'Tora-San of Goto' at the Japanese Film Festival
The month of March in film kicks off with Oscar fever on 4 March in the US with the Academy awards. Will frontrunner The Shape of Water flood the headlines? Or will we see Three Billboards emblazoned with Oscar gold? Or maybe a dark horse will run away with the top honours. Foreign language film screenings are aplenty for Singapore audiences in March with two film festivals and a special social documentary film programme. The big event is the Japanese Film Festival which has plump pickings for everyone, from oldies to recent contemporary works. If that is not enough, the Singapore Film Society has a line-up of Japan-themed films with some Singapore works included like Jimami Tofu and I Want to Go Home. Those in the mood for design can hop over to The Projector for the Danish Film Festival. Objectifs also kick-starts its Stories that Matter series of film screenings with its theme borders, and if Brexit bothers you, one of its offerings Brexitannia will enlighten you. But first up, something for musical fans, Ang Larawan, a film based on a popular Filipino classic most Filipinos should know.
1. Ang Larawan
Award-winning film 'Ang Larawan' is screening in Singapore for 1 day only on 4 March! 'Ang Larawan' won Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Musical Score, Best Production Design the Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award and the Posthumous Special Jury Prize at the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival. It had its world premiere at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival.
Date: 4 March 2018, Sunday
Venue: Nexus Auditorium
Address: 5 Koek Road, #05-07, Cuppage Plaza, S(228796)
Tickets at $18 from Eventbrite: https://
Discounts for OFWs (Promo code: OFWforAngLarawan) and Singapore Film Society members
'Ang Larawan', directed by multi-awarded Broadway theatrical set designer and director Loy Arcenas, is the film adaptation of Larawan, The Musical which is based on National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin’s three-act English play A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. First published in 1952, Joaquin’s work has been depicted numerous times on stage on screen and in English and Filipino—making it one of the most pedigreed literary works of the Philippines.
In 1997, Musical Theater Philippines (now Culturtain Musicat Productions Inc. ) headed by singer Celeste Legaspi and talent manager/producer Girlie Rodis staged Larawan, the first musical rendition of Joaquin’s great play, at the CCP. The elegaic play was transformed into a musical with a libretto written by National Artist for Theater Rolando Tinio and music created by iconic original Filipino music composer Ryan Cayabyab.
2. Japanese Film Festival
The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) returns for its 21st edition, bringing the best of new Japanese cinema to the audiences in Singapore. Presented by the Japan Foundation in cooperation with Japan Creative Centre (JCC), the official screening schedule of 16 Japanese films will be held from 2 to 18 March (excluding 6-8 and 15 March).
'The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice' at the Japanese Film Festival
Time: Various Timings
Venue: National Museum of Singapore, Gallery Theatre and Gallery Theatre Foyer, Basement Level
Pricing: $13 Per Ticket
Click here for registration.
Opening Ceremony of the Japanese Film Festival 2018
2 Mar 2018 (Fri), 7pm onwardsGallery Theatre, Basement Level
Screening of Survival Family
Director Yaguchi Shinobu well-known for his films Waterboys, Swing Girls and Happy Flight, which were screened commercially in Singapore, will be at the opening ceremony this year, and the premiere of Survival Family in Singapore. Ticket-holders to Survival Family screening at 8pm, may join the Opening Ceremony from 7pm at the Gallery Theatre. Door opens from 6:45pm. Director Yaguchi will be taking questions during the post-screening Q&A after the screening of Survival Family. Don't miss this rare opportunity to meet this very successful specialist in Japanese comedies.
Tickets to Survival Family can be purchase here
Film Screening Schedule
Screening Venue: Gallery Theatre, Basement Level
2 Mar 2018 (Fri), 8pm
Survival Family – Opening Film Yaguchi Shinobu| 2017 | 117 min | English subtitles | PG
The Suzukis are an ordinary family of four living in Tokyo. One morning, they wake to find all their electrical devices are not working. The father, Yoshiyuki, takes his family with him out of Tokyo in an attempt to escape the crisis.
3 Mar 2018 (Sat), 2.30pm
18 Mar 2018 (Sun), 2.30pm
Rudolf The Black Cat
Yuyama Kunihiko , Sakakibara Motonori | 2016 | 89 min | English subtitles | PG
A tale of cats, their friendship, adventures, encounters and farewells. Rudolf, a black cat, is suddenly separated from his beloved master. He unexpectedly wakes up in a long distance truck that takes him to metropolitan Tokyo.
3 Mar 2018 (Sat), 5pm
Sansho The Bailiff
Mizoguchi Kenji | 1954 | 124 min | English subtitles | PG | DCP
*Digitally Restored Version*
When an idealistic governor disobeys the reigning feudal lord, he is cast into exile, his wife and children left to fend for themselves and eventually wrenched apart by vicious slave traders.
3 Mar 2018 (Sat), 8pm
12 Mar 2018 (Mon), 8pm
Memoirs Of A Murderer
Yu Irie | 2017 | 118 min | English subtitles | NC16
5 lives were gruesomely taken in a shocking serial murder case in 1995. 22 years later, the murderer resurfaces sensationally at a press conference where he announces the launch of a memoir about the murders he committed.
4 Mar 2018 (Sun), 2pm
14 Mar 2018 (Wed), 8pm
ReLIFE
Furusawa Takeshi | 2017 | 120 min | English subtitles | PG
Twenty-seven-year-old Kaizaki Arata is unemployed after quitting his company job. One day, a mysterious man named Yoake Ryo invites him to participate in a social reintegration program called "ReLIFE" that involves taking medicine that will make him look 10 years younger and living as a high school student for one year only.
4 Mar 2018 (Sun), 5pm
13 Mar 2018 (Tue), 8pm
Daytime Shooting Star
Shinjo Takehiko | 2017 | 119 min | English subtitles | PG
Suzume, who has never been in love, meets Shishio, her homeroom teacher at the high school to which she transferred.
4 Mar 2018 (Sun), 8pm
The Flavour Of Green Tea Over Rice
Ozu Yasujiro | 1952 | 115 min | English subtitles | PG | DCP
Asia Premiere *Digitally Restored Version*
A subtle, exquisite — and exquisitely-titled — study of an unhappy marriage, Ozu’s The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice centres on a middle-aged, middle-class, childless couple who find that their (arranged) relationship has lapsed into routine and lost its meaning.
5 Mar 2018 (Mon), 8pm
18 Mar 2018 (Sun), 8pm
The Long Excuse
Nishikawa Miwa | 2016 | 124 min | English subtitles | M18
A bestselling author discovers the joys of living for others after his wife dies and he spends time with children who have lost their mother.
9 Mar 2018 (Fri), 8pm
17 Mar 2018 (Sat), 5pm
Honnouji Hotel
Suzuki Masayuki | 2017 | 119 min | English subtitles | PG
Kuramoto Mayuko goes to Kyoto where her boyfriend's parents live. In a back street, she finds and checks in to the Honnouji Hotel, but when she exits the hotel's elevator, she emerges in 1582 Honnouji Temple.
10 Mar 2018 (Sat), 2pm
17 Mar 2018 (Sat), 2pm
Tora-San Of Goto
Oura Masaru | 2016 | 114 min | English subtitles | PG
Inuzuka Torao, known as "Tora of Goto" runs an udon noodle making business on the Goto Archipelago. Everyday, his seven children wake up at 5am, help with the business for an hour, then head for school. Over the 22 years the documentary follows them, the children, as they all grow up.
10 Mar 2018 (Sat), 5pm
Floating Weeds
Ozu Yasujiro | 1959 | 119 min | English subtitles | PG | 35mm
In 1959, Yasujiro Ozu remade his 1934 silent classic A Story of Floating Weedsin color with the celebrated cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa (Rashomon, Ugetsu). Setting his later version in a seaside location, Ozu otherwise preserves the details of his elegantly simple plot wherein an aging actor returns to a small town with his troupe and reunites with his former lover and illegitimate son, a scenario that enrages his current mistress and results in heartbreak for all.
10 Mar 2018 (Sat), 8pm
18 Mar 2018 (Sun), 5pm
Creepy
Kurosawa Kiyoshi | 2016 | 130 min | English subtitles | NC16
Criminal psychologist Takakura is asked by detective Nogami to analyze a missing family case from six years ago. He questions the only living person who remembers the case, but cannot untangle the mystery.
11 Mar 2018 (Sun), 2.30pm
The Story of Chikamatsu
Mizoguchi Kenji | 1954 | 102 min | English subtitles | PG | DCP
*Digitally Restored Version*
“Based on ‘The Legend of the Grand Scroll-Maker' by Chikamatsu, the renowned seventeenth-century writer for the puppet theater, this is the story of an illicit love between a merchant's wife and her husband's servant in the days when the punishment for adultery was crucifixion.
11 Mar 2018 (Sun), 5pm
16 Mar 2018 (Fri), 8pm
Her Love Boils Bathwater
Nakano Ryota | 2016 | 125 min | English subtitles | PG
Futaba (Miyazawa Rie), whose husband suddenly left her one year ago, lives with her shy daughter, Azumi. When Futaba abruptly receives a diagnosis of a terminal illness, she aims to use the brief amount of time she has left to bring back her husband, restart the family's shut-down bathhouse business, and set Azumi on the path to independence.
11 Mar 2018 (Sun), 8pm
Tori Girl
Hanabusa Tsutomu | 2017 | 98 min | English subtitles | PG
Yukina has just entered university. She is instantly smitten by an older student, Kei, who invites her join the pilot team of the human-powered-flight club. The approximately 100 club members continue preparations for a summer contest, but another older student, Sakaba, takes Yukina's place as official pilot. Then one day, Kei suffers a serious injury.
17 Mar 2018 (Sat), 8pm
The Ballad of Narayama
Imamura Shohei | 1983 | 130 min | English subtitles | R21 | DCP
Still strong at the age of 69, Orin prepares herself for an inevitable yet frightening ritual. In her village, where food is scarce, life is harsh and people are desperate and cruel. Anyone who lives for 70 years is hauled to the mountaintop by their children and left to die in the dead of winter. Orin is prepared to accept her fate, but she also has one last, all-important task -- she must find a suitable wife for her son, Tatsuhei. This Cannes Palm D'or Winner is a must watch in this festival.
Click here for more updates and information about the film screenings and to purchase your tickets for the film screening.
3. Singapore Film Society Screenings
Clockwise from left:
I want to go home (dir. Wesley Leon Aroozoo), Jimami Tofu (dirs. Jason Chan, Christian Lee),
Have a Nice Day (dir. Liu Jian), Ramen Teh (dir. Eric Khoo)
Coinciding with the Japanese Film Festival, the Singapore Film Society (SFS) will be spotlighting on Japan-based Singaporean films this March. It will programme four recent Singaporean films that showcase the many flavours and stories of Japanese culture.
Beginning the series is the double bill screening of I want to go home (dir. Wesley Leon Aroozoo) and short film An Autumn Afternoon (dir. Lei Yuan Bin), which will take place on 7 March. I Want to Go Home traces the journey of 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake survivor Yasuo Takamatsu, who has since been diving every week in search of his wife. An Autumn Afternoon is a personal tribute to one of Japan's greatest filmmakers – Yasujirō Ozu.
I Want to Go Home and An Autumn Afternoon
7 March 2018 (Wed), GV Grand
Culinary exploration and love story Jimami Tofu (dirs. Jason Chan, Christian Lee) will have its Singapore Premiere on 28 March, co-organised by SFS and BananaMana Films.
Jimami Tofu
28 March 2018 (Wed), GV Vivo
The last of the series is Ramen Teh by veteran director Eric Khoo. The loving tribute to his mum and her cooking was recently screened as the closing film of the Culinary Cinema section at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Ramen Teh
4 April 2018 (Wed), GV Paya Lebar
All directors will be present for post-screening dialogues.
Alongside these Japan-themed films, the highly anticipated Chinese black comedy Have a Nice Day (dir. Liu Jian) will be making its special appearance in Singapore. The animated film has been controversial on numerous occasions, including its withdrawal by China from the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. The screening will be accompanied by a dialogue with local animators Zhuang Brothers and Ang Qing Sheng.
Have a Nice Day
21 March 2018 (Wed), GV Paya Lebar
4. Danish Film Festival 2018
From a peek behind the makings of some of the very best of Scandinavian furniture to the breathtaking works of Olafur Eliasson, The Projector brings to you a sweet selection of art and design centric films in our first ever Danish Film Festival, happening between 16 and 18 March. The DanishFilm Festival 2018 is curated by The Projector and co-presented with the Royal Danish Embassy in Singapore, with the support of the Danish Film Institute.
Big Time (PG13)
A filmic portrait of Denmark's world famous architect, Bjarke Ingels 16 Mar 2018
8pm
Børge Mogensen: Designs for Life (PG)
The story of one of Denmark’s biggest furniture designers, Børge Mogensen - a portrait of the designer, craftsman, and private person 17 Mar 2018
5pm
Bugs (PG 13)
Will eating insects save our Earth? Two chefs travel the world tasting insects to determine their sustainability as a food source17 Mar 2018
8pm
How Are You (R21)
A remarkable documentary about activist/artist duo Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset one of the biggest stars in the international art world.18 Mar 2018
3pm
Olafur Eliasson: Space is process (TBA)
What is it that makes a space productive? Challenging? Exciting? Inclusive? Tolerant? 18 Mar 2018
5pm
'How Are You' at the Danish Film Festival
5. Stories That Matter @Objectifs
What are the borders that define, divide and restrict communities around the world, and how do we overcome them? Objectifs is proud to premiere 5 documentary features that confront the impact of geographical, social, and psychological borders on critical issues affecting all of us today, and looks at possibilities for collaboration and change.
From the European refugee crisis to the American struggle for civil rights, these international documentaries speak of the different borders that people across the world have sought to overcome in recent years. Highlights include the Singapore premiere of the acclaimed I Am Not Your Negro and the first documentary on Brexit, Brexitannia. The feature film screenings will be preceded by short films from What Works, an initiative by the Magnum Foundation that addresses bridge-building amongst groups that might otherwise be in conflict.
20 to 24 March 2018
Admission: $8 per screening / $30 for season passBuy tickets via Peatix
Admission: $8 per screening / $30 for season passBuy tickets via Peatix
Those Who Jump (Les Sauteurs)
Dir. Abou Bakar Sidibé, Moritz Siebert, Estephan Wagner | 82min | 2016 | NC16
Young Mailian Abou Bakar Sidibé plays both director and protagonist in this bold and perceptive documentary about the numerous African migrants who hope to enter Europe by scaling the fenced border between Morocco and Melilla, a Spanish city located in Africa.
Tue 20 Mar, 7.30pm
Rated NC16 (Some Nudity)
*Singapore Premiere
Trailer Rated NC16 (Some Nudity)
*Singapore Premiere
'Stranger in Paradise' at Stories That Matter
Part social experiment, part classroom exercise, Stranger in Paradise is a brutal look at the realities that confront new migrants to Europe. Led by actor Valentin Dhaenens, a group of real life migrants go through three scenarios in a classroom setting, where they are taken through Europe’s perspective on the economical impact of their presence, differing ideologies towards immigration, and ultimately a selection process that will determine who will be able to stay in the Netherlands.
Dir. Ziad Kalthoum | 85min | 2017 | PG
Deeply poetic and richly textured, Taste of Cement is a treatise about Syrians working in construction in Lebanon, who labour under grueling conditions while their country is embroiled in war. As the workers build skyscrapers in Beruit, their own homes are reduced to rubble; their homesickness and despair manifests in sequences that contrast life under their restrictive curfews and the destruction wreaked by the war in Syria.
Thu 22 Mar, 7.30pm
Rated PG
*Singapore Premiere
Trailer*Singapore Premiere
Masterful, insightful, uncanny; I Am Not Your Negro cuts to the quick of the history of America’s civil rights movement and the impact that race relations continues to have in the present day.
Fri 23 Mar, 7.30pm
Rated NC16
*Singapore Premiere
Trailer*Singapore Premiere
'Brexitannia' at Stories That Matter
Dir. Timothy George Kelly | 80min | 2017 | PG13
Why did Britain decide to leave the EU? In this first film about Brexit, London-based Australian filmmaker turns the camera on the ordinary citizens of Britain to find out the motivations behind the most polarizing development in the country’s modern history. From urbanites to farmers, the young and old, elite and disenfranchised, the film surveys both sides of the debate, resulting in a diversity of opinion that is humorous and sobering in turns.
Sat 24 Mar, 7.30pm
Rated PG 13
*Singapore Premiere
Trailer*Singapore Premiere