interviews
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Making Sabah Guitars
Yap Keng Vui, Roger Wang, Gordon Pan, Allen Lin, and Timothy Tang are here in Yap’s workshop. They recently acquired the contents of a Canadian luthier’s workshop in Kuala Lumpur, because he was returning to Canada. So today they are opening all the boxes which have arrived! It’s kids in candy store day! I look… Continue reading
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Jude Day, Festival Director — Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival
The Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) runs September 17 – 25 in 2022. Founder and festival director Jude Day got on Zoom with me, to talk about what’s coming up. I was going to write a long post, but Jude is so effervescent, her passion for film and the people that write and make… Continue reading
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Stanley Jordan Zoom interview
I got the chance to interview American jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan for Scenestr ahead of his first Australian tour. I also got permission from his agent to do an interview for myself, which I recorded on Zoom. I cannot believe how kind and generous Mr Jordan was! He talked about all the things I wanted… Continue reading
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Roaring Lion’s Vince Rangi — a life of creativity
Vince Rangi walked into a Roaring Lion rehearsal in the second week I had been there and was easily the widest person I had ever met. He has muscles! But then he got on a mic and sang a superb falsetto above me. In rehearsal, he’ll casually pull out his camera and take footage. Then… Continue reading
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MICK HUGHES – VIDEO PODCAST
My point of view is that every gig I play, I play it like it’s my last one. You just give one hundred and ten percent, every time. Mick Hughes Mick Hughes is a musician based on the Sunshine Coast, who hails from London and Ireland. He has a massively musical life performing in and… Continue reading
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Benson Wu, Director, Taiwan Film Festival in Australia
“The festival is edgy,” said Benson Wu, Director of the Taiwan Film Festival in Australia. On a recent Zoom call, Benson said he’s all about bringing more diversity into film, whether it’s Asian representation in Western film or LGBT films to Taiwanese audiences. “We have around 12 films in the full programme and there are… Continue reading
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Oizoioi. Build a bridge, start a conversation
We are a third culture. Our parents were immigrants. We are seen as foreigners even though we were born here. We’re stuck between two worlds and still don’t quite know how we fit in Australia. Our fashion is a bridge. Our brand is Oizoioi – people ask us: How do you say that? What does… Continue reading
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The Occasion #8 — Polaris Banks
Interview with director Polaris Banks for Continuance Pictures “I don’t just want to make movies. I want to make MY movies. I don’t want anything to be between me and what I fell in love with when I was a kid, and every little boy who grows up wanting to be a director says I… Continue reading
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PODCAST: Bao Pham, founder Team Bliss Esports
Bao Pham, a gamer, helped his friend build a team of PUBG gamers. He ended up creating an esports organisation called Team Bliss Esports. Now there are several Bliss teams competing internationally. Brisbane-based Team Bliss HQ has become a training centre for professional gamers, with state-of-the-art gaming hardware, and a gaming-oriented internet cafe. It is… Continue reading
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The Occasion #7 — Alexei Slater
Interview with writer/director Alexei Slater for Continuance Pictures “I want to write. That’s what it’s always been. But I’m not some writer in an attic who’s got no understanding of the industry. I co-produced my first short film and got into this habit of learning what to do. If you look at my career trajectory… Continue reading
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Creatures of the Half Sleep – John Reeves Trio
Step into the world of jazz pianist John Reeves, who is releasing his first CD ‘Creatures of the Half Sleep’, a collection of original compositions arranged for accordion! Here, we geek out over his beautiful instrument, and his journey with it so far. The John Reeves Trio has Helen Svoboda on double bass and Aaron… Continue reading
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The Occasion #3 — Eddy Bell
Interview with director Eddy Bell for Continuance Pictures “I love the madness of filmmaking! I love the circus of arriving in a location with trucks and ridiculous equipment. Things come out, you collectively pull off this amazing feat and then it all goes back in the truck and you drive away! Then there’s the catharsis… Continue reading
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Bao Pham, Founder, Team Bliss Esports
This is an unexpected Fam story. I met Bao Pham at a recent music video shoot for Eastmode, and I really liked talking with him. He’s got a well-established flower business, and on the side he’s building a enterprise around his passion – esports! So here is something about Bao Pham and his Team Bliss… Continue reading
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The Occasion #2 — Sian Laycock & Joel Stephen Fleming
Originally written for Continuance Pictures ‘The C Word’ is a Brisbane-based comedy series written by Sian Laycock and Joel Stephen Fleming, which is in development with Continuance Pictures and backed by Screen Australia. “Essentially ‘The C Word’ is a comedy drama,” said Sian, a writer/art director. “Continuance Pictures helped us with our application to Screen… Continue reading
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The Occasion – a collaboration with Continuance Pictures
I am so excited to announce a collaboration with Continuance Pictures to interview local and international emerging filmmakers under a new title called ‘The Occasion’. Written interviews and podcasts will be on the Continuance website plus Apple and Spotify every month. When I first met Continuance co-founders Tristan Barr and David Gim I loved their… Continue reading
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All about the team – Derek Griffiths, Visul
It’s about finding the right team, the right passion, and a story that’s worth telling Derek Griffiths, Creative Producer, Visul Derek Griffiths operates under the Visul banner as a solo creative producer. He wants to tell a great story and he cares about the people that walk the journey with him. Talk with him for… Continue reading
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Sian Laycock – creating the reality
In ‘Jacks’, we’re living in a stylised environment: a heightened reality in terms of the colour palette. The set is bold and the lighting is vibrant, with lots of neon. It’s almost retro-inspired and could be a set from any time in the last 20 or 30 years. Sian Laycock, Production and Costume Design, 13th… Continue reading
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Joel Stephen Fleming – 13th Street Films
Award-winning Brisbane-based writer director Joel Stephen Fleming has a new short film in the works. His company 13th Street Films is in collaboration with producer Derek Griffiths, and here’s how Derek announced it on Facebook via his Visul brand. Once I have the idea I don’t write anything straight away. I let the idea tell… Continue reading
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Barber Q
Above: Quang Le by Akira Le When you meet Quang Le, or ‘Barber Q’ as he’s known, you think: this is a cool dude. He’s got the skills, they got the music going at Crooners Barber Shop, you can talk to him about the tracks and the fades. Just relax and smile, you’re in good hands… Continue reading
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Sen Shao, model & actor
Sen Shao was born in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, famous for its terracotta warrior historical site. His parents moved to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, a burgeoning technology hub of nearly 13 million residents, considered to be China’s equivalent of Silicon Valley, before he came to Australia in 2010. When Sen arrived in Brisbane he could barely… Continue reading
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Chong Ali and Akira Le: growing the fam
Photo of Chong Ali by Akira Le. A lovely thing has happened to me. I am meeting creative Asians in Queensland. You know, the ones who didn’t pursue STEM careers. There are a lot of them! I started meeting some on film sets. Then I joined the Asian Creative Network on Facebook, and was invited… Continue reading
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Datuk Peter Pragas
When I first visited Datuk Peter Pragas, he welcomed me with a gentleness which made me feel quietly delighted and humbled. We shared a plate of biscuits and soft drinks at his daughter Jeanette’s home, off Jalan Bundusan. The living room was heaving with evidence of the Datuk’s musical achievement in Sabah: newspaper articles, publications,… Continue reading
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Tian Long – the Hakka Singer
After a decade of challenges in the Malaysian music industry, graphic designer Tian Long had given up on making a living through music. Then he made a funny animated video about being a Hakka Chinese guy pleading with his girlfriend not to go to England. His YouTube inbox was flooded with messages from thousands of… Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. She worked mainly in financial news in London. In her forties she moved to her parents’ birthplace, Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. She became a pianist at the Jesselton Hotel in Kota Kinabalu and wrote a blog about musicians, which was popular among Sabahans at home and abroad. The blog was turned into a coffee table book when the Ministry of Tourism and Culture expressed interest. Joanna came to Australia in 2012. This is her second blog.
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