S’pore Indie Filmmaker Thinks Lim Kay Tong’s Face Could Tell A Story Better Than Words
Michael Kam’s debut feature Old Man and His Car recently made its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival and will launch at next week’s Singapore International Film Festival.
I owe Michael Kam a book. Somewhere in the mid-’90s, when he was working publicity for Shaw Organisation and when I was a carefree freelancer, he lent me Robert Rodriguez’s guerrilla filmmaking bible Rebel Without a Crew.
I never returned it.
“Oh, now I know where the book went!” he says in an email interview. “Totally forgot that I loaned it to you. The key thing I do recall is how Rodriguez subjected himself to being a drug company lab rat to earn the money to make his film. He took advantage of that isolation to write his screenplay. It shows the sacrifices he had to make, and that he’s someone who applies whatever he faces to serve his larger goal of making a film. That kind of spirit is truly admirable and something I can learn from.”
That spirit clearly stuck. Kam has been teaching at Ngee Ann Polytechnic for “more than 20 years — which some might say makes me older than some of the furniture there.” But during a semester break in 2023, he did what every film lecturer secretly dreams of: he cashed in some leave, called up former students, and at the tender age of 57, shot his first feature, Old Man and His Car. Fourteen days. No frills. Pure graft.
Writer/Director Michael Kam with Lim Kay Tong at Old Man and His Car's Tokyo International Film Festival screening on Nov 2.
The Old Man and his Car follows Hock (played by Lim Kay Tong), a widower who decides to sell his beloved Mercedes-Benz and prepares to emigrate to Canada to live with his son.
Before stretching his filmmaking muscles on a feature, Kam made a name with short films such as Masala Mama, Detour, Melodi, and One Day in Lim Chu Kang.
“This film was born at a time when I doubted if I’d ever make a feature film,” says Kam, who admits he has a drawer full of scripts. In the end, he went with Old Man and His Car, which was inspired by his father’s experiences of giving up driving due to old age.
“I’d spent close to five years developing a project that went nowhere. Then at a conference, I met a professor who ran a micro-budget feature programme in Korea. The idea stuck. Maybe I psychically sent out this question because the universe answered — or more simply, an ex-student of mine heard me talk about it and offered to help kick-start the journey.”
He’s quick to point out that no current students were roped in. “It might be a conflict of interest since I also grade their assignments,” he explains. “But a number of alumni kindly agreed to follow me on this journey.”
Lim Kay Tong shares a sombre moment with his car, which is not unlike the one Kam’s father once drove. “Part of my homework as a filmmaker is to write a bio for each key character, so even car colour — what fits the character’s psyche — factors into my thoughts,” he says.
Mentorship came from beyond Singapore. The film was invited to the First Cut Lab programme in the Philippines. “A seasoned editor gave me and my editor meaningful feedback on what worked and what didn’t. After that, I trusted my instincts.”
For his lead, Kam went straight to Singapore screen royalty. “[Lim] Kay Tong was one of the folks at the top of our mind. We were really elated when he agreed. He did qualify that he wasn’t comfortable speaking in other languages aside from English. I reflected on that and thought, I could use that as an interesting dimension to the story.”
Lim connected immediately. “He told me he truly connected with the story and felt the writing was tight. Flattery does wonders for me,” Kam says. “But seriously, it really boosted the confidence of my entire team.”
And then there’s Perth — that grimy 2004 cult classic also starring Lim. “Funnily enough, I recently attended a retrospective screening of Perth at the Asian Film Archive, which features some past local independent films in their ‘Off the Catalogue’ series,” Kam recalls. “There is a scene where I recall seeing Kay Tong’s character driving a Mercedes-Benz, but not like my film. So yes, there are some similarities and you’re not the first to recommend them as a double-bill.”
When asked about Guillermo del Toro’s claim that the human face is the most interesting landscape in the world, Kam grins. “I watched that on TikTok — an absolutely detestable rabbit hole I still can’t avoid — and I agree. Singapore isn’t the most breathtaking in terms of landscapes, but with the right actors, we can do some good. The first half of the film doesn’t have much dialogue for Kay Tong, so his expressions were key. The landscape of the human face can really move a scene along.”
Richard Low plays a retiree pal of Hock. “He’s a familiar face to me from Jack Neo’s films and I thought he’d be an interesting foil to Kay Tong’s ex-English teacher character as his ex-colleague in the Chinese department in the same school,” says Kam. “I have not worked with Richard previously and approached him through a friend from the industry. Thankfully, he said, ‘yes’.”
If Old Man and His Car sounds quietly melancholic, that’s by design. “Singapore has a growing population of folks making up the silver generation,” Kam says. “As someone who’s nearing that too, there’s plenty to worry about. You hear of folks having to live alone, and worse still, dying alone and not being noticed until a peculiar belachan-like smell fills the surroundings.”
He continues, “If you watched a YouTube series by the Lien Foundation looking at how this is addressed in Japan, you would see that we as a country do have some ways to go in addressing the concerns of the ageing population. I do recognise that it is a massive undertaking and the powers that be do have their eyes on it. Hopefully, more can be done in a timely manner.”
Transgender actress Kristin Tiara plays one of the interested buyers of Hock’s car. “I just wanted to convey that we can find connection and hope in the unlikeliest of people and places,” says Kam. “My main character is at a moment of facing a difficult question of the soul. And this film shows that sometimes, the universe answers.”
The same sense of loss extends to the city’s vanishing landmarks. “On the cinema front, The Projector is gone. Cathay is gone. Eng Wah is gone. We have landmarks close to our hearts that no longer exist except in our memories, and this film does dwell on that.”
In fact, one of his locations were on the chopping block of redevelopment. “It was just one key area and we tried to be economical and creative in how we went about it,” he says. “We shot the parking-lot scenes with the car at the top of a multi-storey carpark in the Tanglin Halt area back when I believe it was being slowly vacated in preparation for demolition. I believe they have since paused it. Credit goes to my very talented cinematographer who covered the shots at different scenes from various angles so they all looked unique.”
A micro-budget of under S$60,000 covered it all. (A local feature typically costs around S$1 million.) “It was my stab at micro-budget filmmaking, from my own pocket — after getting permission from my mostly-understanding missus, of course.” The most expensive parts? “A tie between post-production and the cast.”
Geylang’s Golden Horse Award-nominated action choreographer and Havoc actor Sunny Pang plays a car dealer in the film. “I’ve worked with Sunny previously on another project,” says Kam. “Kay Tong and Sunny also worked together on Perth.”
Even the Mercedes-Benz came from Carousell, which was rented out to the production “at a generous discount”.
He adds: “The owner was supportive of our micro-budget independent project and extended additional goodwill since we featured a product of his subtly within the project.”
When the film premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Kam was floored by the audience’s response. “They asked about the languages, the car, character decisions. One viewer joked he was reminded to go back and wash his car. Another said it got her thinking about her role as a caregiver for her parent. A number stepped forward after the Q&A to say how touched they were — that really heartened us.”
And the inevitable question — did he buy 4D with the licence plate ? “I’m more the occasional Toto person, when the pot looks really attractive,” Kam grins. “Win big or go home… but on a budget ticket.”
Old Man and His Car makes its Southeast Asian premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival on Nov 28 (9pm, Golden Village Cineleisure, Hall 3). Tix available here. SGIFF is part of the Singapore Media Festival 2025.
Photos: Waking Life Pictures
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