Being born and raised in Singapore, I was exposed to a culturally rich and diverse community from a very young age. I grew up in a predominately Malay community but had friends who were Chinese, Indian and even Eurasian- but there was always one thing that tied us all together as Singaporeans and that was the love for food. Whenever you got invited to someone else’s house they wouldn’t ask you ‘How are you?’ but instead ‘ Have you eaten?’. Therefore eating became something I associated with care and concern from a very young age. When I moved to Australia about 4 years ago I found it hard to be myself and settle down. It was hard be away from friends I grew up with and I found myself extremely homesick all the time. It wasn’t until I thought myself how to cook some of my favourite dishes from back home before I started to realise how important food was connected to my identity. Nothing compares to having a big batch of beef rendang on a cold winter’s night, or going down to my local Malaysian restaurant to have my weekly dose of laksa. When there was an opportunity to take Food On Film as my studio, there was no doubt in my mind.

I’d love to be able to explore issues on how and why food is so closely related to culture. I love watching documentaries like Chef’s Table and Salt Fat Acid Heat, which admittedly were one of the biggest reason why I jumped on the opportunity to do this studio. I think that food can tell stories, it can connect people and more importantly it satisfies us. And I think it’s a beautiful thing when captured on film.

Food is such a global phenomenon and I think there’s a lot we can explore in this studio as a class not only with culinary cultural connections but also as a viral trends. Mukbangs for example, is something that I avidly watch on Youtube and I honestly couldn’t tell you why I do. It started out as a way to combat loneliness in South Korea as eating was something you did with other people. When you were forced to eat a lone, you would whip out your camera phone instead and live stream it so that it feels like you’re eating with someone else. It started gaining traction by the asian american audience and it has now become a subculture on Youtube. Some people say the eating sounds help them relax, others say they just like to watch people eat. Whatever the reason, its hard to ignore the influence of food, even in the digital sphere.

At the end of the semester, I’d hoped to satisfy my curiosity with food on film. I hope to create a short film of some sort and really take this opportunity to deep dive into at least one major issue of food on film. I feel like because I have all these interest and passion where food is concern, it would be hard for me to focus on a single issue once we get to the filming stage. But I see that as an opportunity to challenge myself and not let myself stray from the topic too much.

Overall, I’m extremely excited to start our projects in this studio and create something meaningful with something that means a lot to me.

I mean, who doesn’t love food?