this is fi
I never meant to work on a documentary, but in 2006 I accidentally started to. My collaborator and subject was a very good friend of mine, Ho Keen Fi – an illegal immigrant from Singapore who came to America, not in pursuit of the stereotypical honest work for honest pay (though he is a hard worker and it’s a quality I admire) nor the potential of social advancement, but instead to pursue a kind of creative and personal freedom we Americans have forgotten about (that of outlaws and rebels).
Between Fi, myself and filmmaker Jonathan Schwarz, we form a somewhat unholy “trinity” (Fi’s word, not mine), that has captured over a hundred hours of footage and have been hustling to cut it into what I think will be a pretty fascinating view into a person and a world that are alien to most Americans.
Here’s the trailer:
This is Fi – Teaser from holycowboy on Vimeo.
[...] this is fi [...]
I have been on my own journey like Fi. I went through hardship. I traveled and had my eyes opened by the experiences I shared with others. We do, as Fi says, choose our path, for better or for worse. It can lead to things that are scary. I have come through these things. I have stability and an inspired life. Now, when I look at somebody like Fi, I am both heartened and scared once more all over again. I am heartened that life goes on. I look forward to seeing what somebody like Fi can lend to our culture that could help those who are trapped and suffering here, people who are perhaps immigrants who are trapped away from their cultural origens. I am scared because he represents the unknown. I know for a lot of people, that is exciting – the unknown. I get that. However, he did make choices, like he said. I have hope that he will come to a “natural conclusion” and “find what he is looking for” . . emptiness, yes, emptiness >and< purpose, in the same breath, at the same time. I wonder how many people find that. Is my truth his truth?
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