One Hour to Daylight
Watch film adaptations of the best in Singapore literature in Utter Redux 2018, co-presented by the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) and Sinema Media. Since 2011, SWF has been commissioning a series of films, dramatic readings and theatre pieces under its Utter adaptation platform, which celebrates the best of Singaporean writing across different media and across languages. Since 2013, Utter has produced 18 films altogether, comprising 10 live-action shorts, seven animation shorts, and one full-length film, One Hour to Daylight.
Some of the films have travelled around the international festival circuit, including ‘The Tiger of 142B’ at the animation festival, Animafest Zagreb in Croatia 2016, Korea Indie-Anifest 2016 and The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival 2017 and ‘The Great Escape’ at Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2016, VOID International Animation Film Festival 2017 and Cambodia International Film Festival 2017.The Great Escape, directed by Tan Wei Kiong and based on Alfian Sa’at’s poem of the same name, received the Honorific Mention Technoludic, 2016 Locomocion Festival de Animacion and The Tiger of 142B, directed by Harry and Henry Zhuang and based on Dave Chua’s short story of the same name, won best film at the SeaShorts Film Festival in Kuala Lumpur in 2017.
Utter Redux 2018 recontextualises and reintroduces the films to new audiences while giving previous attendees the opportunity to catch the films again. Literature and cinema have always been a reflection of everyday society - together, they present a bigger picture of our lives and times on this island we call home.
Learn about the craft of filmmaking, all the way from print to screen; explore social issues through insightful panel discussions; or just sit back, relax, and watch the films.
$15 gives you access to a day of exclusive film screenings, panel discussions and workshops featuring film adaptations based on Singapore literature. Or you could pay $5 for a single session.
The conference details are as follows:
Date : 23 September 2018
Time : 12pm - 9.30pm
Venue : National Library
Price : $5 per session | $15 day pass | $12 concession day pass
Check out the Utter Redux webpage for more details
Here is the schedule of seminars and screenings:
12pm - 1.30pm:
PANEL DISCUSSION: Redefining the Five Cs
Featuring: Julian Wong (Associate Editor, Rice Media), Lillian Wang (Film Director), Suratman Markasan (Author), Alfian Sa'at (Author)
Moderator: Leong Puiyee (Programme Manager, Objectifs and Singapore International Film Festival)
Is the Singaporean Dream every Singaporean’s dream? Do we all share the same drive to chase after credits and credentials? Yet in our pursuit of all things greater, what gets left behind? Three short films examine the dreams of people who call Singapore home, followed by a panel discussion on the pursuit of such dreams and the things that are sacrificed in return.
That Afternoon We Went To See The Pandas
This panel will include a screening of the following short films:
That Afternoon We Went To See The Pandas (dir. Ric Aw, Pok Yue Weng), adapted from 出蜀记 by Liang Wern Fook
Penghulu (dir. Lillian Wang), adapted from Penghulu by Suratman Markasan
The Giant (dir. Henry and Harry Zhuang), adapted from 'The Giant' by Tan Swie Hian
2pm - 3.30pm:
PANEL DISCUSSION: Gray Dot
Featuring: Catherine Sng (Founder, The Glowers Drama Group), Sanif Olek (Film Director), Muhammad Salihin Sulaiman (Author), Joanna Ng (Film Director)
Moderator: Dr Michael Tan (Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University)
As familiar faces wrinkle and footsteps slow, the plight of the elderly becomes increasingly apparent. Films have portrayed countless lonely grandparents - but how accurately does this reflect real lives? In this session, four short films explore the cruelties that come with age, followed by a panel discussion on elderly representation in media and their involvement in the arts community.
Tin Kosong
This panel discussion will feature the following short films:
At Your Doorstep (dir. Don Aravind) adapted from Peaks by Kalamadevi Aravindhan
Tin Kosong (dir. Sanif Olek) adapted from Tin Kosong by Muhammad Salihin Sulaiman
Going Home (dir. Kenny Tan) adapted from Based on 回家 by Lin Jin
Buying a Coffin (dir. Joanna Ng) adapted from 买棺 by Xi Ni Er
4pm - 5.30pm:
WORKSHOP: Scene & Unseen
Featuring: Sufyan Sam'an (Director), Tan Wei Ting (Screenwriter)
Moderator: Nicholas Chee (Founder and Managing Director, Sinema Media)
Lean in close, take a scene apart, and see how it ticks. In this workshop session, film scenes will be dismantled and compared side by side with its script and the original fiction story it was based on. Each stage of the scene will be examined; from writing the script to bringing it to life in front of the camera.
This workshop will feature selected scenes from Utter 2016:One Hour To Daylight (dir. Jonathan Choo, Sufyan Sam'an, Jacky Lee & D. Vel Murugan) adapted from the Singapore short stories written by Jeremy Tiang, Latha, Xi Ni Er and Chempaka Aizim
6pm - 7.30pm:
WORKSHOP: Film Stripped
Featuring: Wee Li Lin (Director), Jerrold Chong (Director)
Moderator: Nicholas Chee (Founder and Managing Director, Sinema Media)
Making films is a long, daunting endeavour - perhaps even more so when it's based on existing works by important literary figures. Two directors - one for live action, the other for animation - walk through their filmmaking process from pre- production to post-production. This workshop will touch on a myriad of aspects, such as adapting the text to script, putting together a visual style, and paying respect to the film's literary roots.
This workshop will feature the following short films:
That Loving Feeling
That Loving Feeling (dir. Wee Li Lin) adapted from Homecoming by Gopal Baratham
What Has To Be (dir. Jerrold Chong) adapted from What Has To Be by S. Rajaratnam
8pm - 9.30pm:
FILM SCREENING: One Hour To Daylight
2016 / Colour / English, Mandarin, Malay & Tamil with English & Chinese subtitles / 77 min / Rated PG
Featuring the works of: Jeremy Tiang, Latha, Chempaka Aizim and Xi Ni Er
Directed by: Jonathan Choo, Sufyan Sam'an, Jacky Lee & D. Vel Murugan
Cultural and social tensions threaten to divide the inhabitants of a present-day Singaporean estate. A lift technician, Chen, dies in an unfortunate work site accident, and his wife travels here from China to collect his body. Overseeing this case is ambitious Malay lawyer, Andy, who disregards both his wife’s objections and the possible consequences of giving their daughter, Dela, a Dream Device, to better her studies. Dela’s classmate, Alyssa, has to live with both her grandparents in the absence of her mother, and she knocks heads with them constantly due to their class differences. She seeks comfort in her best friend, Wei Ting, whose father, a jobless middle-aged man, decides to rob a bank with Chen’s Bangladeshi co-worker, Nayeem. Their lives, though separate, are intertwined, and all collide in the Curry Incident.
