Short Film
Coming Home Soon - Project Liber8 TIP The Narrative
Coming Home Soon, A Tale Within, and Break Free form a triptych of short films confronting the realities of human trafficking. From the lure of false promises, to the inner turmoil of captivity, and finally the desperate fight for freedom, the series traces the hidden journeys of those ensnared by exploitation. Together, they shed light on resilience in the face of despair and the urgent need to break the silence surrounding trafficking.
I love you.
Client — Project Liber8
Production Agency — Bestboy Studio
Directed and written — Youyou Zhang
Executive Producer — Kurtson Wong
Casting — Kurtson Wong, Jo Yee, Youyou Zhang
AD & AP — Jo Yee
DOP — Ken Hor
Gaffer & Grip — Senhong
Production Designer — Benyi
Hair & Makeup — Seehuan
Wardrobe — Youyou Zhang
Editor — Ken Hor
Sound Design — Youyou Zhang
Sound Mix — Ken Hor
Colourist — Kurtson Wong
Behind & Beyond
TIP the Narrative, Project Liber8, July 2023 Chapter 1: Coming Home Soon (1/3) 🎬
This was the first video production that we almost treated like a short film.
Though it was just a two-day shoot with a team still very much in its nuclear phase ⚡️ (both as in the crew size and its chaotic power of course).
Some background to the entire project which consists 3 videos that we sweated and bled for them (kidding/not kidding): Tip the Narrative is a programme supported by the US Embassy to increase empathy and shift Malaysians’ attitude towards trafficking in persons (TIP for short or better known as human trafficking).
Here’s the story outline written in our original creative brief:
“Synopsis: We follow the traumatic events of Raji’s, a 30-year-old migrant male who was trafficked to be a forced labour on a construction site in Malaysia, unfolding in an reverse-chronological order guiding by the voicemail message he tries to leave to his 5-year-old daughter explaining why he couldn’t be back again and he’s coming home soon this time. Step by step, we find out the Means and ACT of a typical process of TIP along with glimpses of his once happy and peaceful life back at his home with his hope and aspirations of providing a better life for his family, then flashes forward to his current state of realisation that he’s finally going home soon.”
Trying to condense the entire concept of trafficking in persons into a 2–3 minute piece was terrifying. Trying to make it visually compelling was almost impossible under the time and money.
But for better or worse, we made it. 🔥.
