A roaming tiger in an estate, a visual ode to an invisible
minority, a recurring carousel, haunting vignettes of an unknown girl, and a
cat which has lived out all its nine lives… This August, Singapore Writers
Festival (SWF) and The Filmic Eye present a captivating series of five
animation short films adapted from original short stories and poetry by
Singapore writers Alfian Sa’at, Amanda Lee Koe,
Dave Chua, Chow Teck Seng and Vanessa Ng. Commissioned by the National
Arts Council under Utter, a special SWF initiative that adapts Singapore
writing into different media and across languages, the films are set to excite
and intrigue audiences of all ages.
In this year’s edition, the written word meets the
creative and aesthetic sensibilities of established and emerging animation
directors from Singapore. Put together by award-winning animators Tan Wei Keong,
Samantha Seah, Henry and Harry Zhuang, Ang Qing Sheng and Darran Kuah, each
film portrays the animator’s unique adaptation styles and encourages greater
appreciation for Singapore’s literature and animation.
SWF Festival
Director, Yeow Kai Chai, says, “This year we are exploring
the accessible genre of animation to bring to life some of Singapore’s best
writings. It is also the first time that we have used a theme, Head Trips, so
do look out for a common thread through the five pieces.” He added, “SWF has
always been about more than static words on a page, and through Utter we look
forward to broadening the appeal of our homegrown authors’ talents across
different platforms.”
David Lee,
producer of Utter
2015: Head Trips, says, “The Filmic Eye is thrilled to be given this
opportunity to work with the NAC and SWF to produce this year’s Utter 2015. The
theme of Head Trips opens up infinite possibilities especially in the medium of
animation, and we hope that audiences can join us in discovering the diverse
range of Singaporean creative works and talents presented.”
Eternality Tan, producer of Utter 2015:
Head Trips, says, "We are blessed to be working with very talented
homegrown animation directors with the artistic nous and vision to interpret
the richness of Singapore literature, be it short story or poetry, in
aural-visual ways. The five Utter animated shorts are highly distinct, and we
hope the audiences will find them intriguing and enjoyable."
Dave Chua, one of the featured writers, says,
”I feel very honoured having my short story adapted by Henry and Harry Zhuang
for Utter 2015. I have tried not to intrude too much or look over their very
broad shoulders. I am sure the brothers have made an outstanding piece of work
and will continue to build on their experience from this film.”
Darran Kuah, one of the featured animator,
says, “Adapting Vanessa Ng's short story That Fat Cat Ate Dad’s Hat has given
me new perspectives on Singaporean writers and their world. This story is
developed from a cat lover's point of view and it fascinates me to read about
her efforts to include all the detailed physical descriptions of each cat; its
colour, fur type and all, and her great attention to detail of the human world
from a cat's perspective.”
The completed five animation shorts will
be screened to the public for the first time at GV Suntec from 28 to 30 August in three sessions, each
followed by an extended post-screening dialogue with both the original writers
as well as the animation directors.
Session times
and dates as follow:
Friday 28th August - 7.30pm –GV Suntec
Hall 6
*Post
screening dialogue with Amanda Lee Koe, Samantha Seah, Chow Teck Seng and Ang
Qing Sheng
Saturday 29th August - 7.30pm –GV
Suntec Hall 1
*Post
screening dialogue with Darran Kuah, Dave Chua, Henry and Harry Zhuang
Sunday 30th August - 5.00pm –GV Suntec
Hall 1
*Post
screening dialogue with Alfian Sa’at, Tan Wei Keong, Dave Chua, Henry and Harry
Zhuang
Tickets sales
are slated to be available on GV website and box office from 13 August 2015.
Tickets
pricing
- $12.50
- $10 discounted
price for Students, NSF, Senior Citizens and Members of the Singapore Film
Society
Like www.facebook.com/filmiceye for more updates on Utter 2015.
For more information about previous editions of
Utter:
On 22 August Saturday afternoon, there
will be a panel discussion held in conjunction with *SCAPEMedia SPOTLIGHT,
where Utter 2015 animators will be sharing their experiences in adapting their
selected Singapore literary texts into animation.
Details and event registration: http://www.scapers.sg/events/scapemedia.spotlight
List of Works
The Tiger of 142B
Inspired by: The Tiger of 142B by Dave Chua
Published in The Beating and Other Stories (2011) by
Ethos Books
Author: Dave Chua
Animators:Henry & Harry Zhuang
The Great
Escape
Inspired by: The Great Escape by Alfian Sa’at
Published in The Invisible Manuscript (2012) by Math
Paper Press
Writer: AlfianSa’at
Animator: Tan Wei Keong
Round
Inspired by: Three short stories by Amanda Lee Koe – The Ballad of Arlene & Nelly, Flamingo
Valley,Carousel & Fort
Published in Ministry of Moral Panic (2013) by
Epigram Books.
Author: Amanda Lee Koe
Animator: Samantha Seah Yu Er
5 Shades of Solitude
Inspired by: 5 Shades of Solitude <<5种孤寂与静默>>
A poem by Chow
Teck Seng周德成
Published in the book The
Story of You and Me《你和我的故事》by Chow Teck Seng (Lingzi
Media; 2012)
Author: Chow Teck Seng
Animator: Ang Qing Sheng
That Fat Cat Ate Dad’s Hat!
Inspired by: That Fat Cat Ate Dad’s Hat!
by Vanessa Ng
Published in the short story
anthology From the Belly of the Cat by Math Paper Press (edited by Stephanie
Ye)
Author: Vanessa Ng
Animator: Darran Kuah