Watch films by Naruse, Ozu and Mizoguchi in a 3hr screening on Wed, 21st March. They were all studio hacks, films were all made in 1933-1935, all silent, all on 35mm prints. Watching them all side by side, you will get a sense of the strength and weakness of each and the milieu in which they operated. Ozu is the most well known, and rightly so too. Even though they all worked with the same melodramatic material (long suffering female protagonists used by hapless men) Ozu had a surer command of the craft and could with a simple still life positioned at the right time, kick you hard behind the knees, harder than Naruse. Don’t believe me? See it for yourself. Organised by Asian Film Archive and CFA. More info. Sistic

Date: 21 March 2007, Wed, 7.30 pm
Venue: University Cultural Centre Hall, NUS, Ticket: $25 (3 films with live Gamelan performance)

I hope this film from Mali, Bamako, which uses unusual theatrics often employed by third world directors to air weighty topics is shown at SIFF. A review by JR

Substation News Flash: The Substation has a new website, clearer and easier to navigate.

Thomas Yeo holds an exhibition for the Substation, proceeds of sale go to Substation. Buy a painting or donate online here. Every dollar counts. Don’t take your independent arts institutions for granted. Thank you.

Closer to this house, the only full time film programmer in S’pore Kristin Saw is organising the 2nd Documentary Festival, our very own, starts next week, you even get a free preview (what more do you want?)

6-10 Mar 07
Free preview on 3 Mar 07
Tickets from Gatecrash.com.sg (hotline: 6222 5595)

Evening screenings at The Substation Theatre ($7/$5 concession) Call 6337 7535 for more information.

Jasmine Ng co-director of Eating Air and award winning Lonely Planet documentaries is premiering her new documentary PINK PADDLERS, about a gang of Singaporean Breast Cancer Survivors’ bid to win the International Dragon Boat Competition. I have seen it and highly recommend it, it is moving, unexpectedly funny and I learnt alot. It is premiering on 26 March, 8pm ($30,$50), all proceeds go to Unifem and the Breast Cancer Foundation. If I had enough money, I would buy tickets for all my friends and family, male and female, its essential watching. Buy a ticket Trailer, Ticket info

I am pleased to announce that Singapore GaGa is now available at HMV (Heeren and Citilink) in addition to it being available at Earshot, Kinokuniya, Books Actually, Objectifs, Asylum. As I said, we are BIG! Full listings here

I asked my father what he was doing during the Hock Lee Bus riots, he said, “I was watching from the sidelines, too chicken to participate, I wasn’t brave like them”. Them being students from Chinese schools. What was it about those English medium schools that bred folks like him.

A Forum in Mandarin and English – Presented by THE TANGENT
“The aftermath of the World War II witnessed in Asia a surge in national consciousness and the desire for decolonisation. Despite being confronted with the laborious tasks of tackling poverty and the rebuilding of economy and society, Singapore exhibited remarkable cultural, intellectual and political vibrancy. How did it feel like to be a student in this age characterised by both great uncertainty and hope? What were students preoccupied with then? What were their general concerns and interests? How did they respond to major social and political developments? Did students engage in “star-gazing” then? Where were their favourite haunts? Find out more from our two speakers who have lived through that tumultuous but exciting era.
Speakers:
Koh Tai Ann (Professor, Division of English, Nanyang Technological University)
Han Tan Juan (History Researcher/ Retired Journalist)
3rd February 2007, Saturday 2.00 – 5.00 pm, FREE
The Pod, Level 16, Lee Kong Chian Reference Library
National Library Board, 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064

Yes, these recent posts are tangentially related to Invisible City

“The 1950s and 60s were not just post-war decades for Singapore, but also marked a time of transition from colony to independent nation-state. How were artists from this period responding to changes and developments in society around them? How was art practised and why was there a need and purpose for the formation of art societies? Come hear from a wide range of scholars as well as accounts from artists themselves on art-making during these significant years in this forum and learn about the history of art societies and interesting aspects of Singapore’s artistic heritage.” LINK

Starting Anew: Art and Art Activities in Post-war Singapore. 27 Jan (Sat), 9.30am – 5.15pm, SAM Auditorium. Free. In English and Mandarin.
How indeed do artists respond to upheavals, major or minor?

Juke (Aditya Assarat), a Thai filmmaker completed shooting his film. He sent this photo commemorating the end of an arduous journey with a note “We wrapped production on “Wonderful Town” on December 9 @ 5.45pm. Thank you for your guidance and support” I could sense the relief in his voice and the relaxed photo says it all

The Fly by Night Video Challenge ended with 45 videos completed in one weekend. Every year, at the end of the event, after prizes are awarded, we always take a survivors’ photo too. Ours looks like this. The look of exhaustion, relief, joy, regret?

I met Shu Haolun ??? a few years ago with a group of other filmmakers in Jakarta. He showed us his film. It begins with a shot of a group of oldies playing majong in an old house in Shanghai then there is a slow pan to a young man sleeping on the sofa, spectacles askew in deep sleep amidst the din. The shot is held for a long time then the titles come up “An Afternoon at Grandma’s”. That was it. It was literally Haolun’s afternoon at Grandma’s. We burst out laughing. This year, that same house and those on that street are going to be torn down so he made another documentary about that house. The film is called Nostalgia????and it premiered in Shanghai earlier this year. Good luck Haolun! View trailer here

Ha! Not the movie, but a book about a shadow dance of another sort, about the Singapore 2006 General Election by Dana Lam. S$23 at Kinokunya, Select and Books Actually, the holy trinity of indie book publishers. Films can’t be made on this topic but books can be written about it.

“Over 100 photographs taken by Singaporeans during the 2006 General Election. All-you-want-to-know about Singapore general elections past and present. ”

“a remarkable act of service to our understanding of the struggles of opposition political parties, their political process and their perseverance in and commitment to offering Singaporeans alternative views and choices”
— Ms Constance Singam”

But fear not, they have replenished the shelves with a fresh batch of Singapore GaGa DVDs. You can also order it online, S$23 only (US$ 15)
Where to get
Kinokuniya Main Store
Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Tel: 6737-5021

Earshot Cafe
The Arts House 1 Old Parliament Lane
Tel: 6332 690

Earshot @ Esplanade
1 Esplanade Drive , #01-01/03
Tel: 6884 5658

Books Actually
125A Telok Ayer St
Tel: 6221 1170

Objectifs
12A Liang Seah St (opp Bugis Junction)
Tel 63393068

Asylum
22 Ang Siang Road

If you want to stock the Singapore GaGa DVD at your shop, restaurant, let us know. Shops Asylum and Books Actually have asked to stock this DVD! Thank you.

I recently completed a video for a permanent exhibit in the History Gallery of the National Museum which re-opens on 8 Dec. I shan’t say more, but it is made entirely with found footage, a still of which is offered here for your enjoyment

Crazy People!

Watch their made-in-a-weekend videos at 72-13 Mohammed Sultan Rd (theatreworks). BRING A CUSHION. Sunday 2pm until late Link

A film waiting to be made

Asia Research Institute Lecture
The Social Life of Opium in China by Dr Zheng Yangwen
29 November 2006, 7:00pm
National Library, Possibility Room, FREE but register 6516 8787

Recreational smoking was foreign to China, as was opium itself (like tea to England). How and when, then, did opium smoking come to lodge itself within the sophisticated Chinese consumer culture? I trace opium’s transformation over a period of 500 years to show how the Chinese people of different classes and regions redefined a foreign way of leisure and developed a complex culture of consumption around its use. From aphrodisiac to popular culture, from social identity to political economy, Mr. Opium lived a colourful social life and played a role larger than himself in the theatre of modern China.

My heartiest congratulations to the directors who passed the censors.
‘I LOVE MALAYA’ World Premieres
25th Nov, Sat, 7pm
Ngee Ann Auditorium, Asian Civilisations Museum

A documentary film by
Chan Kah Mei, Ho Choon Hiong, Eunice Lau, Christopher Len & Wang Eng Eng

In 2005, an 81-year-old man sued the Malaysian government for denying him entry into the country of his birth. Chin Peng was the leader of the Malayan Communist Party, which waged the longest and most difficult war lasting more than 30 years, first to overthrow the British colonial government and then against the Malaysian state.

When peace was finally secured in 1989, more than 200 former guerillas returned to Malaysia. But Chin Peng was not one of them. In fact there are many like him who have remained in southern Thailand, as stateless aliens, unable to step foot into the country they had given their lives fighting for.

I Love Malaya is the story of their journey home.

14 – 17 Dec 2006, @HELP University College, Pusat Bandar Damansara, Kuala Lumpur
I would be going if I weren’t editing
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