What has filmmaking got to do with Zen practice and wellness? For one, filmmaking is about the expression of consciousness, and two, film is in-itself an ephemeral medium which - as an artistic form - has the power to reveal insights about the subconscious.

In this Masterclass, independent filmmaker/ educator Tzang Merwyn Tong will share how concepts of “non-attachment”, “minimalism” and “being in the here and now” can be used to make filmmaking simple and accessible to the individual. 

It is similar to Zen’s approach to calligraphy, poetry or gardening which can be therapeutic and an exercise in mindfulness. Only that with Zen-Mind filmmaking, the filmmaker abandons conditional entanglements associated with validation, and simply use film as a personal artistic practice for self-expression.

This Masterclass is for both the novice and experienced filmmaker. Filmmakers, influencers and content creators who are jaded with the process of fund seeking, bread and butter issues and the need to hustle, will find this new approach to filmmaking especially refreshing. Anyone of any age with no experience (aka novices) can also enter with “a beginner’s mind” to make films. The idea is NOT to make films for likes and shares or competitions, but rather films that are personal, for yourself and also to reveal aspects about your psyche to you.

Creativity can be an entry point into personal well-being and mental wellness. The Zen approach shows you how. 

$60
Max 50 pax

Tzang Merwyn Tong is an award-winning Singapore-based screenwriter, educator and filmmaker, with an MA in Arts Pedagogy and Practice from Goldsmiths, University of London.

He is the founder of the Zen-Mind Filmmaking Movement - a pedagogical approach to make the practice of filmmaking more mindful and in-the-present using Zen Philosophy.

Tzang’s films have won festival acclaim in Rotterdam, Berlin, Montreal, Lund, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv for their socially relevant themes. He is the writer and film director of Singapore’s first dystopian teen movie, Faeryville (2015), now streaming on Netflix; and is currently a Lecturer at Republic Polytechnic, teaching Visual Storytelling and Film Appreciation.