You might have missed it, but one notable entry from Singapore made it into the 66th Venice Film Festival earlier this month: the medium length film Earth by visual artist/director Ho Tzu Nyen, which premiered on September 5th as part of the Corto Cortissimo section. … Continue Reading
In 2008, SIFF successfully introduced a new section to its programming, called Singapore Panorama. That year, local film production was at a peak and there really was a lot to show. Going into its second year, the test was now whether there is enough substance to justify such special selection, or whether it amounts to little more than filling. Since numbers aren’t too important and short film making is well alive in Singapore by good tradition, to throw in more shorts in two out-of-competition packages seemed an obvious enough choice. Here is an evaluation of the second bonus programme: Panorama Shorts 2. … Continue Reading
Screening at SIFF under the Singapore Panorama section this year was another politically aware documentary feature called “Brother No.2†by Jason Lai. In well-established, almost plain, fashion, this 75 minutes long film tries to lessen the distance we feel when facing the unimaginable – in this case the abysmal horrors of the Khmer Rouge terror regime and its many unreconciled victims. … Continue Reading
It opens on a black screen and to traffic noise. A man returns home from work, sits down to read the newspaper and observes a crack in the ceiling. The television newscast reports the same as he has just read so he gets up and strangles his wife in the kitchen. Please make up your mind quickly whether this makes any sense to you or not, then watch HERE.
Are you feeling blue? Depressed? Or is it rather black-and-white, with a little more contrast to show? The latter in any case is what you will be treated to in Looi Wan Ping’s directorial debut, White Days, which screened at SIFF just recently. But don’t jump to conclusions too quickly about what to expect from this picture. If anything, it is strictly formula-defying. Not in a spectacular way, but laid-back and conveniently unpolished.
Some habits are practical and make for simple sense. There are others which it is simply a luxury to indulge in. But when those two happen to fall into one, then you know you are in the right place at the right time precisely.
The Olive Depression is every bit your satire template in the mold of that memorable Zo Gang ridicule of Singaporean films. Joshua Lim’s debut on the local silver screen this month will come as nothing short of a reaffirmation of your average detractor’s every prejudice and worst sentiments about local movies being too slow, too steady, too depressing. Yes, the title says it all.
Well now, everybody, it has been my honour and a pleasure indeed!
Having some of you out there as my readers was a challenge – but one that I was very fortunate to try and meet (if only half-way, pardon me for that).
Quality by itself is just a neutral term, neither positive nor negative per se, dependant always on what context it comes in – or out of. We are optimistic people, for sure, trained by experience to hope for the best, however foolish such an exercise in self-delusion may seem to bystanders.
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I think I’m feeling a little unfocused this week. See, my last few feature articles all have a focus to them, but this week I’m all over the place. Talk Sex.
Yes, there you go. It all comes back into focus. I’m listening to my sub consciousness and it keeps telling me, “You know what you [...]
This is the stuff of what Hong Kong action crime thrillers are made of, with the sets being the real streets of the city upon which a high intense cop and robbers drama unfolds, and engaging characters that you actually care about.
This Sunday (8th August), a new documentary film will be screened at 10pm on Okto. OLD PLACES is produced by Chuan Pictures, directed by Royston Tan, Victric Thng and Eva Tang, and features the voices of Singaporeans as they recall their memories of disappearing places in Singapore.
As a preview, Civic Life blog writer Ng Yi-Sheng interviews [...]
