niouzi

For many years I was a cinephile with taste for slice-of-life and subtle character-driven cinema often with a social commentary element. From that interest I started writing screenplays and plays as a hobby since it was often the only way I knew how to deal with challenging issues that I found myself ruminating on.

As for many, the pandemic had given me a changed perspective on life, which saw me spend a lot more time and energy on my artistic pursuits outside my day job as an engineer. I wrote this screenplay beginning of 2021 and due to how important this screenplay was to me personally, I decided to pursue the project. For a few years I had some great constructive feedback on my script but had always failed to find filmmakers interested in taking on the project. But then I realised all the films that I loved and were main reference points for my film, were all made by writer directors. I realised I had to be the one to make this film to see my vision alive on screen.

End of 2023, I decided to take an extended career break from software engineering to pursue this film project. And in early 2024, I was connected to Jude Ella as a co-producer and cinematographer, who I felt a strong affinity to in our artistic purpose and vision. That was when the project took flight.

In July 2024 my first film was premiered to a sold out cinema of 153 along with a Q&A session hosted by Jay Ooi creator and producer of critically acclaimed Shoes Off podcast.