“Pierce”, an interview with director Nelicia Low

On the occasion of the world premiere of her first feature film, the delightfully unsettling “Pierce”, at the 58th Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Singaporean director Nelicia Low tells us more about this ambiguous story of brotherhood, truth and lies, loving unconditionally, and fencing, which starts unfolding when the older of two brothers is released from prison for a murder of which his baby brother wants to believe he wasn’t guilty.

Nelicia Low reveals that the film, dedicated to and inspired by her autistic brother, also proceeded from a real-life ambiguous multiple crime story, and took a long time to write.

Low, herself a former fencing champion, explains why this sport is particularly able to carry this tale. We also talk about mirroring effect, about mixing different genres, from feel-good to disturbing, and about lies.

The scriptwriter, director, and co-editor of the film also mentions her favourite scene, horrific and hilarious at the same time.