Mothers & Daughters is an ongoing documentary about the lives of Colin's sister, mother and grandmother. It has been in production since 2017.
The short film is funded by National Youth Film Awards' Film Facilitation Programme 2022.
He hopes to continue shooting and develop it into a feature documentary.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
This is a story about my family. Since I was young, I often have to play mediator between mother and sister, mother and grandma, or even mother and father. After leaving Singapore to study in Taiwan, my sister inherited the role of the mediator in the family. But she still fights with my mother, and while I am away, there is little I can do. Someone once told me that leaving for Taiwan is a form of escape for me, and perhaps it is. If so, I hope that this documentary can help my sister and I better understand our mother and grandmother. Perhaps watching this one day, it can soothe over some of the tension that has grown between them over the years. For me, I hope that even though I am being on the fence while shooting this film (I do not converse with them when I am rolling), that just being there, I have taken part in this journey that I have unknowingly started them on.
I started shooting this documentary nearly 4 years ago, shortly after arriving in Taiwan to pursue an MFA Filmmaking. Due to covid, I have been unable to return home to visit my family, much less continue the film. In the time since, my grandma has become bed-ridden after sustaining a fall. My mum was diagnosed with having a tumor in her brain causing her to be very forgetful. My sister is doing well but is very stressed caring for the family. I hope that with FFP, I am able to have more time to continue and even allow the film to have a cathartic end, one way or another.
