AFA Archive Now Available at NLB1 min read

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The Asian Film Archive has opened its collection of Singapore and Asian films for reference to the public at the library@esplanade. Amongst the titles are the works of local award-winning filmmakers such as Royston Tan, Anthony Chen, Tan Pin Pin and Kirsten Tan. Films by famed Southeast-Asian filmmakers such as Tan Chui Mui, Riri Riza, and Thunska Pansittivorakul also form part of the collection.

This will be the first time a collective of Asian films is made available to the public at a centralised location in Singapore. Made possible under a partnership between the AFA and the National Library Board (NLB), the collection encompasses over 100 Singaporean titles and 50 Asian titles. A list plus synopsis is available on the AFA online catalogue, and also under the Series entitled “Asian Film Archive: Singapore Collection” under NLB’s Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) system.

In addition to setting up the reference collection, the AFA continues its outreach and education efforts via events and other means, such as the ongoing visual installation of digital filmmaking groups from SEA at the library@esplanade, which will remain on display till the end of the year.

The AFA has also contributed a clip from its collection Sunshine Singapore by Rajendra Gour as part of the AV World Heritage Trailer, a compilation of works from filmmakers and archived collections from around the globe. The trailer is being circulated at the UNESCO General Conference this week, and will be played to delegates in attendance in honour of the World Day for AV Heritage. The trailer can be viewed online, and is themed “Planet Earth: From Place to Space”.