Creative Scotland Crowdmatch has provided £1,710 of match funding
Ask Me Again - A Live Cinematic Concert
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Aim
To fund the completion of ASK ME AGAIN, an original live cinematic concert by Scotland-based artists about love, choices, and second chance.
Eight years ago, Ming and Celine were young, in love, and too uncertain to choose each other over everything else they wanted.
Now their paths cross again in Edinburgh, beginning a night neither can quite walk away from.
Ask Me Again is an original one-hour live cinematic concert weaving together film, documentary voices, and live music performance.
At its heart is a 30-minute short film following Ming and Celine's reunion, shot in Edinburgh and interwoven with snippets of reflection from real Edinburgh couples: on love, on each other, on the city where their stories unfolded.
Principal photography is complete. Now we're raising £7,500 to finish the project: this includes completing post-production of the film, composing and recording the original score, and bringing it to audiences through three live performances across Edinburgh and Greater Glasgow this autumn.
And it all begins with a question that sounds simple until life complicates it:
How do you know when you've found the right person?
Celine, a documentary filmmaker, has spent eight years moving: new cities, new stories, new faces, always chasing outward. Ming, a rising corporate auditor, has spent eight years staying: same city, same quiet life, always searching inward.
But beneath it, both are carrying questions they never quite answered.
Ming wonders whether he built the life he truly wanted. Celine has a future waiting for her elsewhere, and a decision she can no longer avoid.
On her last night in Edinburgh, their paths cross again.
Here is the twist: unlike a conventional film screening, the music in Ask Me Again will be performed live, with violin and piano becoming part of the storytelling itself.
The live performance isn't just an accompaniment. It helps shape the story:
Eight years ago, Ming dreamt of becoming a composer at a leading conservatoire. As the night deepens, he shares an unfinished piece of music with Celine - the last trace of the person, and the life, he once imagined for himself.
That main motif in Ming's composition, "Motion," will be composed by Edinburgh-based composer Atzi Muramatsu.
In another scene, Ming shares his favourite record with Celine at a vinyl café:
Instead of cutting between them, the camera stays with Celine in one uninterrupted shot as the live musicians begin to play.
This way, the audience at our concert hears what Celine hears in real time while watching her reaction unfold, as if we're there living the moment with her.
To see a real-life example of live music performed alongside visuals, watch this performance by Kronos Quartet.
Edinburgh has been my home for the past eight years. It is where I have grown as an adult, made friendships, experienced love and loss, and faced many of the same questions that Ming and Celine are asking.
This story grew from the city's old streets, cafés, galleries, and parks, where I've spent a lot of time wandering, thinking, and imagining stories.
For me, Ask Me Again is a combination of my creative quests in live music and film. Although Ming and Celine's reunion is fictional, elements of the characters and their emotional lives were inspired by conversations, observations and experiences of my own and of people close to me.
More than anything, I hope to capture Edinburgh's quiet magic and warmth. I simply cannot imagine the story unfolding anywhere else.
Principal photography wrapped last month!
We filmed across Edinburgh’s streets and in real, everyday spaces, including Lounge 33 and Out of the Blue Drill Hall. You might even recognize a few more familiar locations in our teaser!
We have also completed our first interview and are now looking to speak with more Edinburgh couples about their love stories, their relationships and their connection to the city. Selected moments may appear in the final concert film!
Do you have a love story rooted in Edinburgh?
We would love to hear from you: [email protected]
Director/Writer: Max Chan
Max is an Edinburgh-based Hong Kong/British writer-director and violinist whose work brings together film and live music. Having lived and studied across Hong Kong, the United States, and Scotland, he is drawn to stories about belonging, relationships, and the choices that quietly shape our lives.
He's trained in filmmaking with Screen Education Edinburgh and has been on professional productions including No Time for Goodbye, The Lost King, and The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford. Max began playing the violin at six, later studying at the renowned Eastman School of Music while completing his degree in Economics.
Director of Photography: David Lee
David is a Glasgow-raised cinematographer whose visual style is informed by both Western and Eastern cultures. His credits include Black Mirror, and his work has received Best Cinematography awards and BAFTA nominations. He has collaborated with acclaimed directors including Ken Loach and Sam Miller.
Editor: Rafael Luis Fernando
Rafa is an National Film and Television School alumnus working across both fiction and documentary. His credits include Left Behind, Still Standing (La Cinef, Cannes 2026), La Cosecha (SXSW 2023), Boca Chica (Hot Springs 2023) and more.
Composer: Atzi Muramatsu
Atzi is an award-winning Edinburgh-based composer and cellist working across film, concert music, and interdisciplinary performance. He is the Creative Director of Sonic Bothy, an inclusive contemporary music organisation. His music has featured in three BAFTA-winning films, and he received the BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award for Best Composer in 2016.
With Penny Davies and Kate S. (Executive Producers), Ben Morin, Kristin Goodell and Matt Pachner (Producers), and Kamil Zakewski (1st AD), Alexandra Matzari (2nd AD) , Rob Ferguson and Lewis Davidson (Sound Recording) , Ella Vincenti (Set Design), Kathy Leung (Costume Design) , Devin Lucas (Make-up & Hair), Jason Fong (1st AC), and Kristy Hughes (2nd AC).
Pianist: Mirana Faiz
Mirana is an award-winning Cypriot-British concert pianist and composer who has performed across the UK, Europe and Asia. Her composition Whispers of the Journey was nominated for a Hollywood Independent Music Award, and she was shortlisted for Best Instrumental Composition at the 2026 Grammy Awards. A devoted cinema enthusiast, she also creates short films accompanying her music, exploring the relationship between music and visual storytelling.
Cast: Dmitry Everdeen and Aisha Goodman as Ming and Celine
Dmitry and Aisha are both talented graduates of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's Class of 2025 - where, by coincidence, their names appeared next to each other on the graduating page before they were cast opposite one another.
Dmitry will lead the upcoming thriller short Greenlight by Nara Toktoshova, while Aisha's recent credits include The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the RSC and the international production Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey (Vanishing Point Theatre Company x KAAT).
Gordon Millar as Mr. Harrold
Gordon is an award-winning Scottish screen actor and voiceover artist who has appeared in around 50 productions, including Outlaw King, Kitchen Sink Fantasy, A Scottish Christmas Secret and A Royal Romance in Ibiza.
Our first goal is to raise the funds needed to complete the film and present our first three live cinematic concerts in Edinburgh and Greater Glasgow.
We are currently in discussion with suitable venues for the first performances, including the Institut français d’Écosse (top picture) and the Pianodrome (bottom picture).
Should the campaign go beyond its £7,500 target, we would use the additional support to give Ask Me Again a life beyond its first performances.
Our first stretch goal is to create a shorter festival-friendly standalone version of the film (est. 20 mins), allowing the story to reach audiences through UK and international film festivals.
Our second stretch goal is to bring the concert elsewhere in Scotland and the UK, with London as a natural consideration, bringing new venue partnerships and testing how this Edinburgh-based production can travel to new audiences beyond its birthplace.
At a time when independent film and live performances are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain, everyone working on Ask Me Again still believes in the power of cinema and live music. We believe that there is something irreplaceable about gathering in one room: watching the same story, hearing the same music, holding the same silence and experiencing something in sync with one another.
That shared experience is at the heart of this project.
By supporting Ask Me Again, you are supporting local Scotland-based artists to help us complete this film, create its music and bring audiences together for an original cinematic concert that could not be experienced at home.
Every contribution brings us closer to the first performances.
Please also share the campaign with someone who may recognise part of their own story in Ming and Celine.
See you at the concert this Fall.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 8th October 2026 at 5:18pm