'Endlessly' by Sivaroj Kongsakul (Thailand)
After
a hiatus of 6 years, Objectifs and The Substation are proud to announce the
return of Asian Film Symposium (AFS).
The
AFS showcases short films from partner countries in South-East Asia, where film
programmers are invited to curate cutting-edge short films from their
respective countries and share them with the local audience. In addition,
through intimate dialogue sessions, AFS provides a vital platform for sharing
and exchange among filmmakers, critics and programmers, encouraging dialogue
among these key players in regional independent film industries, in the
presence of an audience who will hear them debate and discuss pertinent topics
that affect cinema in the region today.
This 2015 edition
of AFS features the theme: Pop! Culture. Deemed as the ‘culture of the people’,
pop culture encompasses the collection of ideals and ideas influenced mainly by
the mass media. From fashion, television, language, music and films, these
elements very much make up the contemporary aspects of our lives. Pop Culture
is everywhere; we talk about it, we read about it and in some ways, we are
obsessed about it. How does pop culture affect or influence our society? These
short films explore the notion of pop culture from an Asian perspective.
This year’s
Country-In-Focus is Taiwan. A special program curated by Taipei International
Film Festival curator Kuo Ming-Jung will be presented on Saturday 12 September,
with the curator in attendance. The respective curators and a filmmaker will
represent all countries featured in Asian Film Symposium.
Here are the event
details:
What: Asian Film
Symposium
When: 10 to 13
Sept, Various screening times. Please visit http://www.objectifs.com.sg/afs2015/ for
programme and ticketing details.
Where: Objectifs,
155 Middle Road, Singapore 188977 (nearest MRT: Bras Basah, Bugis) and The
Substation, 45 Armenian Street (nearest MRT: Raffles City)
Some of the short
film highlights include:
Fonzi by Kirsten
Tan / Singapore
A world-within-world
story, “Fonzi” is the tale of a movie character who, like Pinocchio, wants to
be a real person. This film won the Best Director award at the 2007 Singapore
International Film Festival.
Kirsten's works
have been showcased in a host of international film festivals, including
Toronto, Rotterdam, Pusan and MoMA in NYC. She is working on her upcoming
feature – Popeye. It was selected to participate in Berlinale Talent’s Script
Station; was awarded Top prize in the Torino Film Lab and was invited by the
Cannes Film Festival as one of 15 projects presented under L'Atelier. This
summer, she will be featured on CNN International’s flagship feature,
‘Ones to Watch’."
Endlessly by
Sivaroj Kongsakul / Thailand (see film still at the top of the article)
This film portrays
a sentimental portrait of the relationship between a grandmother and her
grandchild.
Sivaroj Kongsakul
started his career as an assistant director for Aditya Assarat, Wisit
Sasanatieng, Penek Ratanaruang on many of their short films. Since 2002 he has
directed 10 short films including ‘Always’ and ‘Silencio’ which were both
invited to the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival where they won
awards. In 2010, he directed his debut feature ‘Eternity’ which was
supported by the Hubert Bals Fund and Pusan’s Asian Cinema Fund. He
attended the 22nd edition of the Cannes Cinefoundation
Residency in Paris to develop his second feature film project ‘Arunkarn’.
Rowboat by C.J.
Wang / Taiwan
The memories of
youth and romance is explored in this poignant yet light hearted film.
C.J Wang graduated
from the National Taipei University of the Art with a BA in theater directing
and an MA in theater studies. Her first short film Thief (2011) won
over a dozen awards in film festivals around the world. Later, her
project Coffee Sweet (2011) was nominated for the FOX Chinese
Film Development Award in the Hong Kong Asian Film Forum.
'The Gift' by Mallory Lee (Malaysia)
'Anchovies' by Zulkifli Salleh (Singapore)
'Feeling' by Luk Van (Vietnam)
'On happiness road' by Hsin-yIn Sung (Taiwan)
'Pendekar Kesepian' by Yusron Fuadi (Indonesia)