For those who missed the Singapore International Film Festival
Short Film Finalists screenings during the festival... Fear
Not!
The Substation Moving Images will be holding a special additional
post-SIFF screening of the short film finalists again!
SIFF SHORT FILM FINALISTS + Q&A
10th May 2009, Sunday, 3.30pm - 6pm
The Substation Theatre
Tickets priced at $6 (conc.) / $8 (Reg.)
There will be a 30min (at least) post-screening Q&A
with 7 of the short film finalist directors. (Unfortunately,
Kirsten & Martin are unable to be present for the
session.)
Tickets on sale now at The Substation Box Office!
For reservations, tickets must be picked up 30min before screening
time or they will be released for sale. For information and
reservations, please call 6337 7535 or email your order and contact
number to [email][email protected][/email]
SIFF short film awards:
> Best Actor - Madam Chan
> Best Film - Swimming Lessons
> Special Mention - Hush Baby
> Best Director - Swimming Lessons
> Best Cinematography - 5 Films in an Anthology of a Film a
Month
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SHORT FILMS -
[url=http://www.filmfest.org.sg/displayFilmCategory.php?filmCat=4]Singapore
Short Film Competition | 22nd Singapore International Film
Festival[/url]
1) 5 FILMS IN AN ANTHOLOGY OF A FILM A MONTH
By David Shiyang Liu / Singapore / 2009 / NC16 / 22 min
A series of five vignettes centered on each of the five human
senses.
Little sparks of intrigue and wit draw the viewer deep into
beguiling stories of loss and love in this anthology, set in
Australia and Singapore. Inspired by the music of the Nine Inch
Nails, and with quiet affection, the vignettes present small quirks
of human nature, centered upon each of the five senses.
David Shiyang Liu has a background in photography and design. His
recent commercial works include a Behind the Scenes featurette for
Australia’s Channel 9 drama Underbelly. His other film 4444 was
lauded at the Canon DV Festival and The Substation’s Singapore
Shorts Film Festival.
2) DISTANCE
By Ong Zheng Kai / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 10 min
A family mishap leads a young man to reconsider his plans to leave
home.
A tender but tenuous relationship between a grandson and his
grandmother is at the heart of this short film. Zheng Kai is
preparing to leave home to go abroad when his grandmother has a
fall, forcing him to re-evaluate his responsibilities and
ambitions. Quietly poignant, the past and the future echo
throughout the film, revealing the distance between the generations
in contemporary society.
Ong Zheng Kai produced a 16mm short film as part of a workshop
conducted in 2006. He went on to freelance in film and photography
productions before working as a development executive in a
production company. He is currently pursuing a film education with
LASALLE.
3) DREAMING KESTER
By Martin Hong Cho Ann / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 14 min
As a boy struggles with growing up, his head fills with nostalgic
dreams of childhood.
Kester wakes up one morning to find an adult narration stuck in his
head, foretelling the confining structures of adulthood to come. He
embarks on a mission of struggle against the ‘adultists’ while
simultaneously rediscovering his childhood dreams. Charmingly shot,
this is an artful elegy to childhood memories.
Martin Hong was born in Singapore in 1990 and worked closely with
family, teachers, and friends to make his short film.
4) HUSH BABY
By Tan Wei Keong / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 3 min
A sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and a fussy baby meet in a
battle of wits.
Overturning the popular association of animation with children’s
entertainment, Hush Baby depicts a baby’s struggle against
confinement and restriction. The many expressive faces of a baby
are brought to life with dark humour and wit as the film
imaginatively explores a different facet of animation.
Tan Wei Keong’s animated short film White was awarded the Special
Achievement Award at the 20th Singapore International Film
Festival. He is currently pursuing a BFA in Animation at the School
of Art, Design and Media.
5) LEAVING ME
By Tee Pao Chew / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 9 min
The slow decay of a relationship, reflected through a television
screen.
The melodrama of a soap opera is set up in high contrast to the
silent tension between the couple watching it. Shot in hues of
green and yellow, the narrative subjectivities of the four
characters parallel each other, yet are in a constant state of
manipulation and distortion.
Tee Pao Chew recently graduated from RMIT University with a degree
in Communications. Leaving Me is the third short film he has
directed and it is written for his final-year project.
6) MADAM CHAN
By Wilson Yip / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 20 min
An elderly woman spends her entire holiday complaining about her
family and irritating the friends travelling with her.
Filled with endless gripes about her familial troubles, Madam Chan
joins her friends the Wongs on a local tour of Singapore, much to
the annoyance of Mr Wong. As the group travels from one tourist
spot to another, the truth behind Madam Chan’s complaints emerges,
unveiling the vulnerability beneath her crotchety exterior.
Currently an active freelance director in the local industry,
Wilson Yip actually started off with crewing and camerawork. His
directorial works include TV shows, commercials, and corporate and
short films. His still serves as a cinematographer occasionally,
most recently on the feature Heng or Huat.
7) SHINGAPORU MONOGATARI
By Hafidz Senor / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 12 min
An old man’s recollections about the Japanese Occupation of
Singapore.
Stark, black-and-white shots of modern day Singapore are juxtaposed
against grainy still photographs of wartime Singapore as the
narrator, an eighty-year-old Malay man, recounts his memories about
the Japanese Occupation. Based on conversations the director had
with his grandfather, Shingaporu Monogatari is a compelling and
sombre reminder of the war and the consequences it had on the
people who lived through it.
Hafidz Senor studied film at Temasek Polytechnic’s Moving Images
Programme. His interests include architecture, the visual arts,
history and sociology and the whale hunters of Lamalera. Currently
studying at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art,
Design and Media, Hafidz enjoys volunteer work and hopes to surf
someday.
8) SINK
By Kirsten Tan / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 11 min
A boy, a mysterious sink, and a meditation on life.
A chance encounter between a young boy and the sink he finds
standing in the low-tides of a beach results in a spiritual
connection between the two. Beautifully shot in 16mm
black-and-white and richly textured with symbolism, Sink is a
meditative exploration of childhood innocence and adult experience,
of love and loss.
The greatest feeling Kirsten Tan ever had was walking out of a
cinema feeling inspired by a film. Thus began her desire to make
them. Since then, her films have been screened in more than twenty
film festivals, garnering over ten international awards. She is
currently based in New York City.
9) SWIMMING LESSON
By Kat Goh Phek Siang / Singapore / 2009 / PG / 13 min
An over-protective mother gains new understanding from an old
memory.
On the way to the airport, a mother frets over her daughter, who is
leaving home for the first time. Suddenly, she finds herself on a
curious detour that plumbs muddy memories, only to surface with a
dazzling lesson in both life and swimming.
A veteran of television production, Kat Goh is one of the few
female filmmakers to emerge from Singapore. Cutting her teeth on
epic TV productions during an eight-year stint at both MCS and
Channel U, Kat’s work on the small screen includes the highly-rated
comedy series Durian King (2004), which won three PROMAX awards
including Best Actress.