1. How was the visual of Barbarian decided?

The first time I met Mui for this project, she already had a clear idea about the rhythm and intention of the camera, something organic and vibrant that actually matched what I had envisioned after reading the story. But the real language of the film wasn’t born from the references or the conceptual ideas we had at the beginning, but during the camera tests we carried during the rehearsals. We polished our vision and language day by day and discarded what didn’t really move us, while exploring again and again the things that worked. We actually shot the first act of the film several times during these explorations. Later on, during the shooting of the 2nd and 3rd act of the story, the language of the film consequently started evolving by itself, the film was already alive and taking its own decisions so we just followed where it led us. I believe the energy and mood of the people involved had a great impact on the final look of the film.

2. The budget is really low, how did you manage?

For me, low budget filmmaking is kind of my school. I was born in a very small village and I learned to make films with what we had at the time. I never worry about the technical part of a film, instead focusing more on the people involved, and how far they are willing to go to achieve something special. Of course as the time passed I have access to more and more better equipment to make the films, but I don’t think money makes films. I knew from the very beginning we weren’t going to be able to get enough fixtures to build the things from scratch so I plan as much as possible using natural light as a key source and our equipment to “shape” the existing light according to the story needs.

3. What was the equipment used and why?

Quite a lot of what we used was sponsored by brands, and in addition to that, we used our own equipment to try to achieve the look I had in mind. We were trying to achieve a clean and sharp look in which the camera can explore the scenes and be very dynamic. I’m not a very big guy, so I knew from the start that for such a small production, I would need to get a small camera I could carry all day long without destroying my back, so I opted to try the new Panasonic SH1 and compact Carl Zeiss lenses. For the lights, our main concern was to be quick, light and battery powered as we only had 2 people. Luckily our sponsor was Aputure, and this is kind of their motto.

4. You are also an independent filmmaker, can you talk about your own background and works?

I became a cinematographer when I came to Malaysia, as my English wasn’t great at the time. I was quite sure continuing my career as director was going to be quite hard for me, regarding my situation (no contacts, broken English…) so I just went for my other passion which was cinematography. Being a foreigner (I couldn’t understand most of the dialogues during the shooting) actually has shaped the way I work, as it became absolutely physical. My work as cinematographer is about “people in places”. Now that my English is a bit better I have catch up with directing and I have realized I have also changed as a director. I’m not sure if it’s the new place or what I learnt here but what I do, and how I do it, is way different. That is why I started using Gwai Lou instead of my name, David Yanez.

5. What was the biggest challenge during the film production? How was it resolved?

I think the biggest challenge of the film was during the second block of the film in Terengganu, when the film started evolving and many of our plans were blown up. We found ourselves in uncharted territory and with a tight schedule, so we didn’t have any other option but to move forward. It was a scary moment. Fortunately, Mui has an incredible ability to bring together very different ideas and, incredibly, make them work together.

6. Any other things you like to talk about?

It has been very exciting to work in a film in which the director is at the same time the main actor, as the dynamic is very different from a regular film in which the director is next to you at every step. In Barbarian Invasions, Mui had to plan everything ahead as she, as a director, was the last to see the final result of the scene on the monitor. I feel now, with the distance that you get when time passes, that this film was shaped as much during the shooting than after the shooting, drinking tea with Mui and talking about the day behind and the day ahead.