INTERVIEW: Tan Wei Ting & Chng Ying Tong on CA$H

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With local film CA$H (2018) selected for the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, we grabbed the opportunity to ask producer Chng Ying Tong and director Tan Wei Ting some questions. They shared some of the highlights and hardest challenges they faced while working on the short film. As it was their first time managing such responsibilities in their respective roles, the process of making CA$H ended up being a unique but memorable experience.

CA$H, a film created under the Temasek 20/20 project, explores the lives of four supermarket cashiers as they lock themselves in the supermarket in protest. The film will be screening at the 41st Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival, where it was chosen out of 9238 films and made it into the 76 selections for its International Competition. It also won multiple accolades at the National Youth Film Awards 2018 (Open Youth Category), including Best Direction for Tan. On top of that, it won Best Sound and garnered nominations for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Picture.

The first inkling of CA$H started from an idea that Tan had. Having read an article by the World Economic Forum discussing the 4th Industrial Revolution, Tan began to reflect on the consequences this might have on the future. She shares, “My mum has been working as a cashier in a supermarket for more than 10 years now, and growing up, I have heard so many stories about her work and her colleagues.” This led Tan turning those stories into a short film that showed how communal experiences might gradually be lost in an increasingly isolated society.

Preparing for the Temasek 20/20 pitch was not easy. As Tan’s friend, when Chng was approached to be the producer for CA$H, she immediately agreed. They split the work for the pitch between them, with Tan handling the storyline and Chng managing the budget, timeline and other logistics requirements. Though it was tough squeezing everything that they wanted to propose into the time limit given, with enough practice, they managed to succeed.

Tan confesses that the process of shooting CA$H was actually pretty traumatising for her. Since it was her first time directing, she faced a really steep learning curve and had to put in extra effort to make up for it. “Location and casting were the toughest battles,” Tan recalls. “Because of the working hours of the supermarket, it was quite difficult to get a [place] for the amount of time we needed.” Chng adds on that they were going to film a few weeks before Chinese New Year, making it even more impossible to find a supermarket that was willing to lend their space to them during what was considered a peak period.

Thankfully, after weeks of searching, they eventually came across a supermarket who agreed to let them film for three consecutive nights. The staff even went on set to facilitate the filming process. It was a hectic period for everyone but Chng and Tan managed to create a wonderful film under such circumstances.

Although the process of shooting CA$H was exhausting, Tan admits that the result was extremely rewarding. Upon seeing the highly positive audience response to her film, Tan felt like the hardship had been all worthwhile. An audience member even shared on social media how they were able to relate to the film as their father owned a small business and had experienced firsthand how such businesses are often taken over by bigger players and becoming obsolete.

Although there were certain moments where her inexperience peeked through, Tan prefers to see the film as “a permanent seal of people, time and space”. Nevertheless, she strives to constantly improve on herself and hopes to be able to tackle a series in the future.

For Chng, the filmmaking experience was also especially rewarding for her. “I didn’t come from film school and since entering this industry, I’ve not produced a short film of my own,” Chng reveals. The experience of producing CA$H thus allowed her to be more confident of her abilities. Her next project is to bring Singapore content overseas, particularly Taiwan, as she is currently managing the Kaohsiung branch office of production house The Flying Kick Asia. “We are working on creating Singapore-Taiwan content,” Chng says, “to deepen cultural exchange between both countries.” Hopefully, she’ll soon be able to produce such a film.

“To be able to carry the vision of a film from start to end is something I have always wanted to try but never had the courage to,” Tan replies when asked about what CA$H meant to her. Seeing the film bloom from something as simple as an idea to one that secured a place in the Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival is, to her, a rollercoaster of a dream come true.

Click here to watch CA$H.
Click here to read our review of CA$H.