four aunties. one bill.
An action-comedy film
by lisianne chan
Free Money Official Poster; Illustrated by Kit Fox
LOGLINEAsian-Australian Wen is in for a surprise when she tags along to lunch with Aunty Poh and her friends...The Aunties take the honour of paying the bill very seriously. When limbs start flying, Wen and Aunty Poh come to terms with the importance of friendship and family.
SYNOPSISWhen Wen is dragged along to her Aunty Poh’s friendship lunch at their local Thai restaurant, she’s unamused. What a waste of time! She really needs to get back to work.Meanwhile, Aunty Poh has her own concerns. She doesn’t have enough money to pay for today’s lunch, although her group of friends (The Aunties) have a decades-long tradition of taking turns to pay for the bill. Even worse, she’s going to have to pretend to fight to get it.No way Poh is “losing face” in front of her oldest friends by not winning. Wen thinks they should just split the bill, but she doesn’t know what’s about to go down... THE FIGHT IS ON!
GENREComedy, Action,
Drama & Animation
SPECS1.78 (16x9) 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD)
8:46:22 minutes
Stereo
LISIANNE
CHAN
FREE MONEY Director, Writer, Producer,
Animator & Editor
Lisianne Chan is a multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker from Singapore based in Sydney, Australia.Free Money is her first foray into making a short film, born out of her love for action films and her desire to see older Asian women represented in them. She is so grateful to bring this story to life with a majority Asian and female cast and crew.Her work can be found at www.lisiannechan.com
HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS
EMILY WEEKS
CINEMATOGRAPHER
IMANI JURD
PRODUCTION & COSTUME DESIGNER
JAXX LOUI
SOUND DESIGNER & RECORDIST
KEONA LAU
EDITOR
ANNIKA MULLER
PRODUCER
MAIN CAST
LIZ LIN
WEN HUI
TIANG LIM
AUNTY POH
SUSAN LING YOUNG
AUNTY DARA
KAREN YEE
AUNTY VERONICA
PETRELL HUANG
AUNTY SHEN
OFFICIAL FILM STILLS
LEFT TO RIGHT: Susan Ling Young as Aunty Dara, Karen Yee as Aunty Veronica, Artur Vanags as Waiter Jim, Petrell Huang as Aunty Shen, Tiang Lim as Aunty Poh
THE FIGHT IS ON!
LUNCH IS A BATTLEGROUND
LEFT TO RIGHT: Tiang Lim as Aunty Poh, Liz Lin as Wen Hui
WHO PAID...?
AN ASIAN AND FEMALE-LED STORY, TOLD BY AN ASIAN AND FEMALE-LED CAST AND CREW.
81% female or Non-binary
All HODs female or non-binary
60% Asian
Photos by Santi Untario (LEFT) & Erica Long (RIGHT)
I am so grateful for the number of everyone who showed up for the project and believed in it, volunteering both their time and resources for months to make this happen! From handmaking the wigs and building a lazy susan table, to planning shot by shot lighting plans, Free Money would not be anywhere without such a dedicated crew.Producing and directing a full crew for the first time was an incredible learning experience. The camaraderie and support each crew member has brought to the project is what makes the film so worthwhile.LISIANNE CHAN
Writer-Director
Producer, Animator & Editor
CREDITS
Writer-Director: Lisianne Chan
Producers: Lisianne Chan, Annika Muller
Cinematographer: Emily Weeks
Production & Costume Designer: Imani Jurd
Sound: Jaxx Loui
Editors: Keona Lau, Lisianne ChanStarring:
Tiang Lim
Liz Lin
Susan Ling Young
Karen Yee
Petra Huang
Artur Vanags
Dereck ThamrakLocation: Pron Prohm Thai RestaurantChoreographers: Tianna Pessotto, Ivana Jonjic
Stuntmen: Brian Tran, Jennifer Huynh, Beverely Misionare
VFX: Lisianne Chan
Motion Design: Lisianne Chan, Chiara Bicanic, Keona Lau
Color: Nicholas Andrews
Key Food Stylist: Isabelle Tang
Food Stylist: Sophie Dart1st ACs: Alexandra Anonuevo, Emy Mai
2nd ACs: Luke O’Donnell, Luke Huang
Gaffer: Annika Willcocks
Best Person: Bianca Tovia
Key Grip: Adam Stavros
Best Boy Grip: Shawn Lu, Sandon Hale, Jonathan Adrian
Lenses: Camera HireSpecial thanks to UTS MediaLab:
Nick Henderson, Cato Klafas, Hayden JonesKey Hair and MUA: Stella Jurd
Costume Design Assistants: Sophia Kouroupakis, Sebastian Jamnicky, Izabelle Lockley
MUA: Ty Doyle, Izabelle Lockley
Hair Stylists: Madison Kelly, Oliver Holmes, Jamalia Brown
Tailor: Scarlett Jurd1st ADs: Annika Muller, Haylee Muir
2nd AD: Kavyaa GohilSound Recordist: Jaxx Loui
Boom Operators: Haylee Muir, Arlo Di Fazio
Composer: Luca YiStills Photography: Santi Untario, Erica LongBuilder: Clinton Jurd
Wardrobe: Sam Jurd, Late SeptemberCultural Consultant: Kuo Yi QuanShoot Assistants:
Kristen Farrugia, Rachel Goh, Rachel Santos,
Anaya Kashid, Chiara Bicanic, Oh Jing Wen, Mya PockranThanks To
Sony Australia
UTS Media Lab
Justin HarveySpecial Thanks To
Charlie David Page
Margaret McHugh
Gerald Mair
Jurd Family
Goh Family
Chan Family
Free Money is inspired by the Asian culture of sharing food and fighting to pay the bill to "save face" – to maintain respect and honour amongst friends and family.
I wrote Free Money based on my experiences living in Singapore and Australia, and observations of how Asian traditions are adopted differently between generations. It means a lot to me to create an unapologetically Asian film starring women for my first short film.While based on Asian traditions, Free Money is so much more.Free Money is for the younger generation struggling to connect with heritage, for the older generation who dreams of being superheroes, and for anyone who has had to pretend they wanted to pay the bill.
LISIANNE CHAN
Writer-Director
Producer, Editor, Animator
