Foolish Steps of a Fat Cow
Langkah Bodoh Sapi Gemuk
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, SINGAPORE, GERMANY / 2015 / Malay, English, German / Color / Blu-ray / 20 min
Director, Script, Photography, Editing, Sound, Narration, Producer: Ghazi Alqudcy
Music: Kelvin Mcleod
Production Company, Source: WideWall Studio
What is the inner shame that drove the director to Berlin? Slipping away from Sarajevo, a land foreign to him, he visits a gay couple who have recently started living together in Germany, as he ruminates on his mother’s warning not to break faith with his religion. Recalling what took place at a gay club in Berlin four years earlier, he returns there. Troubled by his past, he is forced to look deep inside himself. This is a road movie about one man’s heart.
[Director’s Statement] As the Elton John lyrics say, “Sorry seems to be the hardest word.” But I believe that realizing the need to apologize is harder. It took me four years to realize this mistake, and following my gut, I made the choice to find that person to apologize to.
The journey was emotionally rough. Along the way, I experienced new things, got deeper into my emotions and questioned the complicated meaning of love. I learned that I block myself to protect myself from fear and then search for love. Then I realized that fear is the seduction for love. Only a fool could not solve this riddle, and I am that fool.
This project started with the realization that I made a mistake and I wanted to apologize to that person. The aftermath is not singular. I learned that there are many others that I need to apologize to, especially myself.
Ghazi Alqudcy
Ghazi Alqudcy is a Singaporean filmmaker whose works have been screened in many countries, such as Australia, UK, Germany, Indonesia, and at galleries like Valentine Willie Fine Art in Singapore. In 2007, Ghazi had a retrospective screening of three of his films—Lakshmi, Serah Diri and Block 46 at The Substation’s Guinness Theatre. He was awarded the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award Scholarship in 2008. In 2011, Ghazi was also invited to attend the Asian Producer’s Lab, which was organized by the Network of Asian Fantastic Films at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea. Ghazi then graduated in 2012 with a BFA in Digital Filmmaking under the Temasek Education Foundation Sunburst scholarship. Lost in Bosnia (2014) was shown at numerous festivals globally, including the Copenhagen International Film Festival and the Singapore International Film Festival. Foolish Steps of a Fat Cow also screened at the 2015 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Ghazi is currently based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, doing his master’s degree at Tarr Béla’s film.factory. His current motto is “Buy less T-shirts and make more films.”
Interview