Tea time with Lagi Senang Jaga Sekandang Lembu [It’s Easier to Raise Cattle]

An interview with Amanda Nell Eu, director of Lagi Senang Jaga Sekandang Lembu (It’s Easier to Raise Cattle)

How did you get into the idea of making a film about these two teenagers?
It all started because I wanted to make a film about a Pontianak (a female vampire who solely attacks men, famous in Malaysia and Indonesia). Where I come from, many people are afraid of her, whereas I love and respect her a lot. Malaysia has had many films about the Pontianak but I wanted to tell her story in a different way – imagine if she was your best friend. Imagine the amount of pain and suffering she went through, the way she was treated, her anger and wrath, her beauty and fragility… How does SHE feel instead?
So from there, it all came from memories about me and my best friend, and also the memories and love of all girls and their best friends, and how every one of them are little Pontianaks in their own ways.

Why were you interested in the period of puberty?
I find puberty to be an incredibly exciting stage that everyone has to go through. It’s a physical and emotional transformation, and one literally changes into something completely different. It’s practically a horror story yet we all accept it as “growing up”. But growing up is also all about discovery and exploration, and one can find out the most beautiful or horrific things in that journey.

Why were you interested in the rural environment?
Sticking to the rules of the Pontianak, she is usually more commonly found in rural areas, with her spirit residing in banana trees (you can’t get more phallic than that!). But aside from the myth, I wanted to use the jungle, nature and growth to represent the wild and frightening energy of the two teenage girls. The jungle can be beautiful but it can also be incredibly formidable, and that goes with what a Pontianak is, and that also goes for teenage girls going through puberty!
Also the technical way that a Pontianak is made is when a woman dies while pregnant. Here we have a female who goes through death while she is still carrying life. What better environment to represent that than a jungle where life and death go hand in hand as partners?

Why did you choose to show only two houses nearby and no other neighbour around? Are they (plus the younger sister) the only girls in the world?
I consciously wanted the film to just be the world of the two girls, so even when other minor characters are introduced, they are merely there as symbols or props. The younger sister probably stands out a little more because this is a world that she might enter later as she gets older.
Of course other girls, parents and boys exist in this world, but the story is between the two of them and their discovery of each other. Anything that exists outside the world of the two girls does not matter to them at this point in their lives.

To what extent did you intentionally work on moments of silence?
The moments of silence were all intentional, right from the script stage. I always had only two to three scenes where dialogue took place in the script (I cut out one of them in the final edit). I suppose when you have a crush on someone, most of the time you are unable to say anything, and it’s all a playful game of looks and stares, accidental or intentional touching, looking away, leaving each other gifts…

Why didn’t you show the horizon the girl can see from the top of the tree?
I would never know what a Pontianak sees as she stares out into the horizon. Is she searching for her next prey? Is she contemplating her past? Her hatred and anger? Her love? It’s a question I ask myself so I choose to study and for the audience to study her face instead.

What sort of freedom would you say the short format allows? 
I think there is definitely a lot more freedom to convey a feeling or emotion. You don’t necessarily need a beginning, middle and end, or even a story at all. I love short films because of that. You watch and experience a sensation, and that’s all you need from a short. There are no longer any rules, which is why it’s such an exciting medium. Short films are a surprise and a pleasure to watch, and I do wish to continue making them even when I begin to make feature length films.

If you’ve already been to Clermont-Ferrand, could you share with us an anecdote or story from the festival? If not, what are your expectations for this year?
This will be my first time at Clermont-Ferrand so I hope to watch a lot of short films when I’m there. A few friends will also have their films presented there, and as all of us are based in different countries, it’s a great chance for us to meet up again. Also of course, I hope to meet a lot of new people at the festival too!

Lagi Senang Jaga Sekandang Lembu is being shown in Lab Competition L2.