V.K. SANTOSH KUMAR
Teacher-turned-filmmaker Reena Deen has completed filming Singapore’s first low-budget indie horror film starring disabled leads using her own savings.
The 75-minute supernatural mystery, The Damned Ones, features actresses who are hard of hearing and blind.
A mini-documentary by Reena on how this feature film was made received an award from Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng on Nov 5.
It also won third place at last month’s Pokka Film Festival, a platform for emerging filmmakers to showcase their work in Singapore.
The documentary talks about how the cast and crew, who either have disabilities or come from marginalised backgrounds, teamed up to shoot the movie.
Having grown up with Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and dyslexia, Reena is no stranger to the challenges faced by people with disabilities.
“I wanted to tell a story with disabled leads which did not revolve around disability,” she said.
The filmmaker put up a casting and crew notice in the Kino Red Dot WhatsApp group, an amateur film club in Singapore where people come together to make short films as a hobby.
“Jade Ow, an actress who is hard of hearing, approached me saying she was keen to play the lead,” said Reena. “She then brought in her friend Amanda Yip, an actress who is legally blind, to play the second lead.
“The other cast and crew also came mainly through Kino Red Dot, and I chose people who I knew were talented but could not find an opportunity because of disability or marginalisation.”
Reena decided to do the film with her own savings, about $7,000, because she felt that, as a new director with only short films under her belt, it would be hard to get funding.
“Most people would baulk at the idea of using their savings for something like this, but for me it was an amazing learning experience and I have no regrets,” she said.
Reena, who was a teacher for 15 years, had not planned to become a filmmaker. However, when the pandemic struck in 2020, her income was affected as she was teaching mostly children with learning difficulties and online tuition was not suitable for them.
She chose to upgrade herself with the SGUnited Skills writing course from Singapore Media Academy (SMA) and initially planned to use it to teach English to adults. However, the course, which included scriptwriting, ignited her passion for filmmaking.
“I was motivated by SMA vice-president Timothy Tan, who talked about filmmaking in our class,” she said. “He made me feel like some day my scripts could be made into films.
“A course member took me to Kino Red Dot meetings where I met the founder, Alexandre Fernandez. He strongly believes the film industry needs more female directors and persuaded me to learn filmmaking.
“I then learnt filmmaking from Kino Red Dot members who taught me different skills, such as cinematography, lighting and sound.”
Though the script for The Damned Ones was written by Reena, Jade and Amanda provided inputs to ensure that the disability representation was as accurate as possible.
“As a deaf actress, I strongly believe that the whole community must come together to facilitate accessibility in the arts,” said Jade. “I am not exempt from the intense training and preparation for a role. This is just the beginning, and I hope to deliver much more in future.”
Amanda said: “I play a character who is legally blind like me, but unlike me she is feisty and strong-willed. As a newbie to the filmmaking space, it really tested my acting skills.”
Reena hopes to get some assistance with the post-production work for her film, but she is fully prepared to invest her own time and money if necessary.
“The film underwent a final edit, thanks to an editor who kindly volunteered her time for minimal pay,” she said. “However, to compete in reputable film festivals like the Singapore International Film Festival, the film will need professional audio and colour grading. I am applying for grants to get these done.”
She plans to send the film to film festivals in Singapore, Busan, Shanghai and Hong Kong this year.
“The only way I can do justice to my cast and crew who have poured in so much time and effort is to take this film to the festivals which will recognise their talent,” said Reena.
