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Monday
23rd July 07 was the media preview of the upcoming Singapore
Short Cuts, which is into its 4th edition, and if the
selection of what was previewed today was any indication
of what's to come, then it can safely be said that audiences
attending the showcase will be in for a real treat!
Presented
by Zhang Wenjie, Assistant Manager of Programmes, National
Museum of Singapore, and Kristin Saw, Programme Manager,
Moving Images, The Substation, 6 out of 19 shorts in
this edition's showcase were previewed to the media,
and my personal verdict is that I've enjoyed them all,
and can't wait to spend the coming Saturday afternoons
soon enough to see the rest of them.
As
Wenjie advocates, if anyone is interested to find out
how Singapore films are like, then look no further than
the talent in our local short films. As he shared, the
shorts for this year's edition includes topics which
are not covered in the local feature films (with reasons
on returns on investment and the likes) and is high
on innovation, and not to mention, experimentation.
As Kristen puts it, it's not about screening award winning
works. Local short films deserve an audience, especially
the radical ones that continue to push boundaries. And
the shorts in the preview really show that they do.
Here
are some of the preview highlights
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 Go
Work / Zo Gang
Dir: Jacen Tan
2006 / Singapore / 9 min / PG
Mandarin, Hokkien, English
Filmmaker
wannabe, Ah-Tan, is sick of his day job. Join
Ah-Tan on his way to work one day, as he discusses
and pokes fun at local film and music, while plotting
his path to become Singapore’s next great
director.
This
dark comedy on the difficulties of making film
and music will leave you wondering about the state
of the arts in Singapore!
Director’s
Statement:
Zo Kang was written in two hours one afternoon.
Initially, I was trying to come up with a script
and had too many ideas. So I thought, why not
combine them all? Ah-Tan is basically speaking
out on the issues that were running through my
mind.
MX
Loved it for: Accurately portraying
the local filmmakers and musicians’
woes in the most amusing manner. For anyone
who dabbles in filmmaking before, Go Work
will stick close to heart.
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 Bedroom
Dancing / Chun Guang Dang Yang
Dir: Sun Koh
2006 / Singapore / 20 min / R21
Mandarin
March
2006, Singapore. A man was arrested for masturbating
in his own flat. This fictional adaptation of
the true story is ironically a celebration of
sex.
Director’s
Statement:
Chun Guang Dang Yang, when loosely translated,
means ‘sexual display, or undulation’.
This
film was made in reaction to a criminal case widely
reported and debated in the Singapore media, of
a man who was arrested and fined S$6,500 for masturbating
while naked in his own flat. A woman who lives
opposite and has been watching him every weekday
morning reported the ‘act of indecency’.
Ironically, I read about the case in the Malaysian
newspaper “The Star” while on a trip
to Kuala Lumpur.
When
I first started to write the script, it was a
film about the invasion of privacy. I had wanted
to make the man into a victim, and the woman,
the offender. But as I got closer to the shoot,
it became clear that this film is aboutvoyeurism.
However,
I didn’t want to make a negative film about
voyeurism - how shameful and repressive it is.
We’re allvoyeurs to some extent, and I personally
enjoy watching very much. Come on, who doesn’t?
So
Chun Guang Dang Yang became a film that celebrates
voyeurism, and how it brings a couple closer together,
despite the man being punished by the Singapore
authorities for acting like a ‘pervert’.
MX
Loved it for: Numerous
amounts of sex scenes! See! We got your
attention now. Now Now, Don’t be shy.
Beside that, we loved it for the absurdity
issues in the case presented and exploration
of the true perversion between the voyeur
and her victim.
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 superDONG
Dir: Pok Yue Weng
2007 / Singapore / 4 min / M18
Mandarin
What
happens to toilet graffiti when we're not looking?
Director’s
Statement:
I've always been amazed and curious about toilet
graffiti and the people that drew them. I like
to think about how they looked like and how their
lives must be. I like to think of them as lonely
people, as people left out by society, but I also
like to think of them as artists, seeking an audience
or just a thrill.
MX
Loved it for being: The
Most Crude and Vulgar short of all other
short films but it’s also the most
hilarious and definitely an intriguing use
of animated special effects.
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 Sunshine
Singapore
Dir: Rajendra Gour
1968-72 / Singapore / 8 min / Rating TBC
No dialogue
This
silent film features the sights of sunny Singapore
set to music. The film captures the hopes of the
young filmmaker and the beauty of a young nation,
tempered by the familiarity of daily life.
Director’s
Statement:
A film for everyone to see. Draw your own conclusions
or just enjoy the arty film with pleasant visuals,
or bathe in Singapore's sun…
MX
Loved it for being: Probably
the most important short film that we seen
among the other shorts in the preview session.
Some of the scenes captured in this short
are impossible to do so as time changes
our city facial structure. It’s backdated
but if you take a closer look and ponder
about the technology available then, you
will appreciate and be amazed by the editing,
filming and soundtrack scoring ability of
the film director. Think of it as a time
capsule which showcases the amazing capacity
of films.
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 Katong
Fugue
Dir: Boo Junfeng
2007 / Singapore / 10 min / PG
English
A
boy with a hidden life and a mother desperately
trying to reach out. This is a film adaptation
of Alfian Sa’at’s short play of the
same name in Landmarks: Asian Boys Volume 2.
Director’s
Statement:
For every boy, girl, man and woman living a life
hidden from a loved-one.
MX
Loved it for being: Vague
but eerily familiar and absolutely heart
wrenching to watch. It felt impossible to
grasp by hand but yet always, just under
the skin.
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Singapore
Short Cuts is a celebration of local short films, so
show your support by picking up the free tickets (and
make sure you turn up at the door on the actual day
- don't waste tickets!). We'll be there for the screenings,
so see you all at the National Museum!
4TH
SINGAPORE SHORT CUTS
Venue: National Museum, Gallery Theatre,
Basement
Dates: Every Saturday from 11 August
to 1 September 2007
Time: 2pm
Free admission
All screenings will be followed by discussions with
the filmmakers.
DATE OF SCREENING / TICKET COLLECTION DATES
Sat 11 Aug / From Mon 6 Aug
Sat 18 Aug / From Mon 13 Aug
Sat 25 Aug / From Mon 20 Aug
Sat 1 Sep / From Mon 27 Aug
TICKETING INFORMATION
Free tickets to the 4th Singapore Short Cuts can be
collected at the National Museum of Singapore (Stamford
Visitor Services Counter) on the Monday at the beginning
of the week, before each weekend’s screening.
Tickets are available on a first come, first served
basis, and limited to four per person. Any remaining
tickets will be given out at the door on the day of
the screening.
Stamford
Visitor Services Counter
National Museum of Singapore
93 Stamford Road
Singapore 178897
10 am till 8 pm
Sat 11 Aug, 2 pm
Flat
Dreams by Eva Tang
Zo Gang by Jacen Tan
Bedroom Dancing by Sun Koh
Yesterday’s Play by Ryan Tan
A Suicide Symphony by Deng Kaile
(Films duration: 72 min. Rated R21)
Sat
18 Aug, 2 pm
Wrong
Turn by Charles Lim
Tracks by Gavin Lim
superDONG by Pok Yue Weng
Fonzi by Kirsten Tan
Take Me Home A.K.A I saw jesus by Gözde
and Russel Zehnder
(Films duration: 65 min. Rated M18)
Sat
25 Aug, 2 pm
A
Labour of Love - The Housewife by Rajendra
Gour
My Child My Child by Rajendra Gour
Eyes by Rajendra Gour
Sunshine Singapore by Rajendra Gour
(Film duration: 45 min. Rated PG)
Sat
1 Sept, 2 pm
Ah
Ma by Anthony Chen
Embryo by Loo Zihan
Elefant by Willie Koh
5 Steps To Becoming An Actor by Kan
Lume
Katong Fugue by Boo Junfeng
(Film duration: 64 min. Rated NC16)
Patrons
are advised that a valid identity pass showing proof
of age is required for all screenings.
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