Sinema Weekly Digest: 12 – 17 July5 min read
Reading Time: 4 minutesThe Sinema Weekly Digest presents a weekly roundup of Asian film news and the latest trailers, releases and events to check out over the weekend!
Top Stories
‘Rehana’, Co-Produced By Singapore’s Jeremy Chua, Premieres at Cannes as Bangladeshi’s First Film at The Festival
Adullaah Mohammad Saad’s Rehana has made history as the first Bangladeshi film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival. The drama, following an assistant professor juggling between her roles within a patriarchal society, is a Singapore/Bangladesh co-production led by Singapore producer Jeremy Chua’s Potocol.
Award-Winning Short Film ‘The Shape of You’ Selected For Portland Horror Film Festival
Shot and produced during lockdown, The Shape of You, directed by Goh Ming Siu and Scott C. Hillyard, continues its run in the international film festival circuit. Earlier this year, the horror short was selected for the NOX Film Fest in Uruguay. Featuring the work of Golden Horse Award-winner Teo Wei Yong, The Shape of You centres on a bored and lustful man in quarantine who decides to flout the rules and call his girlfriend over for an intimate session — things only take a turn for the worst from there.
Neon Partners With Direct Relief for ‘The Year of the Everlasting Storm’
Film production and distribution company NEON has partnered with nonprofit Direct Relief for its upcoming anthology film The Year of the Everlasting Storm, with the company donating to the organisation’s worldwide COVID-19 relief efforts.
The Year of the Everlasting Storm reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of a slew of international arthouse directors, including Singapore’s Anthony Chen and Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The omnibus recently made its premiere at Cannes in the Special Screenings sidebar.
Events, Festivals and Happenings
Festival of Women N.O.W. 2021
Presented by local arts company T:>Works and helmed by Artistic Director Noorlinah Mohamed, the all-digital Festival of Women: N.O.W. 2021 presents an exciting line up of digital exhibitions, livestream performances, online workshops, and live chats that looks to explore and reclaim the taboo, fear, and intimacy as sources of power and inspiration.
Featuring a mix of free and ticketed events, experience thought-provoking digital exhibitions and find out more about the festival’s programmes at www.notordinarywork.com
When: 13 – 31 July
Where: Online
SFS Showcase #2: Politics & Humanity
Following its first film showcase of the year in April, the Singapore Film Society returns this July with a presentation of two award-winning films from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kenya — Academy Awards nominee from Golden Bear winner Jasmila Zbanic Quo Vadis, Aida? and Softie, the winner of the Editing Award for World Cinema – Documentary at the Sundance festival. Find out about why these two films were picked from the programmer’s note.
Grab your tickets now here.
When: 17 July
Softie — 1:30pm
Quo Vadis, Aida? — 4pm
Where: Golden Village, Suntec
Retrospective: Abbas Kiarostami
From now till 28 August, the Asian Film Archive will be featuring the works of Iranian auteur, Abbas Kiarostami, in new 2K and 4K restorations for the first time in Asia. “Retrospective: Abbas Kiarostami” will showcase 18 feature films, 4 short features and 12 short films, including renowned works such as Close-up (1990) and the Palme d’Or-winning film Taste of Cherry (1997), as well as rarely-seen early short films made during pre-revolution Iran. Tickets are now on sale.
This Weekend:
The Report (1977) — 17 July, 8pm
Short Features #2 — 18 July, 2pm
New Trailers
‘Memoria’
Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s latest Memoria, starring Tilda Swinton, follows a Scottish woman in Colombia as she travels into the jungles to find the source of her torment — a mysterious rumbling sound. Memoria, Weerasethakul’s English-language debut, premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
New on Streaming
‘Deep’
Thai psychological thriller Deep sees four students participating in a neuroscience experiment. The money for their participation is good but there is a catch: they cannot fall asleep or they will never awake again. Stream the film on Netflix.
‘Never Have I Ever’ Season Two
Season two of coming-of-age comedy Never Have I Ever sees awkward teenager Devi continue her perilous journey in surviving high school. Her life is further complicated by a budding love triangle while still reeling from her father’s death. Stream the series now on Netflix.
In Theatres This Week
‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’
The hotly-anticipated sequel to the 1996 classic has finally arrived to theatres, bringing on board LeBron James playing a fictionalised version of himself teaming up with the Toon Squad to take on powered-up virtual avatars of professional basketball stars.
‘Black Widow’
The Marvel blockbuster continues its theatrical run after shattering records as the largest US and Singapore box office opening since the start of COVID-19 last year.
Banner image credit: Film still of ‘Rehana’ / Films Boutique
