Kotoba No Pazuru | Short Film

Short Film | Directed by Jason Chang 

Produced by Eight Five Two Filmmaking

The concept video is available now, with the full short due to release in 2025.

Overview

Kotoba No Pazuru (Puzzle of Words) is a narrative short film that explores memory, displacement, and healing through the lens of cultural identity. Directed by Jason Chang and produced by Eight Five Two Filmmaking, the story follows a former hotel pianist who, upon returning to London to confront his past, meets a guest in Dover whose presence reshapes his trajectory.

Told with poetic stillness and visual sensitivity, the film blends Eastern emotional nuance with Western cinematic structure—capturing the tension and beauty of in-betweenness.

The cast and crew from Kotoba No Pazuru.

Project Goals

The film was designed for both festival exhibition and as a creative statement for Jason Chang, a Singaporean-born director making his mark in the UK. It also serves as a potential calling card for cross-cultural narrative work with international collaborators.

Production Timeline

• Development: 8 months

  • Story refinement, director’s visual statement, pitch deck creation

• Pre-Production: 3 months

  • Location scouting, kit prep, casting, crew assembly, shot listing

• Principal Photography: 4 shoot days

  • On-location in Dover (exteriors and hotel scenes) and London (interiors and transport sequences)

Production Details

• Budget: Approx. £7,000

• Crew Size: 12

• Cast: 2 primary leads

• Camera Package: Sony FX3 + Zeiss primes

• Shoot Duration: 4 days

• Locations: Dover coast, White Cliffs area, and various London interiors

• Production Dates: July 2024

• Runtime: ~15 minutes

• Language: English + Mandarin

Production Highlights

• Shot on-location at the iconic White Cliffs of Dover, using natural light and minimalist design to mirror the character’s internal journey.

• Balanced emotional tone with visual restraint—letting landscape, architecture, and silence carry story weight.

• Majority of crew waived labor costs in support of the film’s artistic and cultural vision.

• All travel, catering, and production logistics executed within tight budget and schedule constraints.

• Post-production ongoing with final cut expected August 2024 and festival submissions to follow.

What's Next

The film is now in post-production, with final grading and sound mix set for completion by late summer 2024. The team plans to submit to key international film festivals with a focus on UK, European, and Asian circuits.

Produced By

Eight Five Two Filmmaking 

Producer: Ewan Windebank

Director: Jason Chang  

Director of Photography: Anthony Leung