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A young Singaporean couple who sell pictures of the wife’s feet online end up with a corpse in their freezer in “Build to Order,” the debut feature from director Huang Junxiang, which is at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) in Taipei this week.
Singaporean couple Penny and Allan both work in real estate. They wed young so they could get a public housing flat, but property prices that keep climbing still leave them strapped. To bring in extra money, they put photos of Penny’s feet up for sale online. Then a rich client with a foot fetish offers them a staggering amount for the chance to suck her toes face to face, and they say yes.
The meeting goes badly wrong. The man suffers an allergic reaction, Allan’s amateur attempt at first aid fails and the client dies. In a panic, the couple stash him in their freezer. Months on, his widow, who has no idea what happened, taps them to list her luxury mansion – drawing the pair ever deeper into greed and guilt as they scramble to save themselves.
“When I was looking to buy my first home in Singapore, every property agent I met warned me that making the wrong decision would cost me financially in the long haul,” Huang says. “They said that I can’t make an emotional decision, I needed to make a logical one. In an expensive society like Singapore, I feel that many decisions are made rationally, at the cost of our identities and our relationships.”
The film is now in post-production, and Huang says finishing it has his full attention.
“I hope our audiences will be entertained by this dark comedy with genre moments and think a little more about the choices they make and the lives they want to lead,” he says.
Producer Macarius Chia says the film deals with a subject that resonates around the world – housing prices and what it costs to get by. “We were also entertained by the humorous script which takes the story in a few surprising directions, without losing sight of the character’s journey.”
Executive producer Lim Teck says he believes in Huang’s vision and that the film could become a breakout hit out of Singapore, “where housing and climbing the social ladder are always such hot topics.” Lim adds that the film is reasonably budgeted and has commercial potential.
In Taipei, the team wants to raise gap financing to finish post, along with partners for audio post and color grading. Chia says they also hope to find “a like-minded international sales agent who believes in the project as the story is accessible.”
For Lim, TCCF is a chance to introduce the project to friends across Asia’s film industry. “We believe our film has a chance to travel and do well in various Asian markets,” he says.
The Taiwan Creative Content Fest, organized by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), runs Nov. 6–9 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.
English (US) ·