Objectifs is possibly
the birthplace of several ‘moonlighting’ filmmakers and photographers in
Singapore. For people who held 9-5 jobs, Objectifs provided a chance to learn
these skills after dark and even on weekends. Of course, beyond just being a
school with flexible hours, it has grown to become an important institution in
the film and photography community and industry. Since its founding in 2003,
Objectifs has played a pivotal role in the development of contemporary
photography, video art and film in Singapore, with many artists learning,
teaching or showing at the centre. Famous directors like Yasmin Ahmad and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang have swung by and
lent their presence within the walls of Objectifs.
Over
the years, it’s actually been on a little colourful journey within the
Bugis-Arab Street vicinity occupying new spaces and bringing different experiences
to its visitors and students. It started at Liang Seah Street, moved to Arab
Street in 2009 and recently moved again to its latest new home at 155 Middle
Road. Each location has been the cradle of valuable encounters and priceless
memories. Emmeline Yong, one of the founders of Objectifs takes us on a walk
down memory lane through to witness Objectifs ‘on the road’ with these pictures
and the moments they capture.
1. This was a class pic from one of our
Digital Filmmaking workshops in Nov 2005. The photo is particularly poignant as
Yasmin Ahmad, who was one of the guest lecturers, passed away in 2009.
2. At the launch of the Singapore GaGa
DVD by Tan Pin Pin in 2006. Singapore GaGa was the first film we distributed
under the Objectifs Films label. Since then, we've gone on to release nearly 50
DVD titles, usually with a focus on films from Singapore. The titles appeal to
a niche (but loyal!) audience, and DVDs are less in demand these days - but we
feel that it is important to have that representation of indie and local films.
3. We've brought local short films out
to schools (usually Secondary, JCs, ITEs) as part of our Travelling Short Film
Project since 2004. We've probably done about 60+ of such screenings. It's
always fun watching the reaction of the students, who react enthusiastically to
the films. One of our all-time favourites to screen at schools is Wee Li Lin's
Autograph Book - the students love it and go wild when the girls in the film
start "acting" out the autographs!
4. The earlier film travel grants by the
Singapore Film Commission allowed our directors to visit many international
festivals in Russia, Finland etc. These festivals are always a great learning
experience, especially for our Singaporean directors to interact first-hand
with international audiences. In this pic, we were at the 2008 Clermont-Ferrand
International Short Film Festival (ironically, being overseas is one of the
best times for us to catch up with fellow Singaporean filmmakers!). We
were representing Singapore and Southeast Asian films at the festival and
market, and there was also a special Southeast Asian panorama, which included
films by Boo Junfeng, Royston Tan and Sun Koh.
5. The Singapore Short Film Awards was
started by Objectifs' Director Yuni Hadi and Objectifs co-presented it with The
Substation for the first four years. Although the SSFA is a small festival, it
has been a wonderful way for us to meet young and rising filmmakers, and to
bring the community together.
6. Image Makers is an ongoing series of
documentaries that we started working on in 2011. While the documentaries focus
on Singaporean photographers, we have also paired a local director with each
documentary. It has turned out to be a very interesting series for us, watching
the collaborations unfold, e.g. Kirsten Tan (director) x John Clang
(photographer); Jow Zhi Wei (director) x Robert Zhao Renhui (photographer).
What we're most proud of is that Image Makers is a community effort - driven by
photographer Tan Ngiap Heng, production house The Creative Room and Objectifs,
with crowdfunding support from many enthusiasts. So far we've worked on 9 docus.
7. Supporting our local films is core to
what we do. We try to think of creative new ways to bring films to new
audiences and develop an appreciation for local works. We ran a series of Watch
Local Rooftop Screenings back at our old set-up at Arab Street back (2012 to
2014). Since we've moved to Middle Road (in June 2015), we plan to continue
showcasing local films. For 2015, Objectifs also started a "Lovin' Local
Film Fund", where we committed to purchasing 50 tickets, with our own money,
for every local film screened commercially - tickets are given away free and
our only request is that ticket-holders go on to share these films on their own
social media platforms.
8. We've been working with Nexus for the
last 2 editions of the ciNE65 Short Film Competition. One of the highlights for
us is in planning the overseas Learning Trip, as we feel that we can use our
experience and networks to help our upcoming filmmakers foster ties
internationally (and vice versa). We went to Bangkok for in 2013 - this pic is
at the Thai Film Archive and are looking forward to the next trip in Tokyo for
the international film festival this year.
9. SG50 has been a great year for
Singaporean artists and filmmakers, as there has been a spotlight on all things
local. We brought several films to Bangkok earlier this year, courtesy of the
Singapore Embassy in Bangkok. Here we are with Ken Kwek - his debut feature
Unlucky Plaza was the opening film for the series of screenings.
10. We moved to 155 Middle Road in June.
It's been a very exciting journey for us as the set-up has many programming and
collaboration possibilities, allowing us to present works in new ways and also
work with different groups of artists. This pic is from our latest programme,
Film/Music (as part of the Aug 2015 Singapore Night Festival), where we had
local musicians .gif and Intrigruant interpret their pieces to a film by Yeo
Siew Hua.
Thanks for the memories Emmeline!
Thanks for the memories Emmeline!
Pictures and text courtesy of Emmeline Yong, Objectifs
How to get there?
155 Middle Road, Singapore 188977
Tel/Fax: +65 6336 2957
Email: info@objectifs.com.sg
www.objectifs.com.sg
How to get there?
155 Middle Road, Singapore 188977
Tel/Fax: +65 6336 2957
Email: info@objectifs.com.sg
www.objectifs.com.sg