Canon DV Festival 2006 Professional Category2 min read

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Grab a good pair of headphones and peer into the tiny little window (i.e. your computer screen) that brings you into the world of Singapore short films. Don’t expect the fullscreen surround-sound movies that might be viewed at Golden Village, but the Canon DV Festival 2006 is good fun and free to boot.

The Professional Category was where I started and because of the nature of the category, my expectations were raised. The five films certainly did not disappoint. The directing was impressive overall and the stories were pretty well-written.

The Flat
Gilbert Chan
It looks quite amateurish but it’s got the sound down pat. Homage to (or perhaps outright copy of) the recent spate of Asian horror featuring long-haired female ghosts. The filmmaker certainly seems to have taken a page out of the book of the Silent Hill game series. The sound is disconcerting and makes up for the cheesiness of the special effects and the weakness of the direction.

LIME
Zhao Jian Guo
Hmmm, what can I say about this one — female paranoia runs rampant? The idea is great but it’s disadvantaged by the lack of clarity that comes with viewing a movie over the internet. Actresses were competent and so was the director. But it wasn’t exactly stellar.

Lost Sole
Sanif Olek
This was a great little film. The cast was charming and played their roles well. The story could have been a little more concise, but the film was put together very well and overall, I liked it.

Old Times
Chew Tee Pao
I really liked this charming film. Managed to fit a rather large story into a tiny little package. I laughed, smiled, felt sad — there was a great range of emotions worked into this. Easily one of my favourites in this category. Music was used very well.

MCEDO Project
Jack Shuo
A very nice documentary in a category that’s otherwise filled with fiction. This film is based on the plight of the Mathare people in Kenya. It feels like it should be on CNN or something.

Related article: Canon DV Festival 2006 – open for voting

Packrat will be watching the shortlisted films in the other three categories and bringing us his viewing notes over the next ten days. Watch and vote for your favourite short films in the Canon DV Festival 2006 by November 23, and you could win a Canon Powershot A430!

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