Vancouver producer pivots from Punjabi film to English-language horror
Posted October 28, 2021 7:36 pm.
Last Updated October 28, 2021 8:08 pm.
A Vancouver producer had to pivot from travelling abroad to work on Punjabi films when the pandemic closed the border, and now he’s promoting his first English-language horror flick…just in time for Halloween.
Amandeep Singh usually works overseas, on productions in places like England and Scotland. When he’s not working on a movie, he drives a cab. It’s a job that he says fulfills and inspires him, so much so that he will never give it up — even if Hollywood comes calling.
“I love driving. I love talking to people. There’s a lot of people who sit in your cab and who want to talk to you. Every time I talk to someone, it always give me an idea to improve myself,” he says.
“That’s one reason I always come back and drive a cab whenever I have time. It doesn’t matter if I only have one day in a year, I’m going to come and drive.”
Cab driving in #VancouverBC by day…producing films by night. On @CityNewsVAN talking w/Amandeep Singh who went from producing Punjabi films pre-pandemic to launching his 1st English film: a horror flick. Check out his truck, decked out in the movie poster for #TheZeme! pic.twitter.com/2LCW1umZx4
— Ria Ren-‘BOO!’-f (@riarenouf) October 29, 2021
Singh says the COVID-19 pandemic pushed him to try something new, and filming closer to home gave him a chance to do something he’s been thinking about for a while.
“This idea was in the making for almost four to five years,” he tells CityNews.
“Everything has happened before — houses being haunted, trees being haunted, people being haunted but personally I have never seen any film that has that shown land that is haunted.”
That’s the premise behind The Zeme, a paranormal thriller filmed in the Okanagan that draws upon Singh’s personal experience working in real estate, and has some housing-related themes.
The premier is set for the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival on Nov. 12 before being released on Amazon Prime on the 15th.
“A developer relocates to a remote island with his family, where the cursed land takes over his soul and makes him a killer,” the short description reads.
The main character makes the move after a failed real estate deal. While his family experiences eerie events in their new home, it becomes clear that the entire town has a spooky, tragic, and mysterious history.
With the filming, which was a struggle due to COVID-19, Singh is focusing on promotion. One of his tactics — a full wrap of his pickup truck — draws upon his love of driving.
“I come down from Surrey. I drive around so that people see it. It’s making awareness,” he says.
“I am doing as much as I can on my own, trying to promote the film as much as I can because it’s an independent film. We don’t have a distributor or a big huge studio to promote us, we have do it ourselves.”
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Whether he’s behind the wheel of a cab, or producing a movie, making connections with people is Singh’s number one priority.
“Personally, I think the producer is no one besides their cast and crew. You’ve got to have people who support you. And that’s what I’ve been saying. I’ve been so lucky to have that cast and crew around,” he says.
His best advice to anyone thinking about taking on a creative project is to enjoy the process, and forget about achieving perfection.
“Filmmaking is an art, don’t make it difficult for yourself,” he says.
“My film, I have seen it 1,000 times. You will always find some flaws, you will always find something. If you want to do something, just get up and do — don’t think about it. Without doing there’s nothing. You’ve got to have confidence in yourself.”
