Unseen Stories: Four Thought-Provoking Local Films at the Golden Harvest Singapore Showcase7 min read
Reading Time: 5 minutesHaving reviewed the lineup of Taiwanese short films that will be screened at the Golden Harvest Singapore Showcase, we have four more exceptional films to share. Except this time, these short films come from our very own local filmmakers!
This year, the long-established Golden Harvest Awards and Film Festival once again invited Singaporean directors to participate in the festival, attesting to the quality of local productions. Winners of the 2018 National Youth Film Awards were selected to take part in this reputable event and have their films screened around Taiwan. Already received by an overseas audience, these four films are now returning to be shared on our local screens.
While also dealing with social issues that will not be unfamiliar to a global audience, the selected local films share a common interest in looking at the human psyche. From inner dilemmas to unsaid thoughts, these stories seek to break free from the larger forces that have hidden them. And being locally produced, they speak directly to our own understanding of narratives that lie below the surface.
Watch how our local filmmakers bring their own stories to life at the Golden Harvest Awards & Short Film Festival: Singapore Showcase, taking place on 15 September 2019 at The Arts House. Register for free tickets to all events, including the screening, via Peatix.
Check out our reviews for the four Singaporean films you can catch then:
1% Chance of Sunshine
Directed by Anthea Ng
The pleasing montage that begins 1% Chance of Sunshine sets the stage for the short film’s commitment to a dream-like aesthetic. With graphically-matching shots of a girl (Kung Ling Yuan) standing out against various crowds, hoisting a vibrant red umbrella, the visual metaphor of a shielded heart pervades throughout the film. Until, a chance encounter daringly tilts the umbrella to uncover a shy face.
Though there isn’t a strong plot, the film works to play out the girl’s mindless reverie. Director Anthea Ng’s decision to stray away from clear-cut dialogue (deeming it “unnecessary”) directs our attention to what is not being said. From soft piano music to the abrupt clanging of metal gates, the use of sound captures the carefully protected inner world of the main lead. When her moments of peace and solitude are interrupted, the film also makes us experience the haphazard and jarring jerk back to reality – sudden and frightening.
Moving from distant wide shots to emotional close-up shots, from averting eyes to a frontal acknowledgement, 1% Chance of Sunshine shares a hopeful message of warmth and understanding for everyone with a locked-up garden in their hearts.
Breakdown
Directed by Gabriel Isaac Goh
Weighing between being a law-abiding civil servant and a conscientious parent, Breakdown also exposes the irony of having people who fall between the cracks of a nation’s claim that “Everyone Matters”.
Two auxiliary police officers, Inspector Ong (Low Yeujia) and Lance Corporal Gamesh (Hari Kishan), find themselves stuck in an inaccessible part of a forest and slowly realise that in light of the annual celebrations of the nation’s birthday, their chief is indifferent to their state. However, the urgency of personal family matters arises as help still does not arrive.
Immersed completely in diegetic sounds, the short film heightens the increasingly tension-filled interactions as both characters grow uneasy. Calls are made, pleas are voiced, worries are hinted. But the unbothered creaking of crickets and the light patter of raindrops that make up the silence serve as uncomfortable reminders that the officers are alone and helpless.
The commendable screenwriting allows breakdowns to occur on multiple layers and eventually culminate in face-to-face outbursts. Appropriate build-up in the film places us in the same position of knowing what is to come but not being able to avoid it.
Left together to face the same situation, both characters struggle with internal dilemmas, priorities, and their dual positions in society. As much as the characters get frustrated with one another, Breakdown is careful to portray both as equally powerless and stranded, while questioning the stubborn facade of order which sweeps everything under the rug of “Situation Normal”.
CA$H
Directed by Tan Wei Ting
Parodying a high-stakes, action-packed chase in a heartland grocery store, four aunties capture the essence of a neighbourly community at risk of being broken up. Lisa (Judy Ngo), Er Jie (Doreen Toh), Ah Xia (Jalyn Han) and Xiao Mei (Catherine Wong) stand together in revolt by locking themselves in the supermarket they work at, in the hopes of keeping their cashier jobs that are threatened by a new cashless system.
CA$H brings us, rather comically, into the small and almost trivial protest being put up by the store cashiers. Ringleader Lisa dramatically declares, “I will switch off all the refrigerators!” As dispensable cashiers, their efforts are so seemingly insignificant that they become laughable.
But through their light-hearted banter and affectionate terms for each other, the four aunties display a strong family bond that makes their resistance even more urgent. In one callous sweep from the higher-ups, their worth and their friendship is undermined.
In CA$H, director Tan Wei Ting manoeuvres adeptly between the serious and the humorous. As the characters start to get worried and hungry, their frivolous talks take away the gravity and assert the easy relationship they have with one another. The excellent pacing ensures that the film neither feels too heavy nor dismiss how important the issue is to the women.
As the cashiers demonstrate their quick calculations throughout the short film, we cannot help but root for them and their human touch when they challenge, “What is it that machines can do that we can’t?”
We have a longer review of CA$H available here.
Sylvia
Directed by Sabrina Poon
Sylvia (Phoebe Lin) returns to an empty home to find that her mother is out on a cruise. Left alone, she has to face with the sinister presence that dwells in the corner, one that slowly creeps up on her whenever she turns away.
Right away, Sylvia throws us off-kilter. The ambiguous opening with Phoebe Lin’s emotional address to us leaves as confused and curious. And the short film does not seek to answer questions right away. Initially avoiding a straightforward plot, Sylvia tricks us into a facade of mundanity. Unsure of what is happening, we try to hold onto the loose thread of office politics that Sylvia seems to be embroiled in, ignoring the inexplicable spectre in the room, just like Sylvia does.
Not much else needs to be said about Phoebe Lin’s impressive execution of a complex character who offers more than meets the eye. Instead, the clever editing in Sylvia treads on the fine line between bringing to the audience a sense of instability and creating a puzzling mess. As we undergo Sylvia’s experience of dealing with unreliable memories – with quick cuts and interweaving scenes – the film succeeds in creating an unsettling terror. The risky venture to generate confusion becomes a move which works in Sylvia’s favour.
As things start to make sense, the film reveals its ultimate secret weapon that differentiates it from the usual slice-of-life. Upon arriving at the light-bulb moment, we start to share Sylvia’s uncertainty as we begin to reflect on every strange thing that has happened. How much of herself is Sylvia willing to give up in order to move on?
Mark your calendars for the screening of these short films at the Golden Harvest Singapore Showcase and get your tickets here!
Powered by National Youth Council Singapore
Organised by Sinema Media
In Partnership with Golden Harvest Awards & Short Film Festival
and With Support from Singapore Film Society
