Bedtime Chatter on Hearty Films from Civic-Life Part 2 of 4

Photo: Alvin Pang - civiclife.sg

Over the last few days, many people have been tuning into the Civic Life website by the British Council to check up on the Top 20 entries in the 'Home is where the Heart is' competition. SINdie could not resist 'playing God' a little with our review of the 20 films vying for the top prize. So here our 'critical analysis' of the films. We have also created a little rating system as well. So the films are rated in the following 5-point scales in this order:

Is it creative?
Does it engage you emotionally?
Impressive technicals?
The X-factor
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Here's part 2 of our review / dialogue.

Dancing on Waterloo Street from David Stewart on Vimeo.

Alvin (A): Dancing on Waterloo St gets a 2, 2, 3, 2.5
Jeremy (J): When do we see a 5?
A: Haha! (pause) Title feels like a bit of a misnomer as first half of the film was on anything but Waterloo Street.
J: I kinda like this one for its visuals really (pause) Why 3 for technicality?
A: Decent music accompaniment and nice shots and cinematography. Though have to say it barely adds much to the film.
J: Mine is a 4 for technicality. The telephoto, dolly and tracking shots are executed with such grace. So it’s 2, 3, 4, 3.5. (pause) For me, it’s a 3 for emotional quality because it marries a stirring score with epic-like visuals quite well.
A: Yup, though I felt there was little continuity from one place/scene to another. Generally felt a little too detached for my liking.
J: I agree that the content of the shots don't add up to a cohesive narrative.
A: That said, I liked how the ending was put together. Beautiful shots of normally-stoic faces come alive in dance. With the music accompaniment, it does stir the emotions like you said.
J: It seems like a hobbyist approach to making the film - David goes around with his expensive machine capturing random moments of beauty without a plot and strings them into visual sequence. (pause) Sometimes, it's hard to strike a balance between a organic approach like David's and single-mindedness of a scripted approach so you may miss out on accidental beauty, like the faces that came alive in dance. (long pause) What do you think of the shot when Quan Yifeng's face on the bus whizzed pas the trishaw rider? …….It happens to be my favourite shot.
A: Hmm, I didn't notice it much honestly. What do you think it added to the film?
J: It was a moment of transcendence. It was like Quan Yifeng, a feisty public figure known for her keen eye on social matters and inter-personal relationships was looking at the trishaw rider. (pause) But that's just my things with Quan Yifeng.

Civic Life - Paintings from David Gan on Vimeo.

J: Paintings happens to be my favourite clip title becaise of the pun and the metaphor, though the film then slipped into becoming very literal. (pause) My scores are 3.5, 2.5, 3, 3.
A: That's interesting. what do you think the pun/metaphor was? (pause) My scores are 3, 2, 2.5 and 3 by the way.
J: I think it is very clever and the use of the word suggests the idea of a veneer which really applies on a social, psychological and even political level. And I always saw HDB flats as a PAP political icon in their blocked, rigid shapes, so the concept of painting over a HDB flat bore an intellectual kick for me. (pause) What do you see in Paintings honestly?
A: I actually did a double-take in "creativity" because initially I didn't understand what the filmmaker was getting at. I noticed then perhaps there was a metaphorical element in the "renewal" of the block's facade, especially in shots contrasted against the "showy" commercial buildings in the distance. (pause) It's also worth noticing how the filmmaker makes meaning out of an otherwise seen as mundane activity. Perhaps it makes you see a block upgrading programme in new light.
J: But does it engage you or is it just a 'oh that's smart!' fleeting thought?
A: It didn't work much on a emotions level with me. Perhaps like you said, it drifting into the literal made it lose some of its lustre. (pause) What do you think? Did it engage you?
J: Only when the film opened and the titled was flashed.

Corridors from Isazaly Mohamed Isa in Vimeo

A: How did you find Corridors then?
J: Ingenious, inspiring and in a league of its own. (pause) Let my numbers talk : 4.5, 3.5, 4, 4.
A: Wow. (pause) Mine would be 4, 2.5, 3.5, 3.5. (pause) How did you find the narrative as a whole?
J: It was toying with the concept of using sound to redefine a banal everyday space. Not much narrative except for a certain sequence of different genres to the sounds that are stringed together. I thnk what I enjoyed about watching it was the fact that it was a very simple idea executed to precision and that simplicity triggers a mental off-shoot or escapade.
A: Must agree its impressive and original creative flair sets it apart from the competition. However it did leave a tingling feeling that it dragged on for more than it should have. And somehow drifted into what felt like a contrived attempt to end it. Nevertheless it's certainly the most well-executed film so far in the collection.
J: Well, it's a slow burn... forces you to observe and take in the details. (pause) If you preferred it not to drag on for that long, how would you have done it differently?
A: In a way the conceptualization of the corridor as simply a place of memories didn't come off that well for me, as it looked very much still a place with life. Thus maybe it might have left a better impression/memory with a more conceivable ending in light of the fact that it's still got life left in it...rather than the seemingly hopeless end it seemed to portray.
J: I didn't see the film as trying to pitch the corridor as a place of memories. It was quite a mixed bag of sounds, some even sounding like someone was watching Saving Private Ryan. So I saw it more as playing with sound and perceptions.

Swing Me Back from mihir desai on Vimeo.

J: You know, after watching Corridors, I felt I was not going to be impressed with 'Swing Me Back' form its thumbnail shot. It looked pretty standard. But I was wrong. It delivered good old nostalgia but with a little visual twist - the writing animation over the photos, giving it a very personal and sincere touch.
A: Besides good use of the said swing as a plot device, it felt a little bare. What’s your score?
J: 3, 4, 3, 3.5.
A: Mine’s 3, 2.5, 2.5, 3. No doubt that the visual touches made it feel like a walk through memory lane, but I must say I wasn't too emotionally-engaged by it. (paused) what were the emotional triggers for you?
J: It was simple portraits of family, which I found easy to identify with. And the photos really captured the family members were 'freezed' in honest and sometimes vulnerable moments. What do you not identify with?
A: Perhaps because of the film's centering on the inanimate swing and old photographs, it didn't quite engage in a way the raw candidness of the photos did for you.
J: But didn't you find anything special about the pictures?
A: Well, I thought the metaphorical use of the swing was well executed as it formed almost-the centerpiece of all the old photographs, in that forms the emotional attachment for me.
J: For me, it was special because it featured an Indian family captured in sepia tinged yesteryear images - something done to death with Chinese families in local films. So it present a different track of history and nostalgia peculiar to Indian families and seen through the eyes of an Indian.

家 from Esna Ong on Vimeo.

A: There is a close tie between Home and Corridors for my favourite film so far. One of few films which I felt had more to offer than pensive reflections of a bygone era. (pause) So, I am giving it a 3, 4, 3.5, 3.5.
J: I like it but it is a little low on creativity. Mine’s a 2.5, 4, 3.5, 3.5. (pause) I felt it answered the competition brief like how the model pupil in class would write a grade a composition….stuck by the rules... kept within parameters... safe... relevant….and conventional.
A: I must say some parts did feel a bit premeditated, especially the dialogue which didn't quite convince the point that the narrator had lived there so many years. And when I compare the narrator's delivery with that of 'Remember', I do see the contrast of emotional engagement between both.
J: Really? I felt the narration was quite sincere, even though the structure was very scripted. I still felt I was listening to a friend speak about her growing up experience. In fact, I felt the narration in 'Remember' though honest, but was a tad clumsy.
A: Is it due to the fact it's spoken in heartland mandarin?
J: No. I think the narrator is quite at ease with herself. Perhaps the tone of voice and choice of language made it more accessible than it might have been. (pause) I appreciate the personal touches like showing where she waited for the school bus though it could be a little less literal. I also found that she had a trained pair of hands in the cinematography, being able to emotionally heighten some moments like skirting around a pillar in the coffeeshop.
A: Good spots. Agree that it generally gave a sense of heartland authenticity, in part due to language used, in part due to the cinematography.
J: You said this is 'more than pensive', how so?
A: It felt more forward-looking, as if the past was just a conduit to where the narrator is now...ending off with a view to the future in the said place.

Read Part 1 here. Part 3 and 4 will be continued...

Bedtime Chatter on Hearty Films from Civic-Life Part 1 of 4

Over the last few days, many people have been tuning into the Civic Life website by the British Council to check up on the Top 20 entries in the 'Home is where the Heart is' competition. SINdie could not resist 'playing God' a little with our review of the 20 films vying for the top prize. So here our 'critical analysis' of the films. We have also created a little rating system as well. So the films are rated in the following 5-point scales in this order:

Is it creative?
Does it engage you emotionally?
Impressive technicals?
The X-factor
★ ★ ★ ★ ★


Small Paradise from Kimberly Ong on Vimeo.

Alvin (A): ‘Small Paradise’ gets a 2.5, 3, 2.5 and 3.
Jeremy (J): For me, it is a 2, 4, 3 and 2.5. (pause) By the way, all pretty dismal scores.
A: Perhaps because its intentionally simplistic nature (to capture elements of childhood) falls short of engaging too much emotion?
J: I on the other hand felt something warm and comforting in that simplicity - the shots of seaweed, water, sunshine.... all very unassuming, yet charming.. hence the title ‘Small Paradise’.
A: Well noted. I like how the title fits in with the film's concept as well.. i.e. small memories in small "paradise".
J: Exactly... but having said that. it is forgettable amongst the entire stable of 20 films cos it is about little everyday moments (which can be captivating) but the images were pretty cliché in this film.
A: Agreed. Perhaps its theme/angle is its Achilles heel then - a tad too whimsical to be etched in the mind.
J: Whimsy is ok... but bad for online competition... the Youtube audience loves to be entertained.

One by Christian Lee from Christian Lee on Vimeo.

A: Moving on, ‘One’ gets a 3, 4, 3, and 3.5.
J: For me, it is a 2, 2, 2, 2.
A: Wow, sounds like you don't fancy it much.
J: You read me... explain your scores.
A: I like how it starts out with the shot/description of the nondescript building and moves on to its deeper significance to the protagonist's life.
J: I agree ... nice progression. (pause) However, if you look at it critically, the idea is in their hobby, which technically is not part of the process of making the film.
A: Well, I still like it better than the first perhaps because it leaves a stronger sense of attachment, through the transition from the inanimate (building/lion head, dance) to a deeper emotional level that brings out the desire of the couple in them wanting to fulfill each other's dreams and desires. That sense of "sweetness" hooks me in.
J: You are so wanting to get married .... lol
A: In absolutely no rush at all. On your point about the hobby, I am not sure if it's their "hobby" or something they (or the husband/narrator in particular) had to go out of his way to do in order to fulfill his wife's unconventional wish. (pause) Perhaps also the fact that it's such an unconventional/peculiar request that makes the memory of this film stick out. I mean who would think of "marrying" (pardon the pun) lion dance and a wedding ceremony?
J: Well... whatever works to make you remember... but just does not hit the right emotional notes in me.
A; I thought it could have been better if the narrator (assumed protagonist) accent was expanded on. Sounds like he isn't local and would have brought an interesting dimension to the culturally-Chinese thing he's doing. Would it have made a difference for u?
J: I think the accent made the video very foreign to me. So yes, totally makes a difference for me.


Boxes and Lines by Reb Ling from Reb Ling on Vimeo.

A: My scores for Boxes and Lines are 3, 2, 2, and 3.
J: 4,1,2,2.5 for me. I gave creativity a 4 for its bold direction. (pause) It stands out from the rest for its strong grip on a visual metaphor. But it falters on all the other aspects. Most of all, they need a better narrator.
A: Agreed. I like how she parallels her sport passion with something probably more familiar to females - relationships. Just reading the synopsis, I was convinced it was something about relationships!
J: Yes... straights lines and circles and trajectories…says so much about relationships!
A: The choice of shots seemed a little myopic to me too. Football is as much a spectator sport (read: couch potato) as a physical sport but there wasn't any emphasis on that.
J: I like how you used the word myopic. (beat) In fact, the cinematic breadth is very limited and it constricts our view of her world. On another note, I also feel I don't have to explain the low score on technicals. The camera was shaking 80% of the time.
A: Bringing up your point on the narrator earlier, why do you think it could do with better?
J: She is expressing using a lot of heavy angsty words but her delivery sounds very level-headed and bland. So she needs to make those words come alive. (pause) I think the upbeat, synthetic-sounding music works against her content as well.
A: I'm just thinking whether it could be attributed to the fact it's a male-dominated sport and thus the composed, non-emotive bassy tones.
J: Yes..... I am picturing her with extremely short hair with an affinity for pants.

Remember from Tang Kang Sheng on Vimeo.

J: ’Remember’ gets a 2, 3.5, 3, 3. (pause) The thumbnail grabbed my attention because it featured something deeply personal. But I felt he could have done a lot more with the old photographic gems.
A: I assume that contributes to the 2 in creativity then.
J: I mean he could have done more with those old gems.
A: I give it a 2.5, 4, 3 and 3.5.
J: It affects you emotionally I see.
A: Yup. I think that's the key takeaway for me in ‘Remember’. (pause) I like how the narrative starts and ends, it divulges a little on the narrator and sounds like he's a bad state. Quote: "As you grow older, you tend to do things you......really regret". Though on the surface it seems so little what present choices/mistakes have to do with his past or with his grandparents, it somehow affects him enough to link it. I love how the narration ends as it started, a pensive look at his life and desire to set it right because of his past.
J: I like how the narration is very sincere. No, raw is a better word. (beat) It's a totally untrained voice that is speaking from the heart. The only pity is the speech rhythm and inflexions seems out of sync sometimes.
A: Yeah I agree on the fact his voice/tone was so raw and untrained. As if it were unscripted…and it was a plus to the authenticity for me.
J: But it's a double-edged sword. The rawness also makes the clip less punctuated…I remember fragments but I don't register a story.
A: That has a strange appeal to me in some way. The narrator brings out enough to imply there are undercurrents but makes one wonder what they are and how they tie in to his past. (pause) It's almost like the viewer is given fragments to piece the puzzle together, though obviously there are many missing pieces.
J: Well, strange is the word. It feels incomplete, raw, a little unsteady, clumsy but you know… perhaps its gaps reinforce the idea of a void.

The Tree from Mary Magdeline Pereira on Vimeo.

A: ‘The Tree’ gets a 2, 2, 2, 2.
J: Wow, that says a lot!
A: Haha, unfortunately the film doesn't.
J: I am going with 1, 2, 1, 2. (pause) It is strange it got into the top 20. The only thing of note (i.e. the narrative) was in short, the clip is overly poetic, scripted, and way overdone for my liking.
J: Poeticism-overkill.
A: Also there was little, if any congruence between the narrative and the shot. "Red berries...squirrel scambering.." But all one sees is a nondescript looming tree barely of note. (pause) At times it seemed the disoriented camera was confused of what to capture and I don't think you can expect the viewer to be any more enlightened.
J: Yes, it's a strange case of the words serving the visuals rather than the visuals serving the words. And the shots were very literal too, giving the impression of poet making a clumsy cross-disciplinary crossover.

To be continued with Part 2, 3 and 4...

(What do you think? Share your views with us below.)

Review: Haunted Changi

Haunted Changi tracks the journey of four local filmmakers as they set out to produce a documentary on the infamous Old Changi Hospital. According to urban legend, OCH is a haunted place; this can be traced back to the fact that it was originally the headquarters of the Japanese Military during World War 2, and many prisoners-of-war were executed around the Changi area.

Haunted Changi takes the documentary and narrative drama genres and meshes them up together, adopting the first person approach to its more sinister footage. The actual exploration of OCH is interspersed with footage of the four members of the crew engaged in discussion pertaining to the production.

Inevitable comparisons will arise with other groundbreaking films in the found footage horror genre, like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. It is commendable that the director/crew has milked a much-maligned genre and produced a film heavily anchored in a local context, while drawing on the universality of certain horror conventions (e.g. sudden brief shots of a ghostly apparition before it disappears) to render the film palatable even to an international audience.

The production also boasts a robust and clever marketing campaign; billing itself as an interactive movie, audiences are able to go to the film's facebook group and communicate with the crew (or what is left of it). Besides drumming up the hype for the film, it also serves to intensify the sense of realism.

The film, however, has many faults. While OCH was probably chosen because of its reputation as a haunted place, having been constantly touted by Singaporeans as a place of common supernatural occurrences, anyone more familiar with the place (should they have visited it themselves before) will know that OCH is an extremely sterile place now. It looks almost too clean, and there are always people there at night. In fact, it is fast losing its reputation as a place to visit at night for kicks. For a film to so heavily hinge on its location (and the conceptions of it) to set up the atmosphere, the choice of location seems to backfire on the film. To be fair, the director did a good job in introducing the place to us and the exposition was clear and concise, setting up a frightening outlook of the place. Despite the increasingly popular sentiment that OCH is no longer the scary place folklore has made it out to be, the director has managed to salvage this by getting audiences to temporarily suspend their disbelief and take a leap of faith; the hazy black and white shots used in the expository segment came across as stark and imposing and helped the film reclaim OCH as an intimidating, almost sentient entity. (And then again, besides OCH, there aren't that many haunted places in Singapore that are suitable for filming, so this is something that is forgivable.)

What hurts the film more is really its genre-bending posturing. The documentary approach seemed counterproductive in evoking shock; the director tries to make a sense of pseudo-realism pervade the film with the crew's improvised dialogue and shaky camerawork, and yet their portrayal of OCH is extremely implausible, giving rise to skepticism towards the authenticity of the proceedings that will take place later on. (A glaring example of what decimates the credibility of its 'actual' footage: the crew running into people in the day at not at night? There are probably even more people there at night than in the day!) Is it then fact or fiction? Other definitive films of the found footage genre like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity were extremely convincing in its authenticity. The blurring of genre lines comes across as clumsiness on the part of the director rather than it being deliberate; the film seems like an unintentional mockumentary.

The film is not without its merits, and one thing that stood out was the crew's natural chemistry. The energy between the four during scenes when they were together served to bring out the film's lighter moments, and this was apparent in the first half of the film; when juxtaposed starkly with later scenes when they were separated and the team dynamic dissolved, this heightened the tension tangibly. The dialogue was for the most part rather authentic except for the director's constant spewing of hokkien in the first half of his sentence and then proceeding to complete it in English. Those lines came across as extremely contrived and desperately trying too hard to ramp up the realism factor. Regardless, the interaction between the crew was generally breezy, light and surprisingly natural.

The lensing was a mixed bag. Shaky camerawork is a standard in the found footage horror genre and this technique was prevalent throughout the film, which is needed to make the realism factor seem authentic. The use of night-vision shots is nothing new but still effective in conjuring mystery and spooks. What I found annoying was that for some reason there were a plethora of still shots of empty rooms that seemed to punctuate the second act of the film and throws off the film pacing, and those shots were self indulgent and pointless, since nothing was shown to happen in those shots. The constant and sudden focusing and defocusing of the camera which was obviously done (to try) to create authenticity for the film also got irritating quickly.

The major undoing in the film, besides its ambivalent genre nature, was its plot. There are only so many times an audience can be scared by the sudden appearance of a ghost before they grow numb to it; what truly frightens an audience is the presence of a threat. If a ghost poses no threat, there are no stakes, and there is little investment into the plot. The problem with the film is that while supernatural forces were shown to exist within the building, it never had the chance to present those forces as malevolent in any way, resulting in an acute lack of interest in the plot. Really, the ghost(s) in this film don't do much, for the most part, and they barely even appear throughout most of the film. Even towards the end I was thinking, so what if they run into the ghost(s)? Big whoop.

Those looking to be scared stiff will be disappointed watching this film, because for the most part, it isn't. There were brief moments in the first two acts of the film where you might squirm in your seat, but they were more important for purposes of building up to the climactic end. The ending was scary, fleeting and brief as it was, but sadly just not enough to save a film so devoid of tension throughout most of its course.

Royston Tan in Russian

Well, not exactly. But people in St Petersburg will get a chance to learn a few Hokkien swear words from a Royston Tan short film retrospective at the ISAFF OPEN CINEMA International Short & Animation Film Festival. The retrospective is curated by Objectifs Films. Check out the website here but don't expect to understand much unless you know Russian. :p

Ultimate National Day Video Wish List Part 3

Here is another batch filmmakers and creative voices on how they would make their own National Day Video.

Ultimate National Day Video Wish List Part 2

As we have launched the 1st installation of the video 3 days ago...

Let's move on to see what other filmmakers and creative writers have to say about their "dream" National Day Video!

If you like the video,Do share this video out to everyone and Anyone!!!

Enjoy!

Ris Low with SINdie behind the scenes

It all started when Grace mentioned that she had Ris Low's number through her Muay Thai contacts. Then we cheered her on to pick up the phone and the rest is history...

(from left) Melody, Jeremy, Ris, Grace and Audi go in front of the camera after a hard day's shoot.

We held our breaths as Ris turned up. She was very normal, unlike how the media has portrayed her to be.

She kinda dwarfed all of us because of these heels.

Yet another Ris Low moment for YouTube... a very un-Ris Low Ris Low indeed.

Cubik by Stefan Fanthome and Jason Brenizer

When betrayal rears its head in an inner circle, who do you trust?

Cubik sets forth its premise with this question as plot layers form to construe themes of loyalty, familial ties, and conflicts of one woman’s moral stand and independence.

In a botched attempt to retrieve the prototype for a new weapon, resulting in Shankar’s (Fish Chaar) early demise/exit, rookie Alex (Laura Kee) finds herself in a conundrum between uncovering an infiltration conspiracy and heeding her protective father/ head honcho’s (Laurence Pang) advice to stay out of matters. The unheeded call leads her to discover some truths that sit a little too close to home, in the form of the loyalties of her dad’s closest aides – Devlin (Bobby Tonelli) and Keegan (Victor Lin).

The gradual heightening suspense, layered with the internal struggles of Alex, is crafted to a fine tilt through the first half of the film, both with the plot’s pacing and the cinematography’s visual storytelling.

While the audience may have been grasping at straws in the film’s early stages, perhaps marked by a missing piece of Alex’s early relationship with her dad, the subsequent narrative makes it up as Fanthome and Brenizer do a fine job of subtly merging their lead’s moral and ethical dilemma as the audience readily empathize with Alex’s ideologies.

That has as much to say about lead actress Laura Kee’s deliverance as the directors’ aptitude. Having been a martial arts practitioner (as was revealed in a Q&A later), coupled with a gung-ho demeanour, Kee herself admitted to be in her element for the role of Alex. And the confluence of personas played out to admirable aplomb, seen not just in a fisticuffs scene (with a man, no less), but also in the mental pressures her character Alex faced in swimming against the tide, most in the face of her dad’s demands.

Laurence Pang, a veteran in the local film scene, cut the no-nonsense figure his role – Alex’s father, Master Fu demanded to convincing degree. The father-daughter chemistry the two actors shared worked to bring to surface the underlying themes of familial-ideologies conflict on top of its action/suspense elements. Little could be said though, in dialogue probably scripted to sound philosophical about themes of betrayal, on many a faux-poetic line he had to deliver. Looking more the role he carried – a stern father-figure steeped in Asian values - than affable wise sage, the composure demanded in the face of threats one minute seemed out of sync with the verbal duels he would have with Alex the next.

Devlin and Keegan (Bobby Tonelli and Victor Lin), the two trusted aides of Master Fu and prime suspects of the infiltration, turn in commendable Jekyll-and-Hyde performances as they keep the audience guessing on their true identities and motives. Both pursuing the love interest of the attractive Josie (Melissa Faith Yeo) and wanting more than their roles in the organization offer, their rivalry plays out in its subplot as one of them leaves traces to his exposé.

Despite the well paced and thought-out build up, one might be left tad disappointed and disoriented at the rather abrupt and hurried way the film’s penultimate and final scenes play out. However, to attribute to it anything other than a overlook would be harsh.

Perhaps seen as unimaginable not too long ago, a decent well-directed film noir in Cubik has been produced in the floodlit streets of Singapore. Though perhaps a pity the originally made-for-TV series didn’t quite make our home screens, the largely-positive reception on the silver screen received from its premiere should hopefully make the genre in more palatable to local audiences and filmmakers alike.

Read about the making of the film in 'Cubik' by Jason Brenizer and Stefan Fanthome - In Production

Catch leading filmmakers, creative voices and Ris Low share their National Day video wishlist

Since National Day, we have been collecting a series of responses from different filmmakers and creative voices about what they would like to have if given the chance to direct next year's National Day music video. Our responses ranged from the philosophical to the outright funny! Click on this video now to see some of Singapore's who's who in film and arts name their wishlist. We could not resist getting our favourite beauty queen Ris Low to comment as well. See a truly DIFFERENT side of her here.

Colin's Farewell Evening

Colin, our regular reviewer, will be leaving for further studies in Chicago next week. It was time to huddle and take pictures while he is still around.

The last of the big group shots

'University initiation rites' - ice-cream gorging

Mango sorbet on cheesecake, chocolate, coffee and phish food - let's get adventurous for once!

Burp.

We adjourned to Minds Cafe where we played something to sharpen our language skills - Taboo. Raymond and Alvin await their turns.

Haha... just had to catch Melody with an 'auntie' expression like this.

Alvin (left) listens on as Colin's (right) gets into the heat of the game. Jeremy, deep in thought, seems to be in the wrong party.

Alvin couldn't stop laughing at how Raymond (left) and Jeremy (right) were screeching throughout their portion of the game.

Grace makes her entrance in the while Colin get kiasu with the rules.

Get a pair of glasses Jeremy.

A leaving note for Colin - Eric Khoo on Taboo

S-Express Singapore - Underdogs and Cowboys

Nobody's Home

This year's S-Express selection under the Singapore Short Film Festival features a strange motley bunch of social underdogs. Other than Nelson Yeo's 'Nobody's Home' (earlier reviewed on SINdie) which features HDB-bred cowboys, the short films featured 2 Indonesian maids, a bevy of 'Bangladeshi' workers, a girl reeling from a lost love and China cinema ticket seller. Interestingly, this is very timely in the light of the light of the recent chatter over whether Singapore is bursting at its seams with foreigners.

Obviously, the films were empathetic towards the foreigners, since they are meant give them a voice. But it brought to mind the fact that we have become the new villains in our own locally made movies. Surely if we change the lenses, we can discover something extraordinary within the mundane. While I have nothing against depicting what's true, I feel foreign labourers as a premise is too easy a starting point. The conflict in the story comes almost ready-made. In fact, these foreign labourer-driven films are a dime a dozen and they go a long way back to the pioneering days of local short films when Han Yew Kwang made 'The Call Home'. So what's new? The narratives have gone lazier the treatment, less imaginative.

There are 2 'Sendiris' in this batch of films - Rumah Sendiri (Home Alone) and Sehari Sendiri (A Day Alone), these together with the other films, point the deliberate choice of 'loneliness' as a theme in its curation. The former traces an Indonesian maid's routine day of chores and being confined at home where its owners are away. She irons, she peels, she cleans, she hangs clothes up, she cooks. The director Daniel Hui displays a sensitivity to the general ambience that surrounds her, and I am not just referring to sound. There is a great sense of intimacy with her and it is not established from the incredibly tight shots but from the way the camera lingers on very day-to-day details of her life, sometimes without even anything happening throughout. Sadly, it does not go much beyond a point-blank portrayal and a little metaphorical parallel at the end with the song.

Rumah Sendiri

What's more interesting about the film is how the lines between play-acting, reality and even just following 'her master's instructions' are blurred. For what you see, you are not sure where the maid is just being herself or playing up for the camera or even just obliging the director's instructions (who happens to be the master of the house). To illustrate the point, she says 'finish already' to Daniel after she is done with the song, as if she has just completed one of her dozen chores. Even if it is unintended, it certainly begs the most thought in this piece.

The other 'Sendiri' is nothing more than video lamentation of a lost relationship. Narrated mournfully over a scene at a beach and bathed in evening hues of yellow, the film is fixated on a girl who is 'paralysed' by her loss and can't do much to save herself. Other than the quietly affecting pulsations of the waves lit by the setting sun, the film is a little too self-absorbed for it to make a connection with the audience or show us something different about loss.

Sehari Sendiri

'Durai and Saro' is the other 'more expensive looking' film in the S-Express selection other than 'Nobody's Home' (both use some degree of tracking in their shots). 'Durai and Saro' tells is a romance between an Indonesian maid and a Bangladeshi worker made in the carpark where they meet. This film had plenty of tender moments that could be amplified with more succinct storytelling. A classic was the Indian meal. Durai buys Indian food, enough for two and offers it to Saro. Saro appears hesitant and we are not sure if it is because she is shy or she is not used to using her hands to eat. Then, with some gentle coaxing, she begins to dig her frail little palm into the heap of rice and scoops it up for her mouth. Soon, they get into a little rhythmic motion with their hands, savouring the humble dinner in the dinghy carpark - sweet.

Durai and Saro

A few things marred the good old-fashioned goodness of the film - poor lighting and bouts of melodrama. If the director knew 70% of the film was to take place in the carpark, he should have paid more attention to lighting. In fact, most of the scenes were set in very gritty environments like the workers' home, the carpark, the void deck and for the choice of night time, more thought should have been put into varying the visual landscape that appears in the film. The maid's angsty and rather articulate monologue made it a bit hard for me to marry it with the physicality and behaviour of the character in person. It made it seem like she had a trapped spirit inside her body speaking out.

An angsty monologue in Durai and Saro

Of the 5 short films, 'Tickets' the final film has the strongest credentials, having premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Sherman, being the most experienced and lauded of the lot, demonstrates a skillful hand in bringing out pockets of poignancy out of a simple point-blank interview. The porcelain-like beauty of the Chinese ticket seller profiled, appears in stark contrast to the greyness of the cinema projectors that and other cold-looking machines that filled the background against where she sat. Her ability to divulge honest, heartfelt thoughts in a plain-speaking manner in the intimidating premises commands reasonable attention. In fact, less is more, her moderate speaking tone struck the right notes in me. Had she spoken too emotively, then the poignancy in her story would have lost its ability to speak for itself. But I can't hold back from saying that 'Tickets' , like the rest, is forgettable and unimaginative. There was not a whimsical moment which touched my threshold of emotional engagement.

Tickets

In fact, this year's S-Express, with the exception of Nobody's Home, could do with a lot more whimsy. What happened to the days when making a film demanded so much more visual flair and a need to convince its audience? It seems more and more filmmakers are convinced that an emotional outburst can anchor a film, or that a film can be based on one tiny nugget of 'smart-alec-ism'. Why do they think that they can get away without telling a story? Why do some filmmakers feel hesitant to even just entertain the audience? Here's a paradox I see - when you are gripping something too tightly, it loses it ability to find it own raison d'etre. So why take a story so seriously. Bend it, twist it, play around with it and make your audience wake up to it - with a serious pair of eyes.

What a difference a year makes to LTA, SMRT and SBS

Remember this?



They certainly made a wiser choice this time, using the Dim Sum Dollies!

Our ears are saved this year. This is more colourful and musical than what I would have imagined. And it realy cheers people up! Wonder what's up next in 2012...... Auntie Lucy?

Any ideas?

WIN A CANON EOS 7D in just 90 seconds!

Show us WHERE YOU HEART IS and you could win a CANON EOS 7D and an all-expense paid trip to the UK's leading short film festival. Click here for details: http://civiclife.sg/competition.html

We are asking you to show us the places in Singapore that matter to you, and already we have had some lovely work submitted. See: http://civiclife.sg/competition-gallery-new.php

Check out details of the CANON EOS 7D, which has full HD video recording capability, here: http://www.canon-europe.com/cpn_eos7d/ and find out more about Encounters, the UK's leading short film festival, here: http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/

Closing date is Friday, September 17th, so get filming!

WHERE THE HEART IS is a collaboration between the British Council, the National Museum of Singapore, Encounters Short Film Festival and the Singapore International Foundation.

On a certain Monday night...

"That's dumb!" - remarked someone recently during a post-film screening Q and A session at someone else's question post to the filmmakers.

I am really shocked at how disrespectful some people can be towards others. We can all have our opinions, we can all disagree on certain issues, but at the end of the day, I believe we should all learn to tolerate one another and learn to respect each other. I find respect sorely lacking in today's society, film industry included. People do not feel obliged to show respect to one another, and are often quick to judge and wrongly dismiss.

I think when it comes to film - and by a larger extension all forms of art - all film lovers should have the courtesy of showing some respect to filmmakers and the collective audience. First off, not all film makers are extremely well versed in the vocabulary of film and lack technical know-how; they are self taught and are taking the leap of faith to produce a film, something they are passionate enough to invest huge amounts of time and effort in. Constructive criticism is what they need to improve as filmmakers. Lots of such independent filmmakers rely on critical feedback to grow as artists. Most of them lack the resources to consult world class story/script consultants or to hire top-notch cinematographers; they are not funded by a Hollywood studio! Let's at least give them the respect they deserve for willing to step out of their comfort zone and embarking on a road seldom taken by making a film. Whether it is good or bad, I believe they have exhibited a measure of courage - or at least dedication - that many of us film buffs lack. Many people dream about making a film; not many actually bring that vision to fruition.

I recall during one screening session I attended earlier in the year. A bunch of teenage girls were giggling and laughing incessantly throughout the screening of 3 shorts. During one particular short film, they kept exclaiming "OMG! It's so bad!" OVER AND OVER again and I had to exercise an inordinate amount of restraint not to reach out and give them a tight slap.

Yes, the film was bad. It was cringe-worthy, and if anyone were to review it, they will not run out of bad things to say about the film. The more mean-spirited ones would have a field day slamming the film. Thing is, I'd at least do it in a way the filmmaker would know what had gone wrong in the film, either by writing a properly constructed review or at least telling the filmmaker during a feedback session. I wouldn't just say "It's so dumb!" during the filmand leave it at that. No matter how bad a film is, you shouldn't be constantly yelling out what you think of it DURING A SCREENING, because there may be others who enjoy it. And these three girls seem to lack even an iota of self awareness, because judging by the volume of their constant acerbic remarks, I was sure all the audience present - only a measly 20 or so - could hear them. What was worse was that the filmmakers of the three shorts were present, and I can only imagine their dismay and embarrassment at such disgusting behaviour.

And just recently at a screening I was at, someone in the audience remarked that another audience member's question was dumb. Again, just like filmmakers, not all audiences at film screenings are equally well versed in film knowledge, many of them are mere film lovers. The more experienced film goer with more refined film sensibilities should stop assuming everyone has the critical eye of Roger Ebert or David Bordwell. What one person deems common sense may actually pique the curiosity of another. I think we should all celebrate the fact that a person is passionate enough to pose a question to a filmmaker when he or she could have easily remained quiet and blended in with the background. Shouldn't we celebrate the fact that a film audience is moving beyond mere nonchalance to actually inquire about the film? Besides, no one is forcing you to stay in a Q and A session, so if you have no interest in the questions being posed by the other members in the audience, or if you feel they are dumb, feel free to leave.

Why can't people show more respect at such screenings? It's not rocket science; the basics simply involve shutting up during the session and not demeaning others.

And I realized I've left out an important group: student filmmakers. It is imperative they show respect to the audience and to reviewers. I have a huge beef with film school students thinking they know it all and such students, trust me, is really common in Singapore. Despite -or because of - the fact that film schools are burgeoning in recent years, some film school students tend to conceive of their arts education as a marker for self-declared elitism, just because not many others are studying what they do. An arts education is a privilege, but it is not something you use to elevate yourself over someone else. I've had my run ins with some of these student filmmakers who are so averse to criticism they take anything bad said to their film as personal attacks. It is never easy to read a mediocre or poor review of your film, no one likes having the value of something they have spent copious amounts of time and effort on being diminished. I sympathize with that and I do admit to occasionally feeling guilty about giving a bad review to a film or video. But one must always realize that an opinion is better than none, and ultimately even the bad reviews will still give a filmmaker's work some attention. A safe, token review is as good as pointless, and will not do much to pique a reader's interest.

I am singling out student filmmakers in particular because this is based on my own run-ins with them. But from my experience, the more experienced or seasoned a filmmaker gets, the more he realizes that there is so much more out there to learn, and that there are so many more talented people out there, and this often humbles him. At the recent Singapore Short Cuts, I was really glad to see K. Rajagopal being forthcoming about his lack of technical knowledge when he first started making short films, hence accounting for some shoddiness in his earlier works. I think this is a sure mark of an assured, confident filmmaker - not afraid to openly criticize your own works. I would like to tell the smarter-than-thou types (who are I believe, thankfully, the minority among the film school students) to eat some humble pie, learn to appreciate even less than flattering criticism, and to grow and mature as artists. Try to respect the opinions of others, without letting it get to your head.

I think both filmmakers and audiences should be moving past these repulsive attitudes and behaviour. Singapore's film industry is certainly growing and is no longer in its days of infancy anymore; let us act the part. Filmmakers should learn to be a little more humble (I think many filmmakers have egos bigger than their talents) and audiences, please remember this: every time you unfairly slam a film or ruthlessly denigrate a film, imagine how it'd be like for you if you were the filmmaker.

VANCOUVER SINGAPORE FILM FESTIVAL LINE-UP ANNOUNCED THE ‘OTHER BALI FILM’ TO HEADLINE FESTIVAL

Vancouver, B.C. – The complete line-up for the 3rd Annual Vancouver Singapore Film
Festival has been announced.

The multi-genre and language film festival will be held on September 17 and 18 at the
Vancouver International Film Centre (Vancity Theatre), showcasing a remarkable
selection of films that celebrate Singapore’s multicultural society.

The Opening Night Gala includes a Singapore hawker-style dinner with an hour of short
films, followed by the controversial feature film Cowboys in Paradise. A counterpoint to
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, this will be the North American premiere of the
documentary on the beach boys who have made Bali a leading destination for female
sex tourists. The film made international news recently after Bali police reacted to the
trailer by arresting 28 beach boys. Singapore-based director Amit Virmani will be
present for a Q&A and is available for interviews from September 18 - 23.

Closing Night begins with a compelling collection of short films, and ends with a trio of
dark tales revealing the underbelly of Singapore, including a murder with an unlikely
weapon (Scot Free), migrant worker struggles (Durai & Saro), and Indian gangsters in
the stereotypically sterile Singapore (Certain Chapters).

This year’s festival aims to cross boundaries, focusing on showcasing thought-provoking
films that will challenge audiences and generate rich discussions. Filmmakers are of
diverse backgrounds and origins, and a large selection of shorts will be screened to
highlight the emerging talents from this vibrant and cosmopolitan city-state.

Full details and synopses available at: www.vsff.org

Stopover at S-Express Singapore Screening

Nelson Yeo, director of 'Nobody Knows' gladly beams for the camera.

sLai Weijie and Elizabeth stepping into the screening

Filmmakers Looi Wan Ping and Daniel Hui in serious thought about their next production.

Aishah, one of the programmers of the Singapore Short Film festival looks forward to a well-deserved break after the curtains are down.

THE NATIONAL DAY VIDEO PROJECT (Part 3): National Videos From Other Countries

In one of SINdie's most popular posts so far, we've looked at how Singapore's national day video productions have evolved through the years.

Whether they have glamorised, humanised or embarrassed Singapore and her bonfa-fide citizens, the fact is - as the song suggests "We are Singapore". See the post on the journey of our national day videos from 1985 - 2010.

Just like everything else, the pride of a developed nation challenges us to benchmark ourselves against the world. So after ramping up your patriotism with the earlier post, we decided to search out what other countries have managed to come up with in this regard.

We didn't find much, but the little (from our neighbours and some other countries that wouldn't suprise in having nationalistic videos) proves rather interesting.

Here's a taste of what we found.

Malaysia - Truly Asia

A familiar video ad campaign from our neighbours up north. Interesting the emphasis on Malaysia's natural sights. We hold our hands up on that one.

Inspiring Indonesia 2010

From one neighbour to another, Indonesia's tourism campaign brings out its renowned abundance of cultures in natural surrounds. Again little basis for comparison with our city skylines- for better or worse.

钟鼓楼-何勇 (China)

The video's description reads: "He Yong (Beijing-Zhonggulou) The first generation after the opening up of China,sort of recording what had happened in the old days when modernization kicked off in China in 80s'." Agenda aside, a pretty decent production from way back then.

North Korean Propaganda Song

With a theme of nationalistic propaganda videos, you didn't think we'd look beyond the (in)famous Korean peninsula, did you?

슈퍼주니어 - Victory Korea Music Video

From the more popular side of the Korean peninsula, a production celebrating and supporting the South Korean football team's entry into the 2010 World Cup.

Thai Tourism Video

A soft-sell Thai tourism video that also instills national pride the way 'Home' does for Singapore. Note the authentis Thai pronunciation of voice as 'woice'.

Kuwait National Day and Liberation Day Song

Exploiting plot devices for emotional reaction is probably an accepted part of a national production. Judging by the posted comments, this Kuwaiti video certainly does the trick.

Pakistani National song

Some familiar semblances of a country torn by strife and most recently natural calamities.

We are Indians

Patriotic song from India to salute the soldiers of the Kargil war. Lots of the typical National icons but check out the Bollywoodesque dolly shots.

South Africa - Alive with Possibility

Like Singapore that is calling itself a city of possibilities, South Africa inspires with the same tagline. Love the people focus and the epic helicopter shots.

Kenya's National (Daima) Video

Heartwarming patriotic video from Kenya that uses children to represent the future of Kenya. This video was made soon after the post-election violence of 2007.

Australia Video by Qantas

Though done by Qantas, it qualifies as a patriotic video. SIA should really sponsor a around the world shooting trip for the next National Day video.

Kazakh Song

A rather curious production showcasing the might of the Kazakhstan's military might. Perhaps a implicit message to the world that the country isn't all Borat made it out to be.

Russian Patriotic Video

Here's how we can do CGI tastefully..

Stay tuned for a later post to hear what our local filmmakers and some national icons would do if tasked to create a national video.

The Short Films of Rajagopal - Part 2

Sitting through a retrospective of Raja's short films is like tracing the conscious journey of an obsession. In Absence, the lack of a fatherly figure in the story leads to the young man's adoration of the priest his mum 'frequents'. In Brother, a migrant worker on the run finds solace in the company of his local saviour which develops into an ambiguous state between friendship and hero-worship. In the New World, a fatherly figure becomes a parallel to the New World Amusement Park for a boy, both of which are objects of wonder and inspiration to him. In Lucky Seven, the amorphous lead seems to be stuck a wet dream about a fatherly figure who manifests itself in the form of a mannequin. This is not to forget his earlier films that also had traces of the same fixation.

While the fixation is personal and esoteric, the scenes are situationally very simple and they draw upon very fundamental human reactions and needs to play, to explore, to escape and sometimes, just to touch. It is basal and human and yet also intriguing at the same time. Raymond Tan in an earlier post, has dealt with his earlier films. Raja had a long hiatus before he picked up the camera again with the Lucky Seven Project under Sun Koh. Here is where Raja's films have become noticeably fragmented, genre-bending and almost like a showcase of racing thoughts.

Lucky Seven was an omnibus film with 7 segments, each directed by a different director and Raja helmed the second segment. Here, our lead, played by Sunny Pang, seems to have walked into a phantasmal space where the characters in it exist like fragments of strange memories. The segment carries on from an earlier scene (by Sun Koh) in which Sunny was a reading letter left behind by his dad. This cuts to a desert where Sunny struggles up a sand hill bearing the beatings of the sun's rays on his shoulders. He meets 2 random Indian construction workers who are strangely taking a shower out of nowhere and joins them. Against their dark skin tones, the soap suds and water makes a visually arresting contrast. In fact, the rest of the segment follows in the same rein of visual play. Sunny goes on to spot a bridal-gown-wearing mannequin in the distance and it turns out to be a male mannequin, with its chiselled cheek and jaw making a stark visual juxtaposition against the white bodice of the dress. Like an 'inception' sequence, Sunny and the mannequin interact in multiple dimensions. Sunny saves him from drowning in a pool. They dance in a HDB void deck. Sunny stages his funeral. In what seems to be stylised representations of the underlying relationship between Sunny and the mannequin, Raja gives memory a treatment that departs from the usual naturalism.

One particular scene had the audience cracking up a little. Sunny finishes a carnal act with a prostitute and to our surprise, fishes out a wet cucumber that has been used in the act, to preposterous effect. Then, to top it all, he returns it to a refrigerator where there are 50 other cucumbers. I know there were 50, because I was Raja's producer for this piece. In a way, it makes it weird why I am writing a review. I have to emphasize that much of Raja's films is made in the editing suite and in the aftermath of the shoot, which really demonstrates how organic his films are. Back to the cucumber, straddling between obsession and humour, it reminds me of how Raja creates a duality of being very basal and yet very deliberate.

Raja's Lucky Seven foray propelled him back into creating new works and The New World followed shortly after that. Commissioned under the National Museum's Digital Homelands Project, The New World is new ground but unfortunately same soil. While using the memory of the New World amusement park as a focal point, it rests back on the issue of hero-worship on his father. This time, there is more of a logical flow, almost too didactically demarcated. We follow a boy from his days of being taken to the New World by his father for its rides to him as a young teenager going to the New World to discover his puberty. In this coming-of-age journey, The New World exists as a kind of parallel to his father, like a door to his self-discoveries.

I can't decide of this is more documentary or more experimental. For sure, it lacks the audacity of his other more risque films and the narrative grace as well. Using text labels like '8 years later' and other textbook style explanations of New World's developments, its logical structure takes the mystery and aura out of an old icon. Though it features snippets of the more humanly aspects of going to the park like the dad putting his hand over the boy in a dark cinema, its flashes of re-enactment amount to very little in digging out the soul of his memory of the New World. Somehow, the genre-bending use of the stick-figure animation seems to out of sync with the rest of the medium.

What seems to save the film is Jacintha's rendition of 'Moon River'. As Raja claims, Jacintha sang this song in Mandarin for him and he promised to make a film out of it and dedicate it to her. In fact, one scene single-handedly creates an ambience for the film, so enamouring, that it continues to linger on after the film. There is where the dancer gently seduces the young man and plants a kiss on him, causing a bump in the throat and tear in his eye. This is also where Raja's artful and subtle direction creates pockets of magic throughout the film even though the piece does not hold well in its totality.

His latest film, Timeless is a quite a departure from his recent two in that it moves away from the father-son obsession into a more outwardly focussed view of human history. Thankfully, some essential Raja elements still stay like his constant fascination with 'disrobing' the human condition. If there is one motif that threads all his films together, it is that of 'stripping'. Sexual connotations aside (some of which are intendedly so), Raja seeks to uncover his characters at a level is that the most primeval and the most raw, causing them to appear both human and crazy and the same time.

Timeless deals with the repetition of history over time. It strings together 3 incidents which include a murder in in 1875, a slaying incident in 1969 and a man's close encounter with a lady in present time. In each of the episodes, it presents a relationship and casts light on a darker side of human behaviour and motivations when situations put a relationship to test. While this sounds cliche, what distinguishes it from an average film is the juxtaposition and the subtlety of the links that tie all three incidents together. Playing it over a Singapore's approximate historical time-frame, gives it both a national angle above its obvious humanistic angle. While, it demonstrates human frailty and how little it changes over time, to me, it gave a microcosmic sense of our collective emotional reserve as a country. Situations repeat themselves even though the scenes and clothes change. A sense of helplessness and submitting to our sub-conscious behavioural dictations overrides the film.

The film actually puts Raja in a vulnerable spot as it is like a mirror of his personal journey in making films or I dare say, coming to terms with his own family history and obsessions. In this immaculately put-together retrospective, doors to Raja's personal struggle with his identity, his fascinations and his obsessions are cast wide open and we witness how they repeat themselves rampantly from film to film, just like how history repeats itself in Timeless. And delightfully in Timeless, Raja leaves it up to the audience to join the dots between violence and serenity, love and lust, and what's personal and whats objective. We are not sure if Timeless is a closure on his personal journey that spanned more than a decade, but it subtly draws you into a mental conversation with the film, questioning its choices, making the connections and even looking back at his older films with a different mirror.