From national fencer to award-winning director: Nelicia Low on making her debut feature film Pierce

It has been an eventful year for Nelicia Low. The former national fencer's debut feature film Pierce has been a critical darling in film circuits throughout the world and even nabbed her the award for best director at this year's Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 

Come Thursday (Nov 7), Pierce will finally be out in Singapore – playing in theatres such as Golden Village and The Projector. Starring Taiwanese actors Liu Hsiu-fu, Tsao Yu-ning and Ding Ning, Pierce tells the story of high school fencer Zijie who chooses to trust and help his older brother Zihan after the latter is released from jail, defying their mother’s attempts to hide their traumatic past.

CNA Lifestyle recently caught up with Nelicia Low ahead of a special screening of Pierce to find out more about her and her filmmaking journey.

As it turns out, Low always knew she wanted to be a filmmaker – even as a child.

“I wanted to be a filmmaker since I was five or six. It was just something I knew I had to do in this lifetime,” said Low.

“Even my parents knew but they were in denial for a long time,” she quipped.

However, there were a few detours along the way – including her notable stint as a national fencer.

“I started fencing because, in Secondary 1, you had to pick a co-curricular activity. I got into air rifle and fencing. A lot of people thought I went from fencing to filmmaking but the truth is that I chose fencing because I like Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings,” she explained.

While some may find her inspiration for fencing unorthodox, Low’s skills were undeniable. She represented Singapore as a national fencer for five years – hanging up her rapier after the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

“At that time, I felt like I had enough amazing experiences with fencing and I just wanted to focus on my real love which was film,” said Low.

Even as a student, Low was keen on filmmaking. During her time at Raffles Girls' School (RGS), she studied film as part of the institution’s unique curriculum.

“That class was probably the first time that I studied film. We had to make a short film. My teacher showed us a few Singaporean short films and it was a nice start.”

Despite her love for the art, it took Low some time “to come to terms with the possibility of being a filmmaker”.

“I thought [being a filmmaker] was impossible…All the films I loved were movies like Pocahontas and Star Wars. Those aren’t exactly Singaporean cinema. So I thought it was just impossible,” she admitted.

She credited a scholarship-hunting session at RGS for swaying her decision.

“I picked up one of the brochures in front of me, and I turned to my friends: ‘What do you think?’ It was for the Economic Development Board scholarship,” Low recounted.

“My friends were like ‘For who?’ and I said ‘For me!’ They looked at me and all of them said in unison: ‘You know you want to be a film director right?’”

Low proceeded to share her fears with her friends to which they quelled her worries.

“It is possible. You just have to study overseas. You can actually make films anywhere in the world. You don’t have to limit yourself,” said Low’s friends.

Low said that the exchange “opened up” her mind for the first time. She then took the necessary steps to realise her dream – studying media and communications in university, doing a summer programme at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and finally, pursuing an MFA in film directing at Columbia University.

And the rest was history. Before Pierce, Low directed a slew of critically-acclaimed short films including 2015’s Freeze which was screened at the 38th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the 53rd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and the 33rd Busan International Short Film Festival.

As one would imagine, making a feature-length film is no easy matter. In fact, the 33-year-old admitted that she came close to quitting right before the start of Pierce’s production.

“In the 10 days before Pierce started shooting, there was a moment where I thought that if I were to continue down this path in the shooting of the film, it wouldn’t be the film that I had wanted to film. The circumstances were so difficult and I tried to leave. I said: ‘I don’t want to continue because if I do, it’s not my baby anymore.’” said Low.

She added that she called her parents to inform them of her decision, thinking they would be happy to hear it.

“But my dad looked at me via FaceTime and said: ‘No, you’re not. You’re gonna go back and you’re gonna finish the film.’”

Without going into detail about what exactly happened, Low said that there were “extremely, extraordinarily difficult shooting circumstances” that were partly due to COVID-19.

“It was just one of those things where I carried this on for so long only for it to fall apart. It’s very painful. If my dad didn’t tell me to go on, I don’t think I could have done it,” said Low.

“In the end, the acceptance and empowerment from my parents was very, very meaningful. It’s one of those things in life that you always remember ‘cause finally, your parents acknowledge who you are.”

Thankfully, Pierce ended up being loved by audiences around the world. Low shared how Pierce had three sold-out screenings at the recent Busan International Film Festival.

“At the second and third screenings, people were fighting for tickets online and begging to exchange tickets because they were worried they couldn’t catch it in Korea. They didn’t know we were gonna have a Korean release. Some people were telling me they loved it so much that they came for all three screenings,” she said.

“This feels so amazing to me as a film director.”

Pierce also found a fan in an unexpected global celebrity: Pirates Of The Caribbean star Geoffrey Rush.

According to Low, Rush – who was part of the jury at the recent Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – came up to her to tell her how much he loved Pierce.

Addressing her much-publicised win at the iconic Czech film festival, Low said that the award was “more for [her] family”.

“I’m still very grateful for the award, for my family, and the fact that it opened a lot of doors for my next film,” said Low.

Low’s next film is titled Duet which is set in San Francisco. Calling it “slightly a love triangle between two female Cantonese opera singers and a guy”, Low said Duet was partly shaped by her experience of filming Pierce.

“Why am I pushing myself beyond human limits for art? That’s what inspired Duet.”

For now, Nelicia Low is looking forward to seeing how audiences react to Pierce.

“Their reactions to the characters [of Pierce] really tell me who they are [as a person]. It’s one of those things where it’s up to your interpretation. If you interpret it a certain way, it really does say something about who you are,” she shared.

In that case, what does she hope audiences take away from Pierce?

“When I make films, it’s both a form of therapy and a form of moving others. Film is a two-way street…What is unconditional love? Does the truth really matter? For me, Pierce is about comforting people.”

Pierce opens in cinemas on Nov 7 with screenings at Golden Village and The Projector.