When Shakespeare wrote about all the world being a stage, and all the people in it being merely players with their entrances and exits, he was on to something. But it is the line: and one man in his time plays many parts that brings to mind the life and now the burgeoning cinema of Andrew Leavold.
Here is a man for whom movies are a great passion, a grand obsession, and they have been the catalyst for the direction in which he has moved through his life. Beginning with his own video store, Andrew filled the shelves with everything from the opulent and the uniquely obscure. For the better part of two decades he brought awareness and ultimately his love for film to the renting public – but the times, as they are bound to do, started a changin’. The landscape of delivering entertainment to the masses forced the then proprietor of Trash Video to reassess.
Fortunately by the time the demise of the video store descended, Andrew had already encountered the thing that would prove to be the gateway to the next phase in the evolution of him realizing his dream. That ‘thing’ would appear in the form of a little man the world, up until that point, knew simply as Weng Weng; a pint-sized Filipino actor that had been propelled into recognition as Agent 00 in a film called For Y’ur Height Only.
Andrew’s fascination with the tiny action man would see him embark on a seven year odyssey, returning multiple times to the Philippines in search of Weng Weng and the story surrounding his life and cinematic career. All of this became the basis of the incredible documentary which still continues to evolve; its release bringing to light more and more stories about this petite performer seemingly enshrouded by magic and myth. But The Search for Weng Weng (the film) is only a piece of the adventure. There is now a book, the print companion to the documentary in which Leavold extends and expands upon all he has and continues to unearth.
What I took away from our conversation is that the spark that fuels the fire which burns within us, inspires us, drives us toward that which we seek to achieve can come, at the best of times, from the most unlikely of places. For Andrew, a mysterious video tape catapulted him from one dream to the next, now, he is the filmmaker he thought he would never become. It was a privilege to talk with him and I sincerely hope you will check out The Search for Weng Weng, the book and the film and help Andy continue his work, keeping the dream alive.
Ladies and Gentlemen . . . Andrew Leavold.
To get your hands of the book and the film please visit:
Podcasting Them Softly 