story of
Thailand's famed transgender kickboxer Nong Toom.
Believing he's a woman trapped in a man's body, Toom masters
kickboxing to raise cash for a sex-change operation.
The film was internationally acclaimed and won awards at the 2004
San Sebastian Film Festival and several gay and lesbian film
events.
Uekrongtham's next film is also unlikely to go down well with the
authorities - it's a movie about a Singaporean father who
advertises for sons-in-law for his three daughters.
"It's a comedy that focuses on Singapore's materialistic
sensibilities. On his Web site, the father says 'only the rich need
apply'," he said.
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2007-01-29T130056Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-285396-1.xml
the govt should help promote this film if it wants to shake off our
boring and squeakly clean image!
