All directors will be in attendance for a Q&A session following the screening of the films moderated by film reviewer, Raymond Tan.

Reserve your tickets (Max. two tix per person), click here.

Synopsis and trailers, click here.

Film posters and stills, click here.

“It’s a Great Great World” was both a blessing and a curse for its director, veteran film-maker Kelvin Tong. The film is the maiden collaboration between MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and Tong’s own Boku Films.

It drew positive reviews and grossed about S$2.5 million, making it the most successful Singapore film so far this year. But that also made it a very tough act to follow. 
“After ‘It’s a Great Great World’, we were sort of stumped about what to do next. This is the problem you face when you do something so big for your first collaboration,” said Tong with a chuckle.

He explained that he and his team spent months brainstorming and came up with various ideas for a new film, but nothing stuck until they found out from film exhibitors that there was a window during the Lunar New Year period next year.

Then things started to fall into place.

“We sort of realized that what made ‘It’s a Great Great World’ great was not so much the epic size of it but rather it spoke very directly to a lot of audiences.

“We decided to do something very direct and very simple,” said Tong.

That “something” is the upcoming comedy “Dance Dance Dragon”, written by Tong with the help of veteran radio presenter Marcus Chin.

Read the full story here >>

via Channel NewsAsia

The 12th Dhaka International Film Festival will feature over 200 films from 55 countries from six continents. The itinerary includes films from Iran, India, China, Japan, France, Serbia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Russia, UK, USA, Argentina and Brazil, as well as from countries whose films are little known to Bangladeshi filmgoers.

Through the festival, the Dhaka audience would get a chance to enjoy films from little known South American nations like Peru and Venezuela; African nations Tanzania and Uganda as well as from Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Palestine, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and UAE. 

The Competition segment will feature 17 films from Asia and Australia. Retrospective will showcase films of pioneering Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and French filmmaker Pierre Coulibeuf.

The Tribute segment will feature films of the recently deceased Bangladeshi filmmaker Tareque Masud. Eight films will be screened as part of the Bangladesh Panorama section.

Read the full story here >>

via The Daily Star

This October, we bring you some treats!
Don’t miss ‘The Sea Inside’ and latest Singapore film, ‘Fairytales’ by Kelvin Sng!

Click here to book tickets online >>

1. Fairytales 童话
Singapore | Kelvin Sng | 2011 | 45 minutes | English | PG13

For centuries, fairytales have been written and told to children to help them gain an innocent and fantasized understanding of the world they live in, while shielding them from the cruelty and harm of the real world.

In this age of technology, however, kids no longer need to search very hard to learn what the world is about. Information is poured to them via electronic devices that permeate every aspect of their lives, in school, at home, even in the streets. The veil that used to hide the world behind a shade of mystery is gone, and fairytales are no longer called upon to induct the kids to their world.

2. The Sea Inside (Mar Adentro)
Italy | Alejandro Amenabar | 2004 | 125 minutes | Spanish, Catalan, Galician | NC16

Based on the profoundly moving true story that captured the world’s attention, The Sea Inside  is about Spaniard Ramón Sampedro (played by Oscar® nominee Javier Bardem), who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity and inspired two women about the nature of freedom and love.

Singaporean director Charles Lim’s short film, All The Lines Flow Out, has been selected to be in competition in the Orrizonti (New Horizons) category of the 68th Venice Film Festival, widely regarded as one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. This is the first time a Singaporean film will be competing in the Orrizonti section, which honours the more experimental and artistic films.

All The Lines Flow Out was originally a video installation commissioned by the Singapore Biennale 2011 to be presented at the Biennale. The Singapore Art Museum, the organiser for the SB 2011, has since acquired the video work and is proud to be part of this exhilarating journey in enabling Lim to realize the piece, and to continue supporting the presentation and exhibition of his work on other international platforms.

This 21-minute film certainly deserves to be described as ‘experimental’ for being so different from the rest. All The Lines Flow Out was shot in super wide angle, almost 3:1, as compared to 1.85:1 or 2.39:1, the aspect ratios most films are normally shot in. What is most interesting, is that the film is about the canals in Singapore AKA, the ‘Longkangs’.

Paolo Bertolin, Consultant, Venice Film Festival praised the film, saying : “All The Lines Flow is a stunning symphony of mesmerizing images that seduces the viewer and leads him to the most unexpected and unusual visual travellogue of Singapore. Through its images and sounds, Charles Lim’s film goes well beyond the territory of representation and ventures into the daring fields of pure experience.”

We have had the pleasure of speaking to Charles to find out more about his interesting works, some behind the scenes stories and future projects

What inspired you to make this film?

“It was initially an idea for a short film I wanted to shoot, but after posting the idea online, an organizer from the Singapore Biennale contacted me and asked me if I wanted to do a video installation for them and from there it developed into something else.”

Why did you choose to shoot your film in such a wide aspect ratio?

“I first started shooting this project on a Canon 5D with a 16:9 aspect ratio. But I was not happy with how the footage turned out, because with that aspect ratio you would not be able to see the walls of the canals and it didn’t look nice that way.

I had actually spent months shooting with the 5D, but in the end decided to reshoot everything with an anamorphic lens instead. It was kinda like Frankenstein, like mixing two lenses together and I was able to get this very wide aspect ratio.

Something interesting also was that I stopped using the 5D because I was unable to get very wide shots with everything in focus. In the end I switched to the GH1, a much cheaper camera.”

How long did the whole filmming process take?

From the moment I started work on this, it took me about 2 – 3 years

So how was the filming experience like? Walking around in the canals, etc

“At first it was very peaceful and nice, and I kind of romanticized the canals when I first went in. Until one day 3 of my crew members and myself fell sick and I thought, wah this is terrible. The canals are actually quite a dangerous place.

But some interesting experiences were the people’s reactions to us shooting in the canals, because no one expected us to be there. I remember one day a group of kids started throwing tissue papers at us, and even asked me for permission to. I let them do it on the condition that they let me film them throwing tissues at us, and I did get the shot of them.”

How did you first react when you found out your film was selected to be in competition at the Venice Film Festival?

“I was very very surprised. I’m glad that the film will have a chance to travel to more places, rather than just the Singapore Biennale.”

How did the organizers of the Venice Film Festival come to know about this film?

“I was actually working on another project about a Singaporean guy who started a coal mining company in another country. It was interesting because this guy was a millionaire but he still chose to stay in a very basic living environment. I had a lot of footage of explosions, coal mining and stuff like that, and some of the organizers of the Venice Film Festival were interested in this project. But it was not complete yet so I told them, sorry this is not ready yet, but I have this (All The Lines Flow Out) instead.”

What are your plans after Venice?

“I have been recently selected for a funding called the Arts Creation Fund (ACF), and will use it for my next project called Sea State. It will revolve around the waters surrounding Singapore. If you notice, all my works have a particular theme to them – water.

It is also actually a kind of wordplay, sailors use the term Sea State to refer to the condition of the sea. Sea State 1 being very calm, to Sea State 9 being hurricane-like. The second meaning of this is like Singapore being a Sea State. The idea of it is to reverse the roles of the land and sea of Singapore.”

If there is one piece of advice you would give to local filmmakers, what would it be?

“I don’t think it really matters if you are creating something grand or simple, what is important is that you create a space for yourself to keep doing what you love to do. Be it on an expensive camera or your mobile phone, I think these days it’s more about the story and the emotions you are able to evoke”