Sinema Showoff! “The Oriental Show”7 min read
Reading Time: 6 minutesSinema Showoff! returns this month with “The Oriental Show”.
“The Oriental Show” is a selection of short films with Oriental filmmakers, subject matters and languages curated by Singapore Polytechnic. Included in this month’s lineup is the local premiere of The Forest Spirits, Singapore’s first Wuxia short film, by Ting Szu Kiong.
This month’s Sinema Showoff! will be on the 31st of August, 7.30pm at Sinema Old School (11B Mount Sophia, B1-12, Singapore 228466). Admission is free!
The programme is hosted by Sinema Old School and curated by academic staff and students from Singapore Polytechnic, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (Diploma in Integrated Events & Project Management / Diploma in Hotel & Leisure Facilities).
The session will be moderated by Sanif Olek, one of the island’s finest TV director and independent filmmaker.
All filmmakers will be in attendance for a Q&A and photo taking session.
For more enquiries or interview requests with the directors, feel free to drop me an email at sueanne[at]sinema[dot]sg.
1. OUR LAST DAY
Kenny Tan | Japanese | 32 mins | PG
Official Selection, Singapore International Film Festival
Official Selection, Toronto Singapore Film Festival 2009
Audience Choice, First Take (January) 2009
17 year-old Midori Nakamura leaves suburban Yokohama (Japan) with her family, and settles in to a new life in cosmopolitan Singapore. Shy and reserved, she finds it daunting and difficult adjusting to city-life in a foreign country, till she meets 15 year-old Reiko Sakaguchi, a cheery, outspoken girl studying in the same school.
Supported by Singapore Film Commission
Director’s Bio:
Having graduated in the honours list from Temasek Design School, Kenny Tan was awarded a Media Development Authority Scholarship in 2006. He recently obtained a Bachelor in Fine Arts (Digital Filmmaking) from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media.
Kenny is currently in USA collaborating with University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Nokia Hollywood on a series of non – linear mobile films. Kenny Tan is an interactive media designer by training.
2. LINGER
Sim Beeli | Mandarin | 15 mins | PG
Official Selection, Short Cut Film Night (April) 2010, Melbourne, Australia
Official Selection, Caught Short Film Festival (June) 2010, Sydney, Australia
Official Selection, Singapore Short Film Awards 2010
Official Selection, First Take (March) 2010
LINGER depicts the process of grieving a daughter goes through with her father in the sudden death of her mother. As the characters grieve in their own ways, they are forced to face the past, the regrets and eventually, each other.
Supported by Singapore Film Commission.
Director’s Bio:
Sim Beeli holds a Diploma (Merit) in Film, Sound and Video from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and a Master of Creative Media in Film and Television Production RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.
The director’s own mother passed away suddenly in 2004 due to a stroke and this painful episode provided the creative inspiration for the film. Bee Li hopes that the film will heal others who have shared her plight of sudden loss of a loved one.
Beeli works as a freelance editor.
3. LA PROPOSITION D’AFFAIRES (THE BUSINESS PROPOSAL) (WORLD PREMIERE)
Eunice Wong | Chinese Dialect (Hokkien) & English | 3mins | PG
When an Ah Beng DVD pirate meets an aspiring French filmmaker, hilarity ensues.
Director’s Bio:
Eunice Wong graduated from Curtin University of Technology in Perth with a degree in Film and TV. She also holds a diploma in Communications and Media Management from Temasek Polytechnic.
Besides filmmaking she enjoys salsa dancing, and making people laugh. She currently produces wedding videos for a living.
4. A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS (WORLD PREMIERE)
Liew Shi Xiong | Mandarin | 24 mins | PG
In 1942, the unforgiving invasion of the Japanese has left the island of Singapore in chaos and disarray. Thousands of lives are lost and despair has descended upon the people of the island. Despite being marked earlier on by the Japanese for supporting relief efforts in China, a Buddhist monk in Singapore risks further enraging the oppressors, when he opens the gates of his monastery to shelter hundreds of frightened and homeless civilian refugees.
His courage and compassion shows how humanity still shines on even in the darkest of times.
Inspired by actual historical accounts.
Director’s Bio:
A recipient of Media Development Authority’s Media Education Scheme in 2008, Shi Xiong has always aspired to become a filmmaker since he was a child. He wants to make films that inspire and remind people, especially Singaporeans, of the lion-heartedness they all inherit from the pioneers of this island-nation.
5. 7TH OF JULY
Kimberly Leng | Mandarin | 14 mins | PG
Official Selection, Singapore Short Cuts 2010
Lyna (Yann Yann) is deaf and upon the death of her husband takes over a noodle stall at the coffee shop. She relies heavily on her teenage daughter Mya to help her out. But, all Mya wants at the end of the day, is simply: fun and freedom without responsibility.
Supported by Singapore Film Commission & Centre for Enabled Living.
Director’s Bio:
Kimberly Leng recently graduated from The Puttnam School of Film, LASALLE College of The Arts, majoring in Film Directing. 7TH OF JULY is Kimberly Leng’s debut short film and she hopes to continue pursuing her aspirations in visual storytelling.
Kimberly is also busy preparing for her wedding in September.
6. TIE XIN (RESPIRATOR) (CURATOR’S PICK)
Michael Tay | Mandarin | 19 mins | NC16
Official Selection, Pusan International Film Festival, South Korea, 2009
Official Selection, Indpanda Short Film Festival, Hong Kong SAR, 2010
Official Selection, Singapore Short Film Awards, 2010
Official Selection for Panorama shorts, Singapore International Film Festival, 2010
TIE XIN (RESPIRATOR) is about ethics or rather the lack of it. Good will is hard to cultivate these days and people can get exploited easily because of it. This short film is dedicated to those who have given and to those who only want to profit. It is also a reminder that every life has a price.
To save her seven-year old son from dying of a rare heart disease, a single mother undergoes a bizarre operation but recovers only to realize the terrifying consequences that come along with it.
Director’s Bio:
Michael Tay graduated from Nanyang Technological University’s School of Arts, Design and Media, majoring in Fine Arts and Digital Filmmaking. He also holds a Diploma in Film Sound & Video from Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Having won four (4) awards for his short film, Wet Season, and being the first Singaporean at age 25 to have his short film selected for competition at the Sundance Film Festival 2009, Michael is already being recognized as one of Singapore’s new wave of rising film makers.
7. THE FOREST SPIRITS (SINGAPORE PREMIERE) (CURATOR’S PICK)
Ting Szu Kiong | Mandarin | 10mins | PG
Curator’s Pick, Maskara Shorties 2010, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
THE FOREST SPIRITS is the first Singapore wuxia short film. A powerful clan leader (Sunny Pang) goes deep into the forest to hone his supernatural skills. To stop disturbance, he kills one of the forest spirits to warn them while they are having a celebration. Years later, the forest spirits lure a young man into the forest. This is their first step in their revenge against the tyrannical man who has taken away their territory.
Supported by Singapore Film Commission.
Director’s Bio:
Ting Szu Kiong originally from Sabah, Malaysia and now a Singapore Citizen came here in the early 1990s to pursue his studies in National University of Singapore. Sze Kiong a science graduate is very much a self-trained filmmaker.
THE FOREST SPIRITS is his fourth short film.
Sze Kiong works full-time in a local publishing firm.
About the Moderator: Sanif Olek
Sanif Olek is one of the island’s finest TV director and independent filmmaker.
Sanif’s strenth lies with merging commercial expectations with arthouse sensibilities for a mainstream audience.
In a career spanning 15 years Sanif has produced numerous award-winning TV programmes, music videos and commercials. Sanif himself has won the “˜Best Director’ award twice at MediaCorp’s Pesta Perdana that honours the best in the Malay television industry in Singapore.
His LOVE trilogy comprising of the short films LOST SOLE, A LA FOLIE and AMEEN have won numerous awards and screened at numerous international film festivals.
After A-Levels Sanif completed his National Service, where he was enlisted as a Commando. He then went on to do a Diploma in Film & Media Studies from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and a Bachelor of Arts (Media & Communications) from Murdoch University.
Sanif currently juggles between full-time television work, completing his debut feature film, RAMUAN RAHASIA (THE MISSING INGREDIENT) and adjunct lecturing at his alma matar, Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Film & Media Studies.
Ticketing.
Admission is FREE, but tickets will be issued to prevent overcrowding and adhere to building and fire safety guidelines.
Tickets can be booked prior online (Processing Charge of 25cents each transaction. Limited to 10 tickets each transaction).
Tickets booked online will have to be collected by 7.10pm. After 7.10pm the tickets will be made available to walk-in patrons.
