DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

In my previous short film, Strings (2001), I told the story of a 10 year old boy who goes in search of his deceased grandfather and finds a connection with his father in the end. With Early Sunday Morning, I am continuing the exploration of this theme (of the search for connection within the family), this time, from the point of view of a 35 year old Australian woman who lives with her sick mother and younger brother.

I have always been interested in the theme of a small family dealing with the loss of a family member. To a child, the family seems like an unchanging and stable unit. Experiencing a death in the family changes that impression forever. For me, that moment was the death of my paternal grandfather. When my father picked me up to look at my grandfather lying in his coffin, a tear rolled down his cheek. For the first time in my life, I saw my father cry. For the first time in my life, I feared for my own father’s death…

Ong Chao Hong