Fall in love with Tan Seng Kiat’s warm romance short

REINVENTING one of the oldest themes in human art (read: love) is a daunting task for a filmmaker who wants to get things done right, but 27-year old Tan Seng Kiat was up for the challenge.

Currently on Viddsee is his 2013 short film 32°C Fall in Love, which its creator describes as a romantic comedy sketch. Audiences across the board have reacted in the same way towards the Seng Kiat’s piece; it’s cute!

The 14-minute short tackles the life of a security guard (Koe Shern) working at a convenient store, and his unrequited love for the woman at the cashier (Emily Shen). Things take a bizarre turn of events when the two of them are held at knife point by a masked robber, who is whimsically played by Alvin Wong, one of Malaysia’s most popular film and television actors.

Although the film has been dubbed cute by most commenters on Viddsee, there’s much going on beneath its surface. In the film, Tan addresses issues such as inflation and crime, inadvertently providing social commentary while still retaining its comedic charm.

32°C Fall in Love was made in 2013, and went on to win the grand prize at 2013’s BMW Shorties, earning Tan and his team a production grant worth RM75,000 which was channeled into 2014’s Hello, Goodbye. The film also nabbed Best Director, Best Editing and Best Screenplay awards while the lead actors Koe Shern and Emily Chen brought home the Best Actor and Best Actress awards respectively.

With it’s off beat comedy and adorable romance, 32°C Fall in Love is a great new take on the romance genre.

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Make sure to check more amusing short films by local filmmakers on Viddsee!