Congratulations on your first feature film "Crawl". How do you feel to have completed such a large project that Paul wrote and directed and produced Benjamin? You guys must be so proud!
It feels really good. It is difficult in the world of independent cinema just to make a film and it was a long project. He first started as a different movie called Howl who would be in East Texas and would be shot in Canada that is where the money came from and as is the case in the world of independent film production, finance fell through so we ended up tweaking the script to be more of a suspense thriller black comedy, paying tribute to the filmmakers we admired; Roman Polanski, Alfred Hitchcock, the Cohen brothers. We went for her shots at the bottom!
Was it hard work at all so closely together like twins? Or it was an advantage?
He was really a benefit, a process hand in hand. We are very close and there is no problem at all. We are online and see eye to eye with everything.
All telepathy involved?
We hope, but unfortunately not ... Maybe on a subconscious level? Maybe we could film us and make another film about this?
Paul, where did the idea for the story line come and develop in such a dark, bloody thriller?
The original idea comes from a coyote all the things that were turning in the original idea was Howl, located on the border of East Texas. When he trained Crawl we had an idea of three people who were thrown together in devastating circumstances and we considered the film with very little dialogue with slow movements, thoroughly exhausted and creative shots. We just wanted to do something .ly cinematic. Regarding filmmaking, most filmmakers opt for the hand-gritty style but we wanted to go to the other side of the spectrum in terms of cinematography and score. Essentially it is a story, but we wanted to tell this story well.
A film that has a huge influence on the film was the first film of Cohen Brothers, Blood Simple, which is almost like a horror Western neo -Black some extent. They influence us because they are masterful storytellers. They control and precision on every shot and line of dialogue that is what u really intrigued and inspired us to make smart and entertaining film.
What did you guys go to university?
We studied film studies at the University of Gloucestershire and the course was entirely based on the theory of movies so we pretty much watched and talked about them for three years! We actually had no practical experience when we left to Crawl we surrounded with the best crew we could attract. The first time we set foot on the set of Freestyle was the first time we set foot on a game.
These are impressive guy. And where does your love for film come from?
We fell in love with movies, it is our number one passion. We used to watch Western movies in the house of our grandfather when we were seven and I think it has something implanted in our brains.
So what's next in the pipeline?
We have three scenarios, there is a dramatic thriller, another is a black-crime thriller and another is a West that are already written and we head to Los Angeles next month for out of the ground.
And you consider yourself the next Coen brothers?
It has been said many times and a wonderful thing to say that we are great admirers of Cohen Brothers. Perhaps they made this assumption because we are brothers and both our family name starts with 'c', but we also like very happy to be known as the Chinese brothers!
China's brothers has a certain ring to it! Where did your last name?
Our grandfather did some research and we think it's a spelling mistake. It should have been Shrina or Shreena or something along those lines and was misspelled on a document. It is an unusual name, but we love it!
So you have both spent time living in Jakarta, while growing up, did you not? Do you have specific memories of Indonesia?
Yes, we arrived in Jakarta in '92 when we were ten then left in '98 and went back to England to finish school and university and then went to Australia after and have been here ever since. We loved our stay in Jakarta and certainly remember going to the movies every weekend! The time we had in high school, he was so big.
"Crawl" now screening in cinemas in Jakarta. Can you give us some ideas of what to expect when we go and watch your movie? Is popcorn a must and I have to cover my eyes
There may be some times when you have to cover your eyes - it is a suspense thriller, but there is comedy and bit times lightweight horror as well, so we mix genres. We want the public to walk ask some things, but not leave unsatisfied. It is there for them to reflect on and hope it sticks in their mind for a while after they watch.
Do you think you'll ever write, direct and produce a film in Jakarta or Indonesia?
We have not thought yet, but obviously we 'd love to come back and visit the place we have memories of the country. This has affected us a lot and the time we spent there were some of the best years of our lives without question. Living with such an international community in such an amazing country was an education that money can not buy.