A woman who loves eggs but one day, she is haunted by an egg monster.

1. What motivated you to make this film?

My name is Bao and Eggsecution is a film born out of my love for eggs and eating eggs. My grandmother has always berated me for eating way too many eggs a human being could handle and often chided me for doing so, warning that one day i would gain an allergy from doing so. When i moved here to the states from Singapore, i was given free liberty to eat all the eggs i wanted since i was no longer living with my family. in that way, i was unleashed. But there was always a nagging feeling at the back of my head telling me that maybe theres some wrong in eating so many eggs a day. Hence, this film was born from that fear that was ingrained in me since young. And because  I love horror and genre so much, i decided to put a fun twist into both the visuals and story of this film. 

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

The film roughly had a timeline of 6 to 8 months. Because of the support from American Film Institute., I was allowed access to shoot on 35mm film – the Panavision Millennium xl2, 3 perf and in addition, with the support and generous donation from Kodak, we shot on 50D celluloid film – which was an amazing opportunity. My facility head and mentors, Stephen Lighthill, Sandra Valde-Handsen and Sara Ross Samko were very supportive of the original pitch for my visual essay and we eventually had to tailor it down to smaller ideas and smaller spaces due to budgetary and location restraints. But i am still extremely proud of the team that managed to make this happen! Thank you for selecting Eggsecution as part of your line up in the Experimental Film Festival! 

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Disgusting and Delicious! 

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

One of the biggest obstacles i faced was budgetary restraints. Because this film was self funded and i knew i was not working at that time, i had to save and set aside a workable budget for my film. Though equipment was provided by AFI, it was still a big project considering that i wanted to use SFX and practical effects and costume changes, along with the build of the monster in the film. My costume designer – Kai Burns and my SFX artist – Daniel Sukara were the MVPs, coming down to AFI to do countless tests to make sure the colours of the wigs, gooey, eggs and monsters were of the right shades of colour and effects could work seamlessly. 

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process? Being a DP, the favourite part of filmmaking definitely has to be the production phase of it . “egg-secution” of it. get it. hah. but yea preproduction also comes really close but nothing beats the adrenaline rush of making things come alive after you have painfully prepped for a long time! 

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I initially started photography as a passion.  my dad passed me my first camera when i was 6 years old. It was only in university where i made a shitty Blair Witch Project copy trailer with my friends that i had discovered the thrill and fun of collaborating with people to make something together! ever since then, 8 or 10 years have passed and here i am, still making films! haha. 

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?

I’ve probably seen Hereditary as well as Ratatouille an unhealthy amount of times. haha. 

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?

In a perfect world, i would really like to collaborate with Ari Aster, one of my all time favourite directors. I would also love to work on an animated film because i feel there is such a strong amount of craft in visual storytelling there that is unsaid and yet to be uncovered! 

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

The experience so far has been really really smooth! 

10. What is your favorite meal?

My favourite meal is without a doubt- anything with eggs. haha. 

11. What is next for you? A new film?

I’m currently writing a short and applying for a grant in Singapore. I’m also in talks with a few directors about shooting a short or two 🙂 excited to explore more in LA and gain more great experiences and collaborators in filmmaking!