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@SGIFF 2015: Review - Happy Hour

December 22, 2015, 2:27 am
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          With a runtime of 5 hours 17 minutes, the title Happy Hour may be a misleading one. Admittedly, this reviewer approached the screening with reluctance: I seriously contemplated if it was possible to spin a review viewing only half the film. As I walked into a near full theater, I’m sure the rest of the audience was thinking the same thing. How many, I wondered, would be able to endure the next five hours?

          As time puttered by, such thoughts vanished.

           Happy Hour focuses on the friendship between 4 middle-aged Japanese women and how it is strained when one friend’s divorce compels each to re-evaluate their own lives, and their relationship with each other. It is an outwardly Japanese, but centrally universal movie that captures modern-mid life, with all its struggles and revelations.

          Brevity is key to cinema, and while Happy Hour is slow, it is certainly not dilute. The film has an eye for detail and sensitivity to the understandings behind our everyday lives which allows it to pack its scenes with meaning, such that even with its length, it never seems strained. The film draws insight from the ordinary, using a conversation on a bus, a book event, or a dinner with friends as material to develop its characters and plot, and each scene is just right: it makes its point, and moves on before it becomes a burden. This is not to say the film is perfect in this regard: there are scattered pieces that seem to extend well beyond requirement, sometimes to the point of repetition or awkwardness, but they are few enough to dull the richness of this work.

          Rather, Happy Hour is long because it has so much to say, and because it embraces rather than simplifies complexity. On first sight, the 4 central characters fall neatly into stereotypes, but as the plot develops, new perspectives continually challenge our impressions, and each character matures such that we are left with 4 very different individuals, with a very different dynamic at the end. Even the supporting casts are well-developed as characters: none feel like plot devices or placeholders. The film is apparently about divorce, but is merely a catalyst; it really is about the unfolding drama of each of the 4 characters and their constellations of relationships. Happy Hour’s length isn’t its weakness; it is its strength. With the patience and breadth afforded by time, the plot is allowed to develop organically and take detours, growing out of each individual’s motivations, and changing courses as each character comes to their own realizations.


          Its richness and patience lend an air of realism that makes this film about mid-life crises emotionally resonant and profound, and utterly relatable. With each character and their circumstances, both main and supporting, fleshed out in full, the audience is allowed to engage with these characters like real people. The dialogue never seems scripted: the writer has an incredibly precise understanding of what people are like and how they speak. And the cast, particularly the 4 female leads Tanaka Sachie, Kikuchi Hazuki, Mihara Maiko and Kawamura Rira play their roles with such emotional honesty that they melt into their roles. That, I believe, is an actor’s finest distinction.

          Happy Hour is a mature and compassionate film, and as we sit through the ebb and flow of the character’s lives on screen, it is not difficult to see ourselves in them. It is about pain and joy, about expectations and disappointment, about belonging and alienation. And as each character fumbles through the entanglement of circumstance towards their personal truths and happiness, it reminds us that we aren’t alone in our urbane struggles, and we grow stronger and wiser with life.

          It was almost 1am when the film ended. And yet, as I looked back, I could not help but smile.


          Everyone was still there.
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@SGIFF 2015: Review - The House by the Bamboo Grove

December 22, 2015, 6:07 pm
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Set in director Alvin B. Yapan’s hometown of Baao, The House by the Bamboo Groveresembles an abstract painting of nature and human in a single canvas, seemingly idyllic yet deeply perplexing.

Michelle is a recluse who devotes most of her time to traditional embroidery, living in her beloved bamboo house even as her parents move away and the entire world moves on. The film endeavours to portray the house – and the items in it – as objects that stand by a life of their own. When a pair of scissors disappears, Michelle thinks it is telling her to stay; as bamboo rafts float along the river, we get a sense that it is beckoning us somewhere.

The connection that Michelle feels towards her surroundings is somewhat incomprehensible to the ordinary man. Just like how she loves the bamboo house, the house makes love to her – literally, in a bizarre masturbation scene where ferns envelope (embrace) her body. It is a connection that is intimate, but also bordering on obsessive and insane. Conceivably, this mystical duality is where the film attempts to summon its dramatic tension; the graceful motion of pulling thread is juxtaposed against the decisive slaughter of a chicken, the chatter of children interspersed with the sinister hammering of wood. Even Michelle’s thoughts echo with a split personality.


This latent tension intensifies when other humans “invade” her space, evidently so when Larry, a documentary filmmaker pays a visit. More of Michelle’s peculiar dreams play out in vignettes, a particularly traumatizing one of being violated by Larry. Interestingly, this resembles an insidious critique on documentary filmmaking and its dangers of exploitation.

The House by the Bamboo Grove is an ambitious film, in that it challenges its audience to closely observe the interactions between humans and objects (and not merely watch the actors). That particular stone in focus, the mechanical movement of an ant, the spinning beetle tied on a string. As the universes of random items, insects and vegetation interweave, the film suggests an alternate way of living. It does not attempt to always make sense; it simply presents (wo)man and his attachment to our environment as it is.

The film is a courageous venture by Yapan to explore the concept of vitality of life around us, but unfortunately, its lack of narrative clarity and haphazard pacing makes the film a tad laborious to watch.

Review by Amelia Tan

This review is part of the Asian Feature Film Competition at the Singapore International Film Festival 2015. Read more about the film here.


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An SG Film for Every Occasion in 2016

December 31, 2015, 8:52 pm
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Happy New Year everyone! As the new year starts, here is something handy for those who want a primer on recent Singapore films, especially if you haven't been keeping up and you want a reason to watch. We are giving you a 'Watch SG Film Calendar' here because we believe there is a film for every occasion through the coming year. Here is hoping that these films will enhance these special days to come. 

New Year’s Day
1 Jan  
‘In the room’ by Eric Khoo
In Room 27 in a fictitious Hotel Singapura, a young man named Damien dies of an overdose of happy pills on New Year's Day. Straddling between the netherworld and the real world, in Eric Khoo's terms, Damien plays a creepy voyeuristic ghost who stalks human beings caught in relationship junctures tied to sex. Slicing through a cross section of the decades, this is somewhat Eric's tribute to Singapore going through puberty. For those who want to say Happy SG50 for the last time, say it with this film.

Thaipusam 
24 Jan
‘Journey of a Kavadi Bearer’ by Navin Kumar
Navin Kumar' short film 'Journey of a Kavadi Bearer' offers you an unusual insight into the festival many of us may feel squeamish about. It is unusual because this is actually the journey of a Chinese medium getting into the body piercing ritual of Thaipusam. Get into the psyche of a devotee and revisit this rich tradition that's been played out on our streets for the longest time. And thankfully for a return to good sense with the lawmakers, they don't need to turn the volume down again this year.


Chinese New Year
8 & 9 Feb   
‘Homecoming’ by Lee Thean Jean
No CNY is as close to the local experience as much as 'Homecoming'. It's got everything a Singaporean and Malaysian needs to feel festive. There is Karen Neo, the naggy Singaporean mum who is trying to look like an Ah-Joon-Ma  (Korean auntie) played by the inimitable Jack Neo. There is the goofy kampung boy-next-door Ah Niu who plays her son. There is that familiar bus ride up Malaysia and the even more familiar toilet experience of having no toilet paper! And of course lots of CNY cheer for the whole


Valentine’s Day 
14 Feb 
‘The Girl in Pinafore’ by Chai Yee Wei
Though an ode to Xinyao, 'The Girl in Pinafore' is really a 'pak tor' movie, with heart-stirring love songs that speak of more innocent times Singapore has seen, the 80s/90s to be exact. This was a time without Facebook and Instagram and East Coast Park was still possibly romantic for a date. The film follows a group of school mates who bond through song and dance, and there is also a tragic Romeo and Juliet plot thread that hopes to yank a few tears from you.


15 February
15 Feb
‘To Singapore with Love’ by Tan Pin Pin
15 Feb is actually not a special day but the title of a song composed and performed by Francis Khoo, one of the political exiles interviewed in Tan Pin Pin award-winning film 'To Singapore with Love'. Sounds heavy? The film's really quite relatable as it more interested in how they live the day-to-day and how they connect with the Motherland now.
To Singapore, with Love Trailer from Tan Pin Pin on Vimeo.


April fool’s Day 
1 Apr 
‘Mr Unbelievable’ by Ong Kuo Sin
After almost becoming the PSY of Singapore, actor Chen Tianwen wants to stun you like a vegetable even more with this feature film. And that's no joke. Getai gets a new twist with English lyrics. Think '881' translated. The film also offers some 'feel good' sense of hope as it is about a man who wants to sing a different tune from his family's Getai staples and eventually fulfills his dream. Don't think too much when watching this. Just sing along with your heart.


Labour Day 
1 May  
‘Labour day’ by He Shuming
This Labour Day, pay tribute to workforce heroes with He Shuming's short film 'Labour Day', which is essentially a collection of 3 female portraits - a peidu mama who moonlights in red lights, a Malaysian photocopying lady who fails to get her work permit renewed and their landlady.
Labour Day - Trailerfrom Shuming Heon Vimeo.


Mother's Day 
8 May  
‘Money No Enough 2’ by Jack Neo
While Jack Neo's 'Money No Enough 2' is a take on money-besotted Singapore, it is also an ode to all mothers. While chasing money, three brothers need to take care with their dementia-stricken mother who cannot remember the colour of the last bra she wore. This film is proven to milk your tears according to feedback from many. It will also


June School Holidays
‘Singapore Panda’ by Sun Koh
Whether you have visited Kai Kai and Jia Jia at the River Safari or not during the June school holidays, 'Singapore Panda' by Sun Koh is rather exceptional edu-tainment material for the whole family. You get to learn about pandas and the art of storytelling on radio. The mischievous digs on the state of radio and commercialisation will also tickle you silly. 
(No trailer available)

Father's Day  
19 Jun
‘3688’ by Royston Tan
Celebrate Father's Day with an air of nostalgia thanks to the sounds of the Rediffusion aa heard in Royston Tan's latest feature film '3688'. While a tribute to the late Taiwanese singer Fong Fei Fei, the movie peers into the life of a 'Carpark Summon Auntie' and her trying relationship with her father who (like the mum in 'Money No Enough') also has dementia. Essentially, she is trying to take care of her father who thinks he is taking care of her by selling Rediffusion sets, an obsolete product. Note: If your father is a baby-boomer and understands Mandarin and Hokkien, there is a high chance he listens to Fong Fei Fei too! 


SAF Day 
1 Jul 
‘Ah Boys to Men’ by Jack Neo
Need we say more?
Mind you there is already 4 in the pipeline, after the success of Part 1, 2, 3. Steady Lah!


Youth Day
3 Jul  
1. ‘Red Dragonflies’ by Liao Jiekai
What do youths think about these days - What to post on Facebook? What to post on instagram? Travelling to faraway places? So what is Youth Day about? Liao Jiekai's 'Red Dragonflies revisits youth through the jungle adventures of three students who like they are wearing NJC uniforms. Trekking through a huge expanse of foliage, one of them drops into a hole and disappears. Then time leaves that episode behind and the characters have moved on with their own lives until they decided to look back, revisit and ask big questions again. Have a thoughtful Youth Day!

2. ‘The Songs We Sang’ by Eva Tang
This documentary about the Xinyao movement will make the Gen-X among us feel youthful again. Tracing the development of this music culture that is somewhere between folk and pop, the film also speaks of a time when a guitar is all you needed to create the next radio hit. This labour of love by filmmaker Eva Tang features interviews with pop stars like Stephanie Sun, JJ Lin as well as footage from a mini Xinyao concert at the Bras Basah complex, that saw crowds throng the corridors.

Hari Raya Puasa 
6 Jul
1. ‘Sayang Disayang’ by Sanif Olek
If food helps unlock festive cheer, then surely some fresh sambal goreng during Hari Raya Puasa will add sizzle and spice to the occasion. Sanif Olek's first feature film, about an Indonesian domestic helper who tries to cook sambal goreng to win the heart of her disabled master, will restore your faith in good old-fashioned human values like friendship, forgivesenes and redemption.  This film was also Singapore's entry to Oscars Foreign language film category in 2014.

2. ‘03-flats’ by Lei Yuan Bin
Amy Tashiana shows you how to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa in style even when your HDB flat isnt too accomodating in terms of space. She uses her corridor and a huge serving of spirit and zest as a host. This documentary '03-Flats' puts the microscope on the lives of three women who live in vastly different HDB units, with interior designing (or the lack of) defining each of the flats and mirroring each woman's personality. One lives a very spartan life with minimal furnishing, one is a visual artist who has transformed the flat into an impressive studio. Last but not least, there is the larger-than-life Amy whose mix of boudoir and glamour will convince you that the shoebox which is the HDB is what you make of it.
03-FLATS Official Trailer from Looi Wan Ping on Vimeo.


Singapore Food Festival
July
‘Old Friends’ by Royston Tan
Royston Tan gives Makansutra the cinematic treatment with meticulously executed shots of food and their preparation overlaid with earnest voices from the hawkers who will convince you their food is made from the heart. Something to whet your appetite duri


National Day
9 Aug 
1. ‘7 letters’ by Royston Tan, Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin, Kelvin Tong, Boo Junfeng, K Rajagopal
'7 Letters' is possibly one of the best SG50 tributes we saw in 2015. It brings together what might be the 'Big 7' among Singapore directors (Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin, Boo Junfeng, K Rajagopal, Kelvin Tong, Royston Tan (Anthony Chen not included)) and jogs an assortment of memories about Singapore. It is essentially an omnibus of 7 short films made by the 7 directors, each given the stimuli that their film is a love letter to home. We dare say surely will laugh, and likely can cry. (Plus Jack Neo's segment has zero product endorsement for once)

2. ‘1965’ by Randy Ang and Daniel Yun
The other film that was made for and timed with Singapore's 50th anniversary is '1965'. This obviously period film depicts Singapore in a time when racial relations were tense and Lee Kuan Yew did the crying thing. Watch this for the epic treatment, cast of thousands, high production values and Lim Kay Tong's LKY impression.


Hungry Ghost Festival
Aug   
1. ‘2359’ by Gilbert Chan
2. ‘881’ by Royston Tan

Take a pick? Do you want horror or comedy this 7th month? Such is the multi-faceted nature of the Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore that it spooks you, shocks you, tickles you and entertains you. Stories involving the netherworld are aplenty to make you want to reach home before 23:59 every night in fear that you may bump into some woman with long hair and a white dress. For people who are not afraid, test your tolerance by watching '2359'. This horror film is about the fateful Charlie Company in Pulau Tekong in which a recruit disappeared from his platoon and was found dead and disembowelled later.


For those who cannot stomach horror,  opt for a signature piece from Royston Tan, '881'. Through the singing career of the 'Papaya Sisters', we are taken through the melodies and beats of Hokkien songs and realise that they are actually quite melodic. This was the film that redefined Hokkien music and made it somewhat cool. Don't miss it!


Teacher’s Day 
2 Sep
‘Kallang Roar’ by Cheng Ding An
We found a good teacher in Uncle Choo from Cheng Ding An's 'Kallang Roar' - a film about how the Singapore Lions won the Malaysia Cup  (soccer) in 1977. That was the legendary team with Quah Kim Song and Dollah Salleh, led by the team's coach Uncle Choo. This is a 'road to victory', feel-good kind of film about fighting, sportsmanship, friendship and a very inspiring teacher. It is like a Singapore version of Mr Holland's Opus (played by the late Robin Williams). For soccer fans, subject matter aside, the movie has the blessing of the 2 legends Quah Kim Song and Dollar Kassim as their sons acted in the movie.


Hari Raya Haji  
12 Sep
‘Road to Mecca’ by Harman Hussin
There are many movies out there about the Mecca Pilgrimage but this is one made by Harman Hussin, a Singaporean about his road trip to Mecca. Little encounters and pockets of surprises make the film more than just a 'Lonely Planet' video. These include a grand prayer session in India that resembled a Hollywood set and a serendipitous encounter with a girl called 'Priti' (no pun intended) in Lahore at a high, breathtaking vantage point overlooking the whole city. 


Children's Day 
7 Oct 
‘Innocents’ by Wong Chen Hsi
Growing up in Singapore back in the 70s and 80s, many would be more familiar with the concept of 'tough love' than the children today. Everyone was caned at least a few times by their parents but in today's Singapore, kids have it easier.  This film, while taking a leaf from the authoritarian culture we experienced in the earlier decades, also offers some questions for children and adults today about conforming and finding their own space. Two young school children, class monitor Syafiqah and rebel Ah Huat, form a close friendship driven by the oppression of their school and find solace in spaces like the public drains where they can claim their own. A film like this makes Children's Day a little more thoughtful.

Deepavali 
29 Oct
‘Stranger’ by Boo Junfeng
'Stranger', one of Boo Junfeng's earliest short films, takes you on a tour through the human maze that is Little India near the Deepavali season. Pregnant with reminiscent thoughts, we see Little India through the director's eyes who is rekindling old memories of happy times spent here. A little fun, a little sad, a little deep and a lot honest.
Stranger - 过客 (2004)
from Boo Junfeng on Vimeo.

Halloween 
31 Oct 
‘The Maid’ by Kelvin Tong
Go ahead and scare yourselves silly this Halloween by watching The Maid, possibly the scariest local horror flick on record so far. A Filipino domestic enters into service for a Singaporean Chinese couple in an eerie-looking shophouse. Discovering what her fate could be will send electric chills down your spine.

World Kindness Day  
13 Nov
1. ‘Dahdi’ by Kirsten Tan
2. 'Not Working Today’ by Tan Shijie 
Believing in 'paying it forward' may not be the easiest thing in today's world but these 2 short films will restore your faith in kindness. 'Dahdi' by Kristen Tan is about an encounter between a Rohingya refugee and a Singaporean Ah Ma. While the Ah Ma makes a police report about the refugee's intrusion, she also instinctively offers her milo and other items of comfort.
DAHDI (trailer) by Kirsten Tan from Kirsten Tan on Vimeo.

'Not Working Today' is about a Bangladeshi construction worker who needs to take a breather from the daily grind of work but has no money to see a doctor and he discovers an unexpected pocket of kindness from a Singaporean. 
(No trailer available)

World Toilet Day  
19 Nov
‘Everybody's Business’ by Lee Thean Jeen
Did you know that World Toilet Day was invented by a Singaporean? The person who invented it is Jack Sim, who, like us, feel Singapore can do better when it comes to toilet hygiene. The film 'Everybody's Business' puns the word and the concept of 'shit' to death but is still immensely entertaining. There is an abundance of laughing material if you don't mind the toilet humour overdose. There is a department called the Ministry of Toilets in which Kumar is the toilet minister. This minister literally walks the talk and visits local coffeeshops to take dumps to test the condition of coffeeshop toilets. Then there is the epic sewage pipe bursting sequence where it rains shit everywhere. Enough kick, enough entertainment and a nice useful message to take home.


World Aids Day 
1 Dec
‘Rubbers’ by Han Yew Kwang
Have a little fun while remembering to have safe sex on World Aids Day, with the comedy 'Rubbers'. If this trailer clip of award-winning actress Yeo Yann Yann slipping a condom over a banana rocks your boat, go catch it as the movie promises to be as naughty as Ris Low's red 'bigini'.


International Migrant Workers Day
13 Dec
1. ‘Ilo Ilo’ by Anthony Chen
Take this day to remember the contribution of our migrant workers who are helping to build our new MRT lines and take care of our house chores and children. There is no better movie to remind us that they too form an important block in our social jigsaw puzzle than Anthony Chen's award-winning film 'Ilo Ilo'. Based on Anthony's personal experience, the film depicts the growing relationship between a young boy and Terry, the Filipino domestic worker who lives with him. Certainly a film worth watching based on its own merit, anytime of the year.

2. Unlucky Plaza’ by Ken Kwek
While Onassis is not exactly a migrant worker in the film 'Unlucky Plaza' by Ken Kwek (more like a migrant business owner), this film's allusion to Lucky Plaza, a meeting point for thousands of Filipino domestic workers every week, is a reminder of the mixed social fabric we have in Singapore. This film, as some reviewers have mentioned, is a Singapore film like no other due to the director's bold over-the-top style. Onassis' failing business at Lucky Plaza and mounting debts drive him to create a hostage situation that rocks the whole of Singapore. Guess the impossibly high-octane plot speaks for itself. 


Christmas  
25 Dec
1. ‘Singapore Minstrel’ by Ng Xi Jie
Christmas is a time to share joy and spread some cheer, very much like the act of busking, an ancient art form that stems from the love of performing and brightening up the lives of people who watch it. Filmmaker Ng Xi Jie lets us in on the world of busking through the eyes and voice of Singapore's most famous busker Roy Payamal. Like busking, the film is quite a mixed bag of many things - make-believe,  fantasy, realism, social commentary, theatrics and education. So give your time for buskers this Christmas who are working hard to add colour to our streets!

2. 'Gift' by Daniel Yam
This unassuming short film garnered over 8 million views on Viddsee and got re-posted, ripped and reshaped in plenty of other online sites all around the world. It could be Singapore's more viral short film ever. It's a simple short film about a dad's love and his best gift to his son. Soak into the spirit of Christmas with this short film here.


That's all folks! 
Remember: an SG film a day keeps the blues away!
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@SGIFF2015: Review - Paradise

January 10, 2016, 9:18 am
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Resignation reigns supreme in this somber film about the place of women in modern Iran.

Directed by promising newcomer Sina Ataeian Dena, and co-produced by Yousef Panahi, brother of Berlin Golden Bear winner Jafar Panahi, Paradise follows the journey of a disaffected young woman, Hanieh (Dorna Dibaj), as she tries to escape the oppressive miasma of the conservative school she teaches at. Part documentary and part social drama, the most striking part of Paradise is easily its visual language: the often-used candid camera approach lends a sense of organic growth to the narrative, while the striking contrast between the outfits of the various characters with the mundane and drab palettes of the landscape evokes a certain Pop-Art yet Neo-Realist aesthetic sensibility.

By interacting directly with non-actors on the Iranian streets, who are not aware of the fact that they are being filmed, Hanieh confronts the issues that the modern Iranian women faces at a basal level, exposing the true state of the body politics and policing of women from since they were youth, to their completely indoctrinated adulthood and old age. Given the somewhat blandness of Ataeian Dena’s screenplay and the ham-fistedness of his imagery, this artistic choice that favors an amorphous, and ever-present, sense of dread and urgency over that of contextualization helps to balance out the monotone that the film occasionally lapse into.
Thematically, the most comprehensively covered idea in Paradise is that of moral resignation—in the opening, we bear aural witness to an interview between Hanieh and an officer responsible for approving her application to transfer from a school in the distant suburbs of Tehran to one much closer to the city, and listen in on the enforcement of a hegemonic religious tradition on an obviously emotionally-battered woman. The audience gets to watch a black screen while Hanieh is verbally hounded and queried on how much neck and ankles a woman may show: emphatically, the answer is none. Later on, even as we watch Hanieh subvert the various expectations of tradition in minute acts of rebellion, we also see Hanieh crack down on acts of dissent by her students with her own brand of self-policing words. In this case, the accused has become the accuser, and we get to extrapolate the only outcome these exchanges can have, a vicious cycle of traditionalism enforced with thinly veiled and clearly articulated threats.

While Dibaj’s subdued performance is thus fitting, it also leads to the occasional lull in narrative pace, as the plot is presented at a soporific speed throughout the entirety of the film. However, viewers with patience can thus get the opportunity to revel in the immersive quality of the society depicted and the space it inhabits.

The more interesting sequences of note are those involving Hanieh’s school and its all-female student populace whose acts of rejection of school laws is simultaneously envied and resented by Hanieh—we watch these hijab-clad girls discuss the hairstyle of anime character Judy Abbott and sing pop songs whilst still being so heavily constrained by the cultural framework they live in, and the effect is joyously surreal. Darker is the undercurrent that runs through the film however, as we piece together the connection between Hanieh, her behaviors, and the recent disappearance of her students, as well as the somber and reproachful tone that the adults approach their young with.

All in all an admirable attempt, a meta-textual curiosity of some merit would be that of its sound. Having all of its audio material confiscated before post-production, the entirety of the soundscape of Paradise is recreated in Berlin, where every dialogue and every background sound is painstaking work by sound designer Lajos Wienkamp Marques.

Review by Alfonse Chiu


Paradise won the Swatch Art Peace Hotel Prize from the jury for first features and the Ecumenical Prize at the 68th Locarno film festival.

This review is part of the Asian Feature Film Competition series at the Singapore International Film Festival 2015. Read more about the film here.
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@SGIFF2015: Imagine - Asian Shorts Programme

January 12, 2016, 8:20 am
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Asian Shorts Programme 

http://sgiff.com/browse-all-films/imagine-asian-shorts-programme-1/
http://sgiff.com/browse-all-films/imagine-asian-shorts-programme-2/
Held across two days at the Substation, the Asian Shorts Programme look to bring together and give exposure to up and coming new Asian filmmakers. The selections were wide and varied – coming from multiple countries including Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Iran and even Bhutan! A number of films were having their World Premiere (Coming Attractions, A Special Visit, A Monk In the Forest), International Premiere (April Fool’s, In The Room) and Asian Premiere (Missing One Player). 

The programme looked to cover different themes – from the avant garde and artistic, to dramatic, to animation and more. Some filmmakers chose to focus on a clear straight story line, while others preferred to be less structured in taking the audience through an experience of the film, rather than the use of a narrative storyline.

A number of personal stand outs include One-minded of which was told from the point of view of a fan. While the story itself was unique based upon the shenanigans within an apartment shared by two women, taking the point of view of a fan certainly added an extra dimension for the viewer.



Another stand out wasConstant Angle– a submission from Iran. Told in a single continuous long take, it was a very modern take on the relationship between a couple on a drive to dinner. The short’s pace was very strong and fast, and the filmmaker certainly made the most of the very strong script while drawing out the best in her actors as the different challenges and situations were played out completely within the confines of a car.  
My personal favourite was the submission from Israel, April Fool’s. A particularly well scripted short – it begins rather sedately with home video scenes of practical jokes before hitting the audience with a particularly shocking clip of a practical joke gone horribly wrong. The audience is then taken on a search for the prankster which ultimately leads to a journey of self discovery for the film maker himself.

Review by Ivan Choong
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@SGIFF2015: Review - The Return

January 12, 2016, 8:21 am
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There was an encouraging significant turn out at the National Museum to watch the Asian Premier of The Return by multi-disciplinary artist Green Zeng -  a Singaporean film on an ex political detainee as he returns to society after years of lost time and opportunities. It was a home-coming of sorts as the film had garnered international attention after having been selected for the Venice International Film Critics’ Week in July 2015.

The pre-text of the film about a political detainee would certainly have given rise to much interest – Singapore’s political sensibilities have increased among today’s millennia generation, and this with against the recent passing of Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, meant the film’s premier was definitely very timely and relevant. The film gives a voice to the human impact of political dissent through a fictional narrative of political detainee returning, and integrating into civilian society – the film sheds light on the challenges, personal sacrifices and the uncertainties of the future. The film certainly took pains in providing a good back story in setting the various scenes.

From a personal perspective, the hardship and emotional impact on immediate loved ones was quite emotional to watch. Broken relationships, lost time, missed opportunities between husband and wife, father and children were all very realistically depicted. Balance was achieved by including broken relationships that needed to be healed (between a repentant father and neglected son), and a more caring father daughter exchange that provided a catalyst for healing.


The daily challenges of re-integrating into today’s society was another aspect that the film did not shy away from. From re-connecting with other ex-political detainees, to media interest, to flashbacks of political movement that hinted at the activities that had probably resulted in political detainment – the audience catches a fuller glimpse into the how the lives of political detainees would have been affected.

The film looks to that an almost documentary approach. It did not provide an opinion on right or wrong, or take sides – keeping very much to presenting situations and allowing the audience to finally come to their own conclusions. Cinematographically, it was beautiful. The camera angles, framing and scenes were beautifully composed and shot. Much credit must be given to the photography team for being able to capture and invoke nostalgia through the use of image.



Perhaps my only comment would be on the pacing of the film. As many of the themes covered - such as relationship difficulties, lost time - are all very familiar and real to the everyday audience, the extensive detail and film time allocated to each felt at times repetitive.  The Return certainly comes at an appropriate time and voice in today’s increasing political awareness.


Review by Ivan Choong

http://www.thereturn-movie.com


http://www.thereturn-movie.com/trailer2/
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@SGIFF2015: Review - The Kids

January 12, 2016, 9:10 am
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Sunny Yu’s debut feature The Kids revolves around the lives of teenage couple Pao-li (Wu Chien-ho) and Jia-jia (Wen Chen-ling). The narrative shifts between the couple's high school days and the present, situated a few years after. Pao-li is now a kitchen helper at a roast meat stall, Jia-jia works at a café, and they live with their baby daughter and Pao-li’s mother (Yang Chi) – a compulsive gambler – cramped in a one-room flat.

Jia-jia’s struggles with her abusive father and cheating ex-boyfriend loom over the couple’s high school romance. The present offers little relief, saddled as it is with familial responsibilities and marital deceit. Contrast is mild between the past and the present, and nostalgia cut short.

Pao-li weathers through the day with a stoic countenance in both timelines, while Jia-jia's aspect is constantly clouded. The years in between do not left much of a mark on the characters, so the film’s juxtaposition of time is light in effect.

The drama in the present is triggered by Jia-jia leaving the house with the child, leading to Pao-li's ill-fated series of amends. The story plays out like a melodrama, but one of loose intensity and unexploited tension. In what was probably intended as a culmination of his desperation for cash to secure a new apartment and the marriage, Pao-li attempts to rob a wealthy woman in one of the final scenes. Yet, even this sequence was rendered with a gentle hand, and Pao-li’s desperation, like his character, appears distant.
There are some lovely moments in the film, and the one-room flat littered with unwashed clothes, leftover food, and occupied by Pao-li’s unkempt mother, provides a stark backdrop for the youthful faces of the couple and their child.

Yu's writing is sophisticated, and safe. The story stands on its own without being consumed by thematic expositions. The visuals are similarly measured. What would be great for Yu’s next project would be a further venture into the depths of the ordinary. 

Review by Teenli Tan

This review is part of the Asian Feature Film Competition series at the Singapore International Film Festival 2015. Read more about the film here.
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ShoutOUT!: State of Motion - A Bus Tour to iconic filming locations of a bygone era

January 17, 2016, 9:43 am
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Singapore tends to be too hasty in obliterating things of the past. Thankfully, there are movies that have captured some of these lost monuments and places in Singapore. And here is your chance to set foot on where these 'lost' monuments once stood.

State of Motion is a bus tour that retraces these places with Singaporean artist and filmmaker, Toh Hun Ping through his extensive research on 20th century Singapore films and their filming locations. With a focus on a selection of classic Cathay-Keris films, audiences go on a trip to these film locations where an artwork responding to both the film and its site awaits them. Participants are encouraged to not just remember but to re-imagine the film and an ever-changing Singapore landscape.

Programme Outline
The starting point of State of Motion will feature a pop-up exhibition curated by the Singapore Film Locations Archive, focusing on the films of the Cathay-Keris Studio and the important landmarks related to this slice of history.

Tour participants will see a presentation of short excerpts from selected Cathay-Keris films, including iconic titles like Chinta Kaseh Sayang (My Darling Love, 1965), Korban Fitnah (Victim of Slander, 1959), Mat Tiga Suku (Mat Crazy, 1965), Che Mamat Parang Tumpol (Black Hand Gang, 1960) and Sumpah Pontianak (The Curse of Pontianak, 1958).

The tour will visit five filming locations ranging from the former kampongs in Siglap, to the old Outram Prison and the iconic Queen Elizabeth Walk. Each stop will feature a site-specific artwork, created by Singapore-based artists Kin Chui, Mark Thia, Hafiz Osman, Stephanie Jane Burt and Mike HJ Chang and curated by Kent Chan.

Tour Locations and Featured Films

Starting Point: Level 8 Promenade, National Library Building 

1. Old Outram Prison; Korban Fitnah (Victim of Slander, 1959)
2. Esplanade Park; Chinta Kaseh Sayang (My Darling Love, 1965)
3. Merdeka Bridge; Che Mamat Parang Tumpol (Black Hand Gang, 1960)
4. Former Kampong Siglap; Sumpah Pontianak (The Curse of Pontianak, 1958)
5. Forest on undeveloped land, the site for a pilot east coast reclamation scheme in the 1960s; Mat Tiga Suku (Mat Crazy, 1965)


This event is commissioned by the National Arts Council and organised by the Asian Film Archive for Singapore Art Week 2016 (16 - 24 Jan).

This is a rain or shine event. Participants are advised to wear appropriate footwear and clothing suitable for grass and muddy terrains.

Tickets can be bought via Peatix here.
Check out the tour route here: bit.ly/stateofmotion-map 

Programme Schedule
Tour Dates
16 January 2016, Saturday
17 January 2016, Sunday
23 January 2016, Saturday
24 January 2016, Sunday
Tour Schedule
Tour 1: 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
Tour 2: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tour 3: 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Tour 4: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Tour 5: 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Tour 6: 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Tour 7: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Tour 8: 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Tour 9: 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Tour 10: 3:30 pm - 6:30 pm
*Please arrive at Level 8 Promenade, National Library Building, 15 minutes earlier for registration. Tours will commence as per schedule. Latecomers will bear the risk of missing the tour.
*Limited to 11 pax per tour


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ShoutOUT!: Watch 8 short films from 13 Little Pictures this Saturday under the stars

January 17, 2016, 10:05 am
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Lei Yuan Bin's 'An Autumn Afternoon'

Presented as part of Singapore Art Week (16–24 January 2016), 13 Little Pictures, a filmmaking collective, will showcase 8 short films, including 3 new works this coming Saturday. The new works are Lei Yuan Bin's 'An Autumn Afternoon', Liao Jiekai's 'Silent Light' and ' Yeo Siew Hua's 'The Minotaur'.

Yeo Siew Hua's 'The Minotaur'


Liao Jiekai's 'Silent Light'


Tan Bee Thiam's 'Kopi Julia'

Here are the details:
Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
LASALLE College of the Arts, Green, 1 McNally St, Singapore
All welcome. Admission is free
Refreshments from 7:30 pm.
Screening starts 8:00 pm

Programme (1 hr 25 min)

1. Tan Bee Thiam, Kopi Julia, 2013, digital video, black and white, silent, 7:04 minutes

2. Sherman Ong, Tickets, 2010, digital video, colour, sound, 10:20 minutes

3. Wesley Leon Aroozoo, A lion’s pride, 2008, digital video, colour, sound, 8:07 minutes

4. Gladys Ng, My father after dinner, 2015, digital video, colour, sound, 15:38 minutes

5. Daniel Hui, Animal spirits, 2013, 16 mm film, colour, sound, 8:54 minutes

6. Lei Yuan Bin, An autumn afternoon, 2015, digital video, colour sound, 9:17 minutes

7. Liao Jiekai, Silent light, 2015, 16 mm film, colour, sound, 11:45 minutes 

8. Yeo Siew Hua, The minotaur, 2015, high-definition digital video, colour, sound, 13:00 minutes

13 Little Pictures supports independent filmmaking through ideas, collaboration and production support. Since its founding in 2009, it has organized three regional film labs and produced twenty-seven films.

Celebrating six years of the collective, the screening features experimental films of mystery, including 'Silent light' (2015), a new work shot entirely on 16 mm film by Liao Jiekai, and 'Kopi Julia' (2013), a tribute to 1950s Malay horror films by Tan Bee Thiam. The films will be presented on a 6-metre wide outdoor sheltered cinema screen underneath the stars.

Featuring films by Wesley Leon Aroozoo, Daniel Hui, Lei Yuan Bin, Liao Jiekai, Gladys Ng, Sherman Ong, Tan Bee Thiam and Yeo Siew Hua. Curated by 13 Little Pictures and Melanie Pocock, Assistant Curator, Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore.

Catch a trailer of the showcase here:



Useful links:
https://www.artweek.sg/events/spirits-of-cinema-short-films-by-13-little-pictures-screened-under-the-stars   

Lastly, enjoy this mesmerising trailer of Lei Yuan Bin's 'An Autumn Afternoon'. 
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@SGIFF2015: Review - Panay

January 22, 2016, 8:49 pm
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We so rarely encounter nuanced treatments of aboriginal lives and struggles in the movies that some of the buzz around Panay, the opening film at this year's SGIFF, proved to be very promising indeed. What less could emerge from the collaboration between two directors, one with multiple feature films under his belt, and another whose aboriginal status should grant him some firsthand purchase on the struggles faced by such populations? What less might we expect from a film that clinched the Audience Choice Award at this year's Taipei Film Festival, and that landed among the top eight contenders for SGIFF's equivalent award after the festival's first five days?


Sure, critical reactions to Panay might have been lukewarm, drawing attention to its broad characters, saccharine plot and generic village milieu. But perhaps those compromises are not out of place for a film aimed directly at the hearts of a mass festival audience, especially to serve a cause as well-intentioned as the representation of aboriginal lives. Of greater concern, however, is the risk that Panay's good intentions don't necessarily serve the cause that it promises to back, and could well lead it instead to backfire.

Here's a rundown of why:

1) Panay bogs itself down with too many challenges for its protagonist.

Panay opens with wide shots of an idyllic cliffside motorbike ride into the title character’s village, giving us a sense of what’s at stake as we glimpse roadside billboards that declare ‘Land for Sale’. A boy sits on the roof of his house at dusk, trying repeatedly to make phone calls to an absent mother working on the mainland. That same mother, our title character, has her news item on the aborigines cut by her employer for, in her own words, ‘some showgirl’s tits’. An old flame from high school shows up at her doorstep, and turns out to be trying to help a client buy over their family’s plot of farmland. Her children tell him that their village canal has stopped flowing, leaving the land barren. Panay’s elderly father, tending the grasses alone, collapses into a faint.

These stockpiling challenges shape our sense of the stakes that might permeate Panay and plague aboriginal communities beyond the dark of the cinema. But we might also sense, just from Panay's first reel alone, that the film bites off far more material than it can chew in the space of 99 minutes. Given a miniseries, or even a full TV season, this material could have served as fodder for a sweeping and impassioned portrait of a contemporary Taiwanese aboriginal family. (We might not be surprised to learn that Cheng Yu-Hsieh, one of Panay's two directors, has devoted more of his recent filmography to the realm of TV.) Unfortunately, as a relatively short feature film, Panay simply doesn't have the running time or economy of expression to support such a portrait. And, as we will see, this lack of time and economy ends up further spawning two of Panay’s more fundamental hurdles to its own cause.

(WARNING: Spoilers to follow!)

2) The film never dwells enough on the impact that these challenges have on Panay and her family.

For a film about the difficulties faced by a subaltern population, Panay remains strangely bloodless. We hear that the farmlands have dried up, and yet the cinematography insists on leaving them in a hue of luscious green. Panay's father collapses from exhaustion, inciting a key plot turn, and yet his eventual fate isn't to receive a ceremonious death, but to be dropped unceremoniously from the plot altogether. Panay quits her job on the mainland, and drags her daughter away from hers, and yet no one in the family ever seems wanting for money. Instead of committing to any of these costs, the film opts instead for the occasional familial dispute, including a naively sentimental call for a grandparent's continued illness, the ripping of a crayon drawing, and a petulant cursing of family-owned land that would resonate with the older characters from Gone with the Wind.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that these melodramatic moments couldn't have worked in a film that worked to earn them. Nor am I saying that a film about aboriginal struggles shouldn't address how wider forces can strain the ties among the members of an aboriginal family. However, by focusing many strands of its drama on the familial, without ever extracting deep costs on that front, Panay loses much of the political currency that it earned when it initially framed the wider socioeconomic difficulties faced by these aboriginals. If we're asked to identify with the family at the film's centre, and yet this family never seems to deal with problems that can be traced to those dealt with by members of their race, then how can they help to channel an emotionally direct experience of those latter problems, in ways that the best of sociopolitical cinema can provide?

The sole exception, and one that Panay deserves much credit for, emerges in the harrowing encounter between Panay's daughter and a group of village children who resent her mother for apparently rousing the village in order to serve her own ends. Here, instead of presenting us with the confrontation point-blank, Panay's filmmakers opt for a cutaway and slow tracking shot that leave us genuinely worried about the fate that has befallen Panay's daughter. These scenes offer us a glimpse of a Panay that dwells on what we might not dare to countenance about the costs of fighting for a cause—if only the filmmakers had chosen to commit to it.

3) Panay proceeds to resolve its challenges far too neatly.

The film does commit to two particular sociopolitical challenges: the first involves Panay’s attempts to revive rice-farming traditions amid a village divided over urban development, while the second focuses on her battles against the state-sanctioned land grab that takes up much of the film's last reel. To Panay's credit, these challenges contribute its most mature and clear-eyed treatment of the realities that these aboriginals might endure. Unfortunately, however, these challenges also contribute some of Panay's most maudlin passages, a result of the film struggling to resolve these tough (and even intractable) realities.

In these passages, it becomes apparent that Panay and its title character deal with problems by insisting that they don't exist, or won't, in the face of pure humanist sentiment. When Panay is questioned by skeptical fellow villagers about what they'll do if their rice remains unsold, Panay guarantees that she will buy it all. When cops arrive to break up these villagers' protest against a land grab, one of the elderly villagers induces an identity crisis in one of the cops by asking him what tribe he is from. Panay's daughter takes a Tiananmen-esque stand against a hulking excavator, and suddenly their rice stock is sold, the land grab dissipated, and their canal re-hydrated. It's the Disneyland version of a story that deserves telling, except that even Walt Disney knew that happiness must be borne of sacrifice. Panay, for all the worth of its subject matter, sacrifices nothing.

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ShoutOUT!: Discussing Singapore Cinema - A 5-week series

January 23, 2016, 9:03 pm
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Conversations about the identity of Singapore cinema continues with this 5-part series of talks by academic Wong Hongyi. This happens every Tuesday from 26 Jan to 1 Mar 2016, 7.30pm (except 9 Feb) at the Workshop Space at Objectifs.

Entry is by Donation. You can register on the event page.

This series of talks will take a closer look at Singapore cinema by uncovering recurring themes and focusing on the works of several filmmakers. Learn more about how the Singaporean identity has shaped our films, and how it has expressed and influenced our perceptions and understanding of the world.
These talks are organised in conjunction with Objectifs’ Watch Local screenings. Get more information on our Watch Local screenings here.

For further queries, email us at info@objectifs.com.sg.

More details about the talks:

26 January 2016
'Singapore Film: what is it?'
This introductory seminar to the 5-part series will look at Singapore film through a number of identifiable themes and concepts. Ideas like memory, nostalgia, space, identity and the use of Singlish in some of our local films will be examined with examples from various Singaporean filmmakers. A good place to start is the omnibus 7 Letters, itself a part of the numerous initiatives of SG50 and an attempt to look at how Singapore has changed across our five decades of nationhood.

2 February 2016
Art as Alternative Voice
Many times, art is used by the artist to reclaim what has been taken away from the powerless and the marginalised. This seminar looks at how films in Singapore are sometimes a representation of the person in the street with his or her fears and aspirations. In this way, film can be used to validate individuals who are neglected or even rejected by the collective consciousness. Some of the films of younger filmmakers like Boo Junfeng and Kirsten Tan will be featured in this session.

16 February 2016
Director Focus: Jack Neo
This third seminar in the series takes a look at Jack Neo, who is sometimes believed to represent the Everyman in Singapore. His choice to focus on the problems of the masses is arguably the source of his appeal. The issues that he explores may be mundane but many of them are very real. Throughout his filmmaking years, Neo has evolved and developed a bankable formula that works. Some of the films we will watch include Money No Enough, I Not Stupid, Homerun, and Ah Boys to Men.

23 February 2016
Director Focus: Wee Li Lin
A prolific filmmaker in her own right, Wee Li Lin is a master of the short film genre. Starting from Norman on the Air in 1997, which won her an award at the Singapore International Film Festival, Wee has been making films that explore the inner worlds of archetypal, localised characters. In this seminar, we take a look at some of these shorts. Lunch Time is about a coffeeshop assistant who fantasises a better life; Holiday features the sudden retrenchment of an average Singaporean man; and Autograph Book talks about the pains of growing up through the eyes of a 12-year-old.

1 March 2016
Director Focus: Eric Khoo
One of the forerunners in the Singapore film scene, Eric Khoo has contributed to the growth of the industry significantly. He has also influenced a number of young local filmmakers hoping to make their mark in Singapore and abroad. Many of his films are dark symbolisms of existence in urban spaces. The characters featured in films such as Mee Pok Man, 12 Storeys and Be With Me are edgy, displaced and lonely individuals. The way they cope with their lives serves as a mirror for the rest of us who may be grappling with similar issues. In this final seminar of the series, we round up with Khoo and his works.
About the speaker, Wong Hongyi

Wong Hongyi is an academic who teaches film and communication in local tertiary institutions. He received his BA and MA (Literary Studies) from the National University of Singapore. Apart from teaching, he has also developed curriculum for university modules such as Introduction to Film Art and Shakespeare in Film. He believes movies have the power to transcend cultural differences and bring new perspectives to otherwise fettered minds. Apart from film, Hongyi is also interested in literature and writes creatively. He was a contributing writer in the 2014 Singapore Writers’ Festival, leading a literary walk as part of the Festival with fellow writers from the third installment of the Balik Kampung series (forthcoming).
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Review: The Songs We Sang

January 24, 2016, 4:38 am
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Watching The Songs We Sang (2015) would not have held that much importance for me had it not been a special screening organised by both Hwa Chong Junior College and CHIJ St. Nicholas’ Girls alumnai associations. Surrounded by both fans, participants and their children, it was amazing to feel the audience hold their breath and exhale as one at various points of the film.
I am not very familiar with the genre in this film but I noted that director Eva Tang was audacious enough to not just cover the Xinyao movement from the music industry’s point of view but also from its very humble beginnings in the Chinese medium schools. 

The latter is what makes the film stand out, otherwise it would have been just another documentary, albeit still a good one, on a music movement. Eva Tang is of course, well-known for her work with Royston Tan and Victric Thng in Old Romances (2010) and Old Places(2012) which are social-historical documentaries on Singapore. It is such experience that we see Tang bring to the fore in her debut feature.

The closure of Singapore’s vernacular schools as it made to switch to all English-medium schools was a necessary, yet bitter move in the 1970s as Singapore sought to prepare itself for survival in the world economy. However, Nantah University had been built only two decades before as a pinnacle to Chinese education in Singapore. Thus it is usually such regret that comes to be associated with the switch. 

However, Tang shows us a completely different reaction in Nantah Chinese poetry club’s last days. Within this club, we see poetry and music flourishing dramatically as the university faced its imminent closure; The students creating poetry to express their emotions on the state of affairs and then taking cues from Taiwan’s folksong movement to set their poems to music which became wildly popular. Such creative outpouring of the students, a lesson in how to respond nobly to a traumatic event.
Of course, optimism alone would not have been able to sustain the movement. Tang then traces its increasing popularity to the willingness of a radio disc-jockey who was willing to take a chance on these students, which eventually catapulted them to fame as well as spawning similar movements in various schools across Singapore, leading to television appearances and of course, Singapore’s mandarin music industry as it is today. 

The scope of this research took 3 years to complete as hunting down members of the various bands and producers who have long since taken different paths was not easy. Similarly, Tang’s efforts to film their efforts in their original locations or to substitute with old pictures must be lauded for making this film a fantastic historical record of Singapore. This makes her attempt to organise a reunion concert for the various bands and their supporters, in Bras Brasah (a site where bands originally played), which was filmed for this documentary, all the more outrageous.

I cannot recommend this film well enough for its production values which are impeccable. In a city where archival materials are difficult and expensive to procure while historical places are torn down every other day, Tang has done us a huge favour in documenting the Xinyao movement for posterity. Even if you are not a fan of Xinyao or can’t speak Chinese, like me, the irreverent hope that its pioneers carried and their triumph over adversity holds a universal appeal that everyone can appreciate. Keep an eye out for it when it comes out later this year!

Review by Jenson Chen
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@SGIFF2015: Banglasia, Truly Asia

January 24, 2016, 7:59 am
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Namewee's loss in weight was noticeable when he was in town for SGIFF 2015 last December. It's been a rough ride for the Malaysian director, whose fourth film Banglasia, completed in 2013, has been banned in its country of origin since 2014.

The action-comedy is set in an alternate reality where Malaysia comes under attack from the Luk Luk army. Harris (Nirab Hossain), a blue-collared Bangladeshi worker, emerges as the all-rounded hero in the film. Harris’ courage and generosity gains the friendship and admiration from his employer’s daughter, Siti (Atikah Suhaime), pro-Malaysian activist Han Guo Ren (Namewee), and Han Guo Ren’s demented grandmother (Lao Zha Bo). Transcending boundaries of race, age, and nationality, the motley crew comes together to resist the villains thrown its way. 

The film was made in the context of prevalent animosity towards Bangladeshi workers in Malaysian society after the 2013 elections, traced to the government's alleged use of these workers as phantom voters. According to Namewee, the figure of Harris was created as a reminder of the contributions of Bangladeshi workers to the country.   

I caught Banglasia at the SGIFF last December, in a screening that drew much laughter from the audience. Knowing that the film had struck sufficient caution in the Malaysian Film Censorship Board to warrant 31 cuts, I'd expected at first a film sharp in its criticism of Malaysian society and politics.

So I was surprised at how lightly the film dealt with a host of socio-political issues, including xenophobia, racism, phantom voting, and corruption. The film flirted with caricatures and conspiracy theories familiar to a Malaysian audience – the extent of its commentary resembling a year in review of people and events trending on Facebook.

Censorship decisions against the film were thus doubly surprising, and testament to the Malaysian authorities’ flair for imagination.

Made for a Chinese New Year crowd, the film would have been a great complement to the easy laughter and running commentary from friends and relatives gathered for the festive season. The gloom that’d settled over Malaysia after the 2013 elections (and which continues to thicken) might have been momentarily dispelled by Namewee’s attempt at verbalizing and poking fun at the many, many things that frustrate the average citizen.



Unfortunately, Malaysians’ access to the film continue to be restricted. Outside of SGIFF 2015, the film has been screened at the Osaka Asian Film Festival 2015 and the New York Asian Film Festival 2015.

To complete the director's cut and secure funding for a global release of the film, Namewee and his team announced during SGIFF 2015 a 40-day global fundraising kickstarter campaign with a target for USD500,000. It was dubbed the most ambitious film crowdfunding project in Asia in terms of pledge amount.
As of 19thJanuary, the kickstarter fundraising has not met its target and has since closed. It is not clear what alternatives are available to the team.

Stay tuned while we keep a lookout for the film's latest developments and how you can help!

Tidbit: Namewee shared after the screening about his unusual method of casting for Banglasia. This involved walking into a 'Bangla' DVD shop in Malaysia and trying to find the DVDs in which the same faces popped up most frequently. He then asked the shopkeeper who they were, and contacted these actors after several rounds of shortlisting. What followed was flying to Bangladesh and meeting them face-to-face. Eventually, the team ended up choosing a lead guy touted as the Andy Lau (famous Hong Kong actor) equivalent of Bangladesh!

Inputs from Teenli Tan

Check out the film's trailer here: 

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Interview with Leo Poloniecki (representing Team Zissou) on "The Anniversary"

February 1, 2016, 6:47 pm
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The Anniversary bagged the most prizes at the recent 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) Singapore in December 2015, winning the awards for Best Film, Best Directing, Best Use of Props and Audience Choice. We speak with Leo, director and writer of the short film, to find out more about its production.

SYNOPSIS
On the anniversary of her daughter’s death an American real-estate agent has to close the deal on the sale of a shopping mall to a Chinese buyer. The only thing between her and the sale is the buyer’s personal ‘spirit detective’, without whose approval she never says yes to a purchase.




Hi Leo, do tell us more about yourself, and how you & your team for the 48HFP got together-

I am currently working as a commercials director for Freeflow Productions. I have made a handful of short films and, as a writer in advertising, many adverts. The team for the 48HFP slowly came together through a mix of friends, generous people from work and kind actors who agreed to come aboard and help us out. 

Really creative use of the prop (BBQ tongs)! 
Did the idea of using a BBQ tong come quickly, or was it something you conveniently threw into the story? I believe I have seen Chinese mediums use some sort of fork when doing contact with the netherworld, but a BBQ tong is really one up! 

Haha! Yes. Once we had decided on the character of a ‘Spirit Detective’ we had a bit of fun thinking of all the strange and weird things he could do to ‘test for ghosts’ in the building. In comparison to some of the other ideas we had, using the BBQ tongs like a tuning fork actually seemed on the sensible side! 

I thought that your use of line was really good; I have yet to watch the winning entry for the Best Line prize, but the little girl screaming at the end was really creepy, and I was also very impressed with her delivery (though it was just one line). Have you made many horror films in the past? The Anniversary felt very naturally done, much smoother than how I would envisage a 48 hour film to be like.

It's only natural that, when racing to get a whole piece done in just 48 hours, a certain amount of mania is likely to appear on the screen! I'm not quite sure why our piece ended up having a very calm feeling to it. Certainly, while shooting, it never felt like a big panic and no one lost their cool. I suppose the spirits of the building must have been smiling on us. As for little Eva - yes, she did a perfect job delivering the line. It comes over satisfactorily spookily... despite the fact that she couldn't stop giggling while doing the shoot! 


And the inevitable question, what were the challenges you faced in directing a 48hfp? I am sure many people would have asked you this, but filming in a shopping (as dilapidated it was) probably has its constraints, permission from management, security guards chasing you out etc., so...how did you go about gaining access to the filming venue, and how did you manage to bring together such a wide range of actors? Also, do share with us how long did you take to write the story, organize the shoot, do the filming, edit, etc..Will also like to know how much the making of your film cost (HAHA! Singaporean question), if you don't mind sharing.

It’s funny you should mention trouble from security guards. There was a security guard there and he did approach us to tell us to clear off. When we showed him the papers to show that we had permission from the building’s management, he suddenly went completely the other way in terms of his attitude to the production. He was virtually holding the boom microphone by the end of the day - we probably couldn’t have made the film without him! As for the questions about timing, the writing all happened on the Friday night. So we had the rest of the weekend to shoot, edit and grade. The costs were pretty minimal because of the competition rule that all participants have to contribute on a volunteer basis. I think the hiring of some kit, the competition entry and then other stuff like transport and food all came to about S$800. 


Is there a director whose work you admire, or any film you had in mind when you were making The Anniversary? I couldn't really put a finger to it, but old building + little creepy girl + nervous middle aged lady + silent slightly-crazy chinese man....

With the 48HFP you can’t prepare much in advance because of the nature of being told your genre and so on when you arrive on the Friday night. However, we did know our location. And so, thinking about that, this empty abandoned and creepy space (like the Overlook Hotel), we found ourselves looking at a lot of Stanley Kubrick’s framing. He uses a lot of “one-point perspective” shots which suited us very well. So we pretty much copied that directly! 

*Spoiler alert*

Not very clear on whom the little girl was actually speaking to, and not wanting to settle for my best guess, I sought clarity from Leo.





Quick answer: It is the ghost of the woman's daughter speaking directly to her. 

Long answer: We always saw the building itself as being a character in the film. Almost the strongest character. The building has a will of its own. And it doesn't want to be sold. It wants to assert itself. So, sensing this unresolved issue in Mrs Anderson's life, the building conjures up the ghost of Mrs Anderson's daughter in order to ruin the prospect of the sale. When the daughter says "Look at what you did, you..." (which is the mandatory line of dialogue for the competition) we feel she is talking about the failure to sell the building. But perhaps more than that... perhaps this is a wider comment about Mrs Anderson's failings as a parent - which may or may not have had a role to play in the daughter's death. 


Interested yet? Watch The Anniversity here at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1HWW1BHygo 

Photo credit: Leo Poloniecki
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[Review] The Anniversary by Team Zissou, for the 48HFP (Singapore)

February 1, 2016, 8:49 pm
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The predecessor to all film competitions with a time limit, the 48 Hour Film Project (HFP) made its yearly visit to Singapore last December 2015, and Team Zissou made a record-breaking debut, sweeping away most of the awards such as Best Film, Best Directing, Best Use of Prop and the Audience Award (For Group A).

A stipulated genre, line, prop and character had to be utilized in the submission of a maximum of 7 minutes within 48 hours, certainly stretching the participating teams’ creativity and stamina to the limit. Suffice to say, Team Zissou, led by director and writer Leo Poloneiki, who is a commercials director at FreeFlow Productions, applied his professional touch to the game, making their submission, “The Anniversary” come off as one real smooth thriller masterpiece with loads of ingenuity peppered into it.

Set in a dilapidated shopping centre, a nervous middle-aged Caucasian lady seeks to sell a property, a building she lauds as a historical landmark. Elsewhere, a spirit detective tests the air for beings of the netherworld; the sale of the building dependent on his findings. A film with adaptation of all elements of your usual thriller/horror feast, Leo admits the similarities The Anniversary share with The Shining (By Stanley Kubrick) as purposeful and calculated, such as the adopting of the “one-point perspective”.


And Mr Kubrick would be rightfully pleased! The Anniversary even leaves its viewer hanging with the non-conclusion at the end, like any good short film would. To watch The Anniversary, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1HWW1BHygo 

Photo credit: 48HFP
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Review - 'Homeground' by Jacen Tan

February 3, 2016, 11:09 pm
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In 2005, filmmaker Jacen Tan made Singapore’s first viral short film perhaps even before the word ‘viral’ was a buzz word. Shot on digital camera, ‘Tak Giu’ which garnered about 100,000 views in 6 months was somewhat like a special interest (soccer) film that crossed audience groups owing to its plain-speaking humour, honest style and highly-relatable lingo. 10 years later, Jacen revisits the old turf of soccer (well, never really old) with a new short film titled ‘Homeground’. ‘Homeground’ is, on instant viewing, visually more polished, colour-graded to perfection, cinematographically refined by today’s conventions and so cleanly-scripted, it could pass off as a national campaign commercial. This is hardly surprising as it is supported (not sure if in sponsorship) by POSB’s neighbourhood loving campaign neightboursfirst.sg . Certainly, in recent times, the government and organisations have tried to own the space in film and short films for purposes of cultivating their respective messages, by sponsoring the works of certain ‘annointed’ filmmakers. 


Enjoy the cult-classic Tak Giu here:
Beyond the technical achievements, ‘Homeground’ falls a little short on being the sequel or a closure piece to ‘Tak Giu’. I am sure it is not meant to be a sequel for ‘Tak Giu’ was entertaining, comic fiction with the unmistakable heartland voice of a boys who can make any concrete corner a soccer playing field, while Homeground was a straight-laced documentary that sought the voices of a social cross-section of soccer enthusiasts, who were all very behaved in front of the camera. Almost too well-behaved. ‘Homeground’ does however, cover grounds (pardon the pun) similar to ‘Tak Giu’. ‘Tak Giu’ was a tongue-in-cheek plea to the government for more spaces for playing soccer, so that soccer fans (presumably a lot in Singapore), do to have a play a cat and mouse game with the neighourhood-patrolling policemen. Fast forward 10 years, ‘Homeground’ reveals a Singapore much more accommodating to soccer with seemingly more playing spaces, even for foreign workers. It documents a string of regular soccer games played at several venues in Singapore from Chinatown to Bukit Timah, from Serangoon to Seletar. Through interspersing these different stories with each other, ‘Homeground’ paints an informative cross-section of Singapore demographics. There are racial representations of each kind (even Ang Mohs), women, foreign workers and even seniors like the film’s anchor character, taxi-driver, Steven Wong (photo below). it is almost like a utopian world of soccer enthusiasts of every background who are all united by their love for soccer. 

While the film makes for highly-glossed TV infotainment, it sacrifices the bite of its predecessor ‘Tak Giu’. ’Take Giu’ is like the ‘Money No Enough’ of the soccer world, where 3 characters come together, trying to navigate their way through HDB spaces forbidden for games, and trying to find that golden field on the side of the road, literally. It succeeded in capturing the hearts of many online viewers, with the void-deck-style conversations of 3 buddies. ‘Homeground’, to cut Jacen some slack, is perhaps a film with a simpler ambition, basically to document the state of a hobby, a rather common one. Besides offering a fitting tribute to well-liked past-time, there are also elements in the film that offer something for non-soccer fans. Characters like the young girl who plays soccer at the foreign workers’ quarter with her father and of course, Steven Wong himself, who defies age (and his nagging wife) to pursue a passion, lift this film above infotainment status. You never go wrong with doing good portraits!

Review by Jeremy Sing

Enjoy 'Homeground' the full short film here:
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Review - 'Long Long Time' Ago by Jack Neo

February 4, 2016, 6:08 pm
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In Jack Neo’s Long Long Time Ago, the progress of the central family closely follows the progress of Singapore starting from its independence in 1965. The beginning of Neo’s film in this momentous year naturally invites it being compared to the film 1965. In both film’s representation of national issues, the Singapore in Neo’s film feels more current in exemplifying the nation’s pragmatism in problem-solving. The second racial riot in the second half of the film is resolved by civil servants personally dispelling myths about racial conspiracies; a lesson learnt from the first racial riot that is explored by 1965. This is just one of the ways in which Neo portrays national politics differently, even at times exercising subtlety.

The film doesn’t rethread other national issues addressed in Neo’s previous films, most prominently the necessity and benefit of National Service that premised the Ah Boys To Men films. As the youngest brother of the central family is enlisted, Wang Weiliang and Tosh Zhang make brief appearances as soldiers sending the first batch of NS men to camp (Perhaps in this film, they’re Lobang and Sergeant Alex’s ancestors themselves). Neo even gets a bit controversial in portraying LKY’s reputation in the ‘60s. Unlike the reverence paid to him in 1965, the men of the central family have yet to become in awe of him, even going as far to doubt the sincerity of his tears in his iconic speech. There’s a bit of realism here with the ordinary locals feeling distant from the public figure and having no notion of his future legacy. The political figures they eventually connect to is the PAP minister seen repeatedly amidst their community and more significantly, the Indian Inspector Officer who develops from a threatening caricature to a friendly face.
Unlike the rapid progress of Singapore, the interfamilial relations of the main characters makes little progress despite the trials they have undergone. Initially, the focus on Zhao Di distinguishes this film from Neo’s predominantly male-centric team. As Zhao Di exerts effort to prove that she’s not the load of the family with three daughters, she gradually becomes the family’s most effective breadwinner on top of readily being the primary peacemaker. Neo seems to be persuading traditional families to be more appreciative of their female family members, especially when Zhao Di is contrasted against her older brother Ah Kun. Unlike her enterprising sister, Ah Kun is the typical, entitled eldest son who makes more trouble than contributions. We’re obviously supposed to criticize Ah Kun for his troublemaking ways. Yet as his large screen time is disproportionate to his improvement as a person, the film inadvertently reinforces the hierarchy in the family which allows Ah Kun to be given much while he gets away with giving little back. This hierarchy remains largely in place in the family as they remain largely unappreciative of Zhao Di’s achievements since it is the ‘60s, after all.
There is already a sequel prepared to depict more of this bygone age. Clips of Part 2 shown at the end not only promises more fuel for nostalgic trips, but also previews of narrative twists up ahead such as the joining of a Chinese and Indian family through an interracial marriage. The inevitable family melodrama in Neo’s films maybe tedious, but that doesn’t dissipate the warmth that drives this project. As the credits roll accompanied with old black and white photos from the contributors’ personal collection, there is the sense that the people behind Long Long Time Ago are more than collaborators, but rather a collaborative community akin to a family.

Review by Joseline Yu
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ShoutOUT!: 5 pairs of tickets to 'Anomalisa' to be given!

February 11, 2016, 8:03 am
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Dear readers, SINdie is giving away 5 pairs of tickets to the preview of the movie 'Anomalisa'.

This is a darkly-comedic stop-motion feature about a man's own journey through his soul. Michael Stone, husband, father and respected author of "How May I Help You Help Them?" is a man crippled by the mundanity of his life. On a business trip to Cincinnati, where he's scheduled to speak at a convention of customer service professionals, he checks into the Fregoli Hotel. There, he is amazed to discover a possible escape from his desperation in the form of an unassuming Akron baked goods sales rep, Lisa, who may or may not be the love of his life. 

Created by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, this film features the vocal cast of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan and David Thewlis and a stirring strings-based score by Carter Burwell.  


This film is rated R21 - SEXUAL SCENE AND NUDITY
'Anomalisa' opens at Cathay Cineplexes and The Projector on 18 February.

To win a pair of tickets, here is what you need to do:

1) Watch this trailer
2) Answer a question on SINdie's Facebook posting on 'Anomalisa'
3) Like and share SINdie's Facebook posting on 'Anomalisa'

This contest runs from 12 to 14 February only!

Here is the trailer:



Preview Screening Details
Date:     17 Feb (Wednesday)
Time:     7pm
Venue:  The Projector @ 6001 Beach Road, Golden Mile Tower, #05-00 (nearest MRT is Nicoll Highway)

Winners can collect their tickets from our redemption table @ The Projector on the day of the event.
Audience watching the show must be above 21 years of age.
2016 ©Par. Pics.
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Production talk with Director Derrick Lui on "1400"

February 13, 2016, 9:50 am
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1400 is a labour of love over 5 years by Director/Producer Derrick Lui as his first feature. Set in a hotel, we get to see 4 loosely-linked stories of love. Featuring a range of characters as diverse as young PMEBs to a middle-aged uncle and even a foreigner, we get to see love in its full glory, warts and all.

Director Derrick Lui has kindly agreed to do an interview with Sindie for his film, 1400, that was screened at GV Vivocity on 11th February 2016.

1. Derrick, you started your first feature on a micro-budget over quite a long period of time. How was the production process? I'm sure there must have been some interesting stories!
It was a long and arduous process. No one knows on the 3rd day of production, i almost broke down as i was exhausted, doing too many jobs at the same time.

2. What were some of the challenges you met in raising finances for this film?
I spent 5 years meeting everyone i knew in the industry, trying to raise money and do a film the proper way.
The problem was i wanted to make 1400 without a script, and no one will assist without seeing a script!


3. I noticed that you went so far as to produce not one but two music videos for 1400. Why did you decide to make these MVs and do they reveal anything about the film?
The 2 MVs featured original songs sang by Tay Kewei. I felt the songs were refreshing, and the 2 MVs were good ways to introduce the songs. The songs were specifically written for 2 stories in the film, so they do reveal the respective shots from the stories.

4. Did you have any difficulties or surprises in casting for your film? Were there any interesting responses when they read the script?
I think the most tricky casting job was the role of a prostitute. I didn't want a girl to play a showy outgoing character. Instead, i wanted the prostitute to be introvert and tired of the job, somebody that wouldnt mind doing bed scenes, yet will be able to play a character that the audience will feel pity for.

5. This film was inspired by 3 of your close friends' troubles with romance. Aren't you terrified that they will knock on your door once they find out that your film is based on them?
So far they haven't knocked on my door :) To be honest the stories were inspired, but they were all improved somewhat to be more interesting.


6. Which of the 4 stories is your favourite? Is there anything we should look out for?
This is a difficult question. It's like asking me which of my 4 children is my favourite? The answer is i like them all :)
Each story deals with different characters with different age ranges in different situations. Based on the Gala, the responses were you will like at least 2 stories if not all!

7. You said previously that while you were glad to have attended film festivals with 1400, you were hoping to get this film distributed in Singapore. Were there any difficulties getting it certified?
Yes, if you make a film without a recognised movie company or producer behind it, it is very difficult to get a theatrical release.

8. Now that we've had the gala premiere, when can everyone else get to see this in theatres?
We're still in discussions about a theatrical release.


9. 1400 won Best Feature Film in flEXiff 2015 of Sydney, Australia. Please tell us about the audience in Australia. Were there any interesting responses at Montreal or any other film festival screenings?
Strangely enough, whether the audience was in Montreal, Sydney or Singapore, they all reacted the same way at appropriate times. They did surprise me a bit with their preference of stories and characters though. But it was universal. Good films and stories should be able to evoke emotions in any culture.

Here is some feedback from people who watched 1400

“One of the films to watch in 2016!
Insing.com, http://www.insing.com/gallery/16-singapore-films-to-watch-in-2016/id-af823101/photos/photo-5

“1400 is fervently performed, poetically written and uncompromisingly directed!” -- Vahid Vahed, flEXiff Curator

“I am impressed with the script, I do like the way 1400 was able to penetrate into many layers of protagonists emotions. The male character(s), their emotions are powerful, which is very good!”  -- Ruey Wei, Festival des Films du Monde

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@SGIFF2015: Review - Snow Pirates

February 16, 2016, 9:50 am
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Faruk Hacihafizoglu makes his directorial debut with Snow Pirates, a coming-of-age story set against the fraying situation of the 1980 military coup, whose tensions are felt in a small Turkish village. Serhat, Gurbuz and Ibo are three pre-pubescent teenagers fumbling around in a rapidly deteriorating situation. Childhood innocence is thrown into the mix of a despotic grown-up world, one in which the harsh winter haunts them in every corner. 

With a dichotomous relationship between games and reality from the very onset, school and football games rapidly metamorphose into a very real struggle for survival against the bitter cold. The tension continually builds as the three set out for coal under a tight military regime that has soldiers briskly patrolling the chalk-white streets. 

Their naivety poses a stark opposition to the severity of the situation, made even more intense when youthful antics are put at play. Sitting on their crude wooden sleds on which they pile their finds on, they slide and yank each other along the pristine slopes while on the search for coal to warm their homes. While they remain relatively carefree, the deteriorating situation is made brutally obvious to viewers.
Mingled with moments of humour, it is desperation and familial ties that delineate the stifling pervasion of childhood innocence. The incongruity between events and the manner in which the schoolboys react captures the essence of children caught in the midst of a tumultuous reality. It is in the nuances in performance, the startlingly beautiful backdrop and the crisp audio, that captivates and pulls viewers right into a very genuinely presented experience. 


Review by Chris Yeo


This review is part of the Asian Feature Film Competition series at the Singapore International Film Festival 2015. Read more about the film here.
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