A migrant worker from South India, whose customs says he is not allowed to marry at an even age, tries to find a wife before his 32nd birthday whilst working as a lorry driver in Singapore.

Interview with Writer/Director Zuki Juno Tobgye

Watch Searching for Wives here:

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Thank you. I relate to the lonely characters who yearn for honest human interactions which is why I felt so strongly for the foreign workers in Singapore. I came across this quirky photo studio that helps takes portraits of foreign workers who are looking for wives and fate led me to Patha who graciously allowed me to document his journey - one I hope that can connect people from many different sides of the globe and make us realize we are more alike and connected than we thought.

To add a bit of context, there are a lot of foreign workers from South India and Bangladesh in Singapore (where this was shot) and they are quite isolated from society. I found that most often than not, they are viewed as a faceless entity and I thought this would be a great way to break down that wall that divides us.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

It’s a light film about a subject most can relate to – love.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

For myself, I relate to the outsider, to feeling like a foreigner most of my life. Looking for someone or something to make you feel complete or at home is a search I identified strongly with and could relate to with my protagonist Patha. The themes of hope, love and the search for happiness are themes I think most people have felt or can relate to. It was very important to me to capture this film and Patha’s search as sensitively as possible without exploiting him and making it feel like a spectacle, so by highlighting these themes I feel it coaxes the audience to understand where he is coming from despite the stark differences they might have.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

I always had a vision of how this film would go or what I wanted to highlight, but obviously as production went along I found that there were many twists and turns that I had to follow that weren’t anticipated before. After a day's shoot my editor and I would review the footage together, log it and highlight which parts we thought we could use and this helped me gain perspective of how it can go from there. I kept an open mind with the structure of the story as this is another man’s life obviously I can’t plan out everything.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

I’ve gotten pretty good feedback from my lecturers, classmates and audience goers. Mostly I am told that they loved Patha and found him extremely charming.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

There were times during a Q and A session where I realized that there are people who know very little about Indian culture (Although the tradition covered in this film is not a tradition practiced by the majority in India as it’s something Patha’s particular village adheres to) and it was pretty cool to see how this film had many people ask a lot of questions and wanting to know more about the culture.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Just spreading the word around that my film exists and having a wide audience watch it is really cool to think about.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Film festival directors, journalists and distributors.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope the film is received well. I hope it leaves people more open minded.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

My DP Jason Lau and I are writing our own short films each, and Peter Lim my editor is working as an in house editor.

Interview: January 2016

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

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Searching for Wives

A migrant worker from South India, whose customs says he is not allowed to marry at an even age, tries to find a wife before his 32nd birthday whilst working as a lorry driver in Singapore.

Length: 12 minutes

Director: Zuki Juno Tobgye

Producer: Vigneswari Nagaraj

Writer: Zuki Juno Tobgye

About the writer, director and producer:

Zuki Juno Tobgye received a BA Honors in film from the Puttnam School of Film at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. Her thesis film Searching for Wives is her first film.

Key cast: Shanmugavel Pathakarnan

Sheeja Sajeev Lal

K. Sajeev Lal

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):

All Funders: The Puttnam School of Film, Lasalle college of the arts

Made in association with:

Where can I see it in the next month? Slamdance Film Festival Park City, Utah 23rrd and 26th January as well as Los Angeles Independent Film Awards Los Angeles, California 28th January.