Good Form Bali, a film production company located in Los Angeles and Bali, released the science fiction action film ‘Anomaly’.
The film is directed by Brian L. Tan, a director with experience working on Visual Effects for Hollywood blockbusters such as ‘Tron: Legacy’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. Salvita De Corte (‘Halfworlds, ‘Queen of the Dark Arts’) and Mike Lewis (‘Foxtrot Six’, ‘Dead Mine’) star in this Bali-produced film alongside Joseph JU Taylor (‘Monkey Man’, ‘Strike Back’), Quisha Saunders (‘American Gangster’, ‘When in Rome’), and John Walker Six.
The film ‘Anomaly’ tells the story of Alpha who leads a team of five elite soldiers who are sent down to some ancient ruins in the middle of the forest.
Their mission is to secure an anomalous mystery that exhibits paranormal activity
strange. What was usually a routine mission became an unexpected mission for them.
Brian L. Tan relates that the idea stems from the thought, “I believe that our own worst enemy often ends up being ourselves. We’ve all been victims of self-sabotage, overthinking, and self-doubt caused by our own thoughts. So as an action director, I thought I’d try to make a film that represented my worldview. I chatted with Zaike, our writer about this theme, and that’s where Anomaly was born!”.
For his genre approach where he mixes science fiction and action, he provides an explanation. “The best things in life are often a ‘mix’ (mixture) of two things that don’t usually go together. I love sci-fi and action, and I thought: Why not try to combine the two to give us the best of both worlds with a tropical twist? I have always been inspired by ‘grounded’ sci-fi films that have futuristic links, but are still relevant and applicable in our lives today,” he said.
Brian, who considers himself a ‘Balifornian’ because he lives in California and Bali, shared the charm of Bali for him, “Bali is a very unique canvas for ‘Anomaly’. Hollywood only knows it as a party place, or a spiritual place. I wanted to explore a darker and scarier side of the island that no one had ever captured before in a film and shooting at an abandoned amusement park in Sanur gave us a unique backdrop that no other place in the world could provide.”
The challenging shooting process was also very enjoyable for Brian. “No one has ever tried an action film of this magnitude in Bali before. We had to reuse a lot of toy Airsoft guns from Jakarta (deepest appreciation to Ninja Van for helping us), build a whole otherworldly looking portal in the middle of the jungle, find a second Red Gemini camera to match ours, work 14 hours straight for a weekend in the woods, and pack the orange chopper to black (seriously!). This film was very difficult to do, but I would gladly do it again considering how it turned out,” he said.
Salvita De Corte, who is half Balinese, agrees with Brian’s words, “I did a lot of things I don’t normally do, helicopter rides, paintball, I learned a lot about the military. Other than that, it was really cool to work with the Bali based crew and actors. Collaborating with people from anywhere is always fun. Everyone is really down to earth.”
That’s how it feels by Mike Lewis, “It was fun working with different backgrounds and experiences as actors. Everyone brings something unique. Whether it’s John’s US military experience or Quisha’s Hollywood background with actors like Denzel Washington. Joe is also an acting coach, so he’s someone you can always turn to for advice.”
The film was shot in Bali with a mix of crews from overseas and Bali.
Cinematographer and Producer Austin Ahlborg who is renowned for working on commercials, narratives and documentaries around the world says, “Working on new islands and cultures is unique and inspiring in every way. We shot in several wild jungle locations with a mixed crew of expats and Balinese which made it very diverse and interesting.
We are always learning and experiencing new things which makes it very fresh and inspiring.”
Executive Producer Patrick Tashadian who has worked with Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto said that Indonesia has great potential. “Indonesia for some time has had a lot of international production and has provided an indelible experience where we can learn and grow from within the industry.
I feel now that Indonesia has proven to be very competent and technically proficient in providing supporting production in various formats ranging from narrative, factual and variations,” he said.
Producer Andrea Pasquettin shared his vision, “Our goal is to get as many people as possible to see this. What we want to achieve is to get past individualism and just make films, in other words past American films or Indonesian films etc. We just want to make films with the best talent and the best locations.”
Patrick concluded by adding their hopes, “We hope that this short film can be adapted into a feature film that can take advantage of available local talent packed with Brian’s direction and Austin photography. As a proof of concept we believe that we are capable of executing an international action film that can also resonate locally.”
The film will premiere on February 25 in Bali. (cinemas)
