A Design Film Festival 20104 min read

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This January, Anonymous presents A Design Film Festival 2010 in Singapore. This will be the first film festival in Asia dedicated solely to design. Audiences can expect an eclectic selection of films on architecture, graphic design, art, motion graphics, photography and guerrilla culture.
From the highly anticipated Herb & Dorothy, the story of a postal clerk and librarian who amassed one of the most important contemporary art collections; to Milton Glaser, the creator of I heart New York – the line-up of films hail from around the world.

A Design Film Festival established a special partnership with onedotzero, the highly regarded international motion art festival from the United Kingdom. The three films, Extended Play 09, Craftwork and J-Star 09 will be onedotzero’s only screening in Southeast Asia.

“it’s not often what we create as designers or artists get captured in film. It’s either in a museum, a gallery or talked about in some small independent press. Now we’ve found this 8 films that celebrate the design process and through a medium that speaks to the non-designers as well.”

The festival will also feature bonus content by some of the world’s most innovative thinkers from New York, London, Sheffield, Helsinki, Bangkok and Stockholm. The bonus content will be screened in a format similar to film trailers shown prior to movies – as a glimpse to the curatorial team?s personal favorites of the year.

Curated by noted local art director, Felix Ng – the festival is the second collaboration between Anonymous and Old School following the highly regarded Dual City Sessions: Null in 2007.
Ng explains the concept behind the festival, “it’s not often what we create as designers or artists get captured in film. It’s either in a museum, a gallery or talked about in some small independent press. Now we’ve found this 8 films that celebrate the design process and through a medium that speaks to the non-designers as well.” says Ng.

The film festival will run from 20 – 30 January 2010, with 15 screenings of 8 different films. It will be held at Sinema Old School located at 11B Mount Sophia, Old School, B1-12, Singapore 228466.

Ticket prices range from S$12 – $15, excluding ticketing charge.

Tickets can be purchased through the festival’s official website, or at Sinema Old School.

Here are a list of films that will be screened;

1. Herb & Dorothy

   Herb & Dorothy tells the extraordinary story of Herbert Vogel, a postal clerk, and Dorothy Vogel, a librarian, who managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history with very modest means.

2. Milton Glaser: To inform and delight

   Best known for co-founding New York Magazine and creating the enduring I ?
   NY campaign, the full breadth of Glaser?s remarkable artistic output is revealed in this documentary portrait which offers audiences a much richer appreciation for one of the great modern renaissance men.

3. Rem Koolhaas: A Kind of Architect

   An engaging portrait of a visionary man, which takes us to the heart of his ideas. The filmmakers have made a visually inventive thought provoking portrait of the architect, prompting Rem Koolhaas to state “it?s the only film about me that I have liked.”

4. Beautiful Losers

   Beautiful Losers celebrates the spirit behind one of the most influential cultural moments of a generation – rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop & graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led.

5. Visual Acoustics

   Visual Acoustics celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world?s greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman, who passed away this year, captured the work of nearly every major modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and Frank Gehry.

6. Craftwork (onedotzero)

   In these fast-forward times driven by digital culture, many creatives have revived a handcrafted approach to producing new visual work. across promos, broadcast and independent shorts. many have begun to pare their work back, using a homemade diy aesthetic, which is stitched, knitted, collaged, stuck and folded together. don?t miss the pyromania of corin hardy?s latest promo for the prodigy, or the truly unique costume design in misfit, a music promo by australian based directors the glue society.

7. J-Star 09 (onedotzero)

   The very latest and most inspiring music videos, motion graphics and shorts from japan, which remains a diverse and rich breeding ground for new talent, who push for innovation and adventurous narratives. a sneak peek of new visual trends, expect eye-popping visuals, side-splitting fun and serene beauty. j- star favourite, director satoshi tomioka returns with brand new episodes of usavich, whilst daito manabe wires up people?s faces to electric pulses for comedic effect.

8. Extended Play 09 (onedotzero)

   Compelling narrative shorts from an eclectic range of international auteurs, who explore new approaches in graphic and alternative storytelling. each short ensures that aesthetic innovation is used to magnify the narrative for ultimate dramatic and emotive effect. featuring expertly crafted debuts by recent film school graduates david ochs and philip bacon alongside accomplished directors and onedotzero alumni jonas odell and richard fenwick.

For more information about A Design Film Festival 2010, visit the official website.