Still from 'Dahdi' by Kirstern Tan
The National Museum of Singapore Cinémathèque and the Substation Moving Images co-presents the 12th Singapore Short Cuts, one of the longest-running distinguished showcases of local short films in Singapore.
Seen almost as a rite of passage for young filmmakers, Singapore Short Cuts continues to spot the up-and- coming talents in Singapore. Some filmmakers whose films have been featured in previous editions of Singapore Short Cuts include Anthony Chen, Boo Junfeng, Eric Khoo, Eva Tang, Tan Pin Pin and Victric Thng.
Taking place over two weekends in October (24, 25 and 31 October) at the National Museum of Singapore’s Gallery Theatre, this year’s programme features a diversity of film styles and a selection of horror themed films catered for film goers on Halloween.
Film enthusiasts can look forward to a concentrated showcase of short films of various genres and themes that represent the best of Singapore’s short films in the past year, as well as the rare opportunity to engage in post-screening dialogues with the filmmakers. Admission is free. Tickets can be collected at the National Museum of Singapore (Stamford Visitor Services Counter) from 17 October 2015. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis, and limited to four tickets per person. Any remaining tickets will be given out at the door on the screening day.
Still from 'Mountain of Knives' by Nelson Yeo
Still from 'Forest of Copper Columns' by Russell Morton
Still from 'Chamber of Rock' by Chris Yeo
Here is the screening schedule:
24 October 2015, Sat, 3 pm (M18)
The Tiger of 142B
Pifuskin
The Great Escape
Not Working Today
The Body
November
Passenger
25 October 2015, Sun, 3pm (PG)
31 October 2015, Sat, 3 pm (M18)
Pifuskin
The Great Escape
Not Working Today
The Body
November
Passenger
25 October 2015, Sun, 3pm (PG)
The Swan of Tuonela
Three Little Pigs
Anchovies
Dahdi
My Autograph Book
Three Little Pigs
Anchovies
Dahdi
My Autograph Book
31 October 2015, Sat, 3 pm (M18)
Chamber of Tongue Ripping
Forest of Copper Columns
Chamber of Rock
Loop
Chamber of Ox
Mountain of Knives
Yard of Stone Mill
Forest of Copper Columns
Chamber of Rock
Loop
Chamber of Ox
Mountain of Knives
Yard of Stone Mill
Free tickets can be collected at the National Museum of Singapore, Visitor Services Counter from 17 October 2015. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis, and limited to four tickets per person. Any remaining tickets will be given out at the door on the screening day.
Ticket Collection
Visitor Services Counter, Level 1
National Museum of Singapore, 93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897 Tel: 6332 3659
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 10am to 7.30pm
Valid identification showing proof of age is required for all screenings.
For the latest ratings and information, please visit www.nationalmuseum.sg
Still from 'Not Working Today' by Tan Shijie
Still from 'November' by Shane Lim
Still from 'Anchovies' by Zulklifi Salleh
November
Director: Shane Lim Duration: 16mins
In Shane Lim’s November, Kai brings Min to a clinic after he tests positive for herpes. With Kai’s infidelity looming over her, Min is forced to face her fears and the oncoming tempest of adulthood. The transition between the teen years and adulthood is nothing if not rich with drama. One of the more often experienced conflicts is the growing sense of responsibility to oneself and others. In cinema, the combination of the acceptance of responsibilities and teen sexuality is a genre unto itself, from Hollywood comedies to more severe art-house fare. Perhaps taking a cue from the recent crop of films from the Romanian New Wave, Shane Lim crafted a cinematic vignette of surprising maturity and empathy. Buoyed by convincing performances on the part of Kai and Min, November further impresses with its cinematic conviction.
Passenger
Director: Tang Kang Sheng Duration: 19mins
Zhen Hui and Minyi run into each other at a class gathering during their final year. Through the night they rekindle the past and romantic interest grows that was already there before. However it is unable to progress because something hangs over them and they quickly realize that what they have with each other has to expire. Director Tang Kang Sheng’s fly-on-the-wall aesthetic affords a deeper excavation into the characters as such leading to more profound realisation on the part of the viewer.
Director: Shane Lim Duration: 16mins
In Shane Lim’s November, Kai brings Min to a clinic after he tests positive for herpes. With Kai’s infidelity looming over her, Min is forced to face her fears and the oncoming tempest of adulthood. The transition between the teen years and adulthood is nothing if not rich with drama. One of the more often experienced conflicts is the growing sense of responsibility to oneself and others. In cinema, the combination of the acceptance of responsibilities and teen sexuality is a genre unto itself, from Hollywood comedies to more severe art-house fare. Perhaps taking a cue from the recent crop of films from the Romanian New Wave, Shane Lim crafted a cinematic vignette of surprising maturity and empathy. Buoyed by convincing performances on the part of Kai and Min, November further impresses with its cinematic conviction.
Passenger
Director: Tang Kang Sheng Duration: 19mins
Zhen Hui and Minyi run into each other at a class gathering during their final year. Through the night they rekindle the past and romantic interest grows that was already there before. However it is unable to progress because something hangs over them and they quickly realize that what they have with each other has to expire. Director Tang Kang Sheng’s fly-on-the-wall aesthetic affords a deeper excavation into the characters as such leading to more profound realisation on the part of the viewer.
The Tiger of 142B
Directors: Harry Zhuang & Henry Zhuang Duration: 15mins
Directed by Henry and Harry Zhuang and written by Dave Chua based on his eponymous short story, The Tiger of 142B explores the life of Kevin, an unemployed man whose relationship with his girlfriend is deteriorating due to communication issues. Things turn shaky when people start to pin the mysterious murders of residents on a tiger. Dave Chua’s blend of magic-realism in the heartlands of Singapore is faithfully transposed to screen by the Zhuang brothers.
The Great Escape
Director: Tan Wei Keong Duration: 10mins
Inspired by Alfian Sa'at's poem, this short film directed by Tan Wei Keong is a quirky film about two men and their little olive tree.
Pifuskin
Director: Tan Wei Keong Duration: 5mins
The premise of Pifuskin is deceptively simple – A man scratches the skin he lives in. The same minimalism in description allows Tan Wei Keong to utilise animation to soar high into fanciful flights of imagination.
The Body
Director: Kenny Gee Duration: 20mins
Crime drama about two men trying to dispose a corpse in a cold, merciless manner, over the course of one long night.
Director: Tan Wei Keong Duration: 5mins
The premise of Pifuskin is deceptively simple – A man scratches the skin he lives in. The same minimalism in description allows Tan Wei Keong to utilise animation to soar high into fanciful flights of imagination.
The Body
Director: Kenny Gee Duration: 20mins
Crime drama about two men trying to dispose a corpse in a cold, merciless manner, over the course of one long night.
Not Working Today
Director: Tan Shijie Duration: 10 mins
One day, an ill-treated foreign worker decides not to work and to seek help at the labour office.
The Swan of Tuonela
Directors: Julie Zhu & Ng Xi Jie Duration: 4 mins
The Swan of Tuonela is a lyrical allegory with playful sensibility through performance and brushwork. Inspired by the Finnish landscape and drawing upon the Finnish Kalevala myth of the birth of the moon as well as Pierrot’s timeless role, the stop-motion animation is set to Sibelius’s mystical classical piece of the same title. A deletion of one’s creation as self-confrontation is a lesson in responsibility and acceptance of loss in the natural cycle of life.
Director: Tan Shijie Duration: 10 mins
One day, an ill-treated foreign worker decides not to work and to seek help at the labour office.
The Swan of Tuonela
Directors: Julie Zhu & Ng Xi Jie Duration: 4 mins
The Swan of Tuonela is a lyrical allegory with playful sensibility through performance and brushwork. Inspired by the Finnish landscape and drawing upon the Finnish Kalevala myth of the birth of the moon as well as Pierrot’s timeless role, the stop-motion animation is set to Sibelius’s mystical classical piece of the same title. A deletion of one’s creation as self-confrontation is a lesson in responsibility and acceptance of loss in the natural cycle of life.
Three Little Pigs
Director: Ang Geck Geck Duration: 14 mins
Cecilia, an introvert preschooler, is selected to represent her school in a storytelling competition. But first, she has to present the story to her classmates. Excited by the opportunity, Cecilia is determined to shine despite the many obstacles in her way.
Anchovies
Director: Zulklifi Salleh Duration: 23 mins
A boy watches a scary sea monster movie and becomes afraid of the sea. The problem is, he comes from a family of fisherman and is expected to become a fisherman, too. Will this spell the end of his traditional livelihood?
Director: Ang Geck Geck Duration: 14 mins
Cecilia, an introvert preschooler, is selected to represent her school in a storytelling competition. But first, she has to present the story to her classmates. Excited by the opportunity, Cecilia is determined to shine despite the many obstacles in her way.
Anchovies
Director: Zulklifi Salleh Duration: 23 mins
A boy watches a scary sea monster movie and becomes afraid of the sea. The problem is, he comes from a family of fisherman and is expected to become a fisherman, too. Will this spell the end of his traditional livelihood?
Dahdi
Director: Kirsten Tan Duration: 17 mins
Mrs Lee, an elderly widow finds an unexpected visitor, an asylum-seeking girl, in her home. Mrs Lee must decide the right thing to do with her visitor before the police arrive. Inspired by a 2012 event, whereby 40 Burmese Rohingya asylum seekers arrived in the port of Singapore.
My Autograph Book
Director: Wee Li Lin Duration: Duration: 22mins
A follow up to Wee Li Lin’s classic Singapore short film Autograph Book (2003), My Autograph Book continues Wee’s exuberant exploration of pre-adolescent pangs of growing up in Singapore.
Chamber of Tongue Ripping
Director: Wesley Leon Aroozoo Duration: 2 mins
Twisting words to wind up one’s ego, betray the organ of taste. Only after death will one be ripped off from the pleasure.
Director: Kirsten Tan Duration: 17 mins
Mrs Lee, an elderly widow finds an unexpected visitor, an asylum-seeking girl, in her home. Mrs Lee must decide the right thing to do with her visitor before the police arrive. Inspired by a 2012 event, whereby 40 Burmese Rohingya asylum seekers arrived in the port of Singapore.
My Autograph Book
Director: Wee Li Lin Duration: Duration: 22mins
A follow up to Wee Li Lin’s classic Singapore short film Autograph Book (2003), My Autograph Book continues Wee’s exuberant exploration of pre-adolescent pangs of growing up in Singapore.
Chamber of Tongue Ripping
Director: Wesley Leon Aroozoo Duration: 2 mins
Twisting words to wind up one’s ego, betray the organ of taste. Only after death will one be ripped off from the pleasure.
Forest of Copper Columns
Director: Russell Morton Duration: 13mins
In the Forest of Copper Columns, a man performs a ritual of cleansing.
Chamber of Rock
Director: Yeo Siew Hua Duration: 12 mins
Xiao Hong is feeling guilty and uncertain of the afterlife. Unable to sleep, he seeks solace in grandfather’s company. Meanwhile, the Minotaur pays them a visit...
Loop
Director: Linh Duong Duration: 7 mins
After a bizarre dream, Xiao Fei goes out to look for her mother. She finds both her parents instead, but not exactly in the way she used to know them.
Director: Russell Morton Duration: 13mins
In the Forest of Copper Columns, a man performs a ritual of cleansing.
Chamber of Rock
Director: Yeo Siew Hua Duration: 12 mins
Xiao Hong is feeling guilty and uncertain of the afterlife. Unable to sleep, he seeks solace in grandfather’s company. Meanwhile, the Minotaur pays them a visit...
Loop
Director: Linh Duong Duration: 7 mins
After a bizarre dream, Xiao Fei goes out to look for her mother. She finds both her parents instead, but not exactly in the way she used to know them.
Chamber of Ox
Director: Mads K. Baekkevold Duration: 9 mins
After drowning a bag of kittens, a man finds himself haunted by feline apparitions out for vengeance.
Mountain of Knives
Director: Nelson Yeo Duration:5 mins
14-year-old Xiaowu is interrogated for his sin, after murdering a girl from school.
Yard of Stone Mill
Director: Thong Kay Wee Duration:14 mins
Director: Mads K. Baekkevold Duration: 9 mins
After drowning a bag of kittens, a man finds himself haunted by feline apparitions out for vengeance.
Mountain of Knives
Director: Nelson Yeo Duration:5 mins
14-year-old Xiaowu is interrogated for his sin, after murdering a girl from school.
Yard of Stone Mill
Director: Thong Kay Wee Duration:14 mins
A wandering soldier confronts the construct of nature and
authoritarianism within a forested dreamscape, through the ritual of the powder bath.