Snow City
In hot, tropical Singapore, a traveller stumbles upon polar bears, a road tunnel opening, and office workers in cubicles. Deadpan in tone and surprising in content, the film captures the mood of a place where time stands still.
“From the aquarium to the artificial toboggan run, from the motorway tunnel inaugurated in high heels and great pomp to the gleaming office buildings, Snow City seems at first to be no more than a series of discreetly bizarre images. But soon the flawless urban fabric of Singapore, with its green spaces skilfully laid out between glass towers, broadens out to include the fringes that only a filmmaker’s eye can reveal. Among the estuary’s detritus, at the foot of the luxuriant trees that hide the city skyline, a closer look at the stones reveals fragments of concrete, tiles shattered into a thousand pieces, possibly the rubble from a district now wiped off the map. Through the contrasting places and activities filmed and the varying scale of shots, this charade-like film (where a swimming polar bear is juxtaposed with the systematic dousing of worksite trucks) finally lends muffled irony to the so-called ‘garden city’ of this city state—which is more like a ‘snow city’, a chilled and chillingly functional city.”
— Cinéma du Réel programme note
A commission by Singapore Biennale 2011
First shown as an installation at the Singapore Art Museum, 8Q, 13 Mar – 14 May 2011.
2011, 16 min, Shot on DVCam, 4:3, English
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“With Tan’s unadorned visual style, Snow City gently earns your attention instead of demanding it. At heart, a film about the importance of seeing and perspective”
– Sindie“From this surprising stroll around Singapore, there wells up a discreet yet absurd humour”
– Cinéma du Réel -
I was making a film about the aura of places in Singapore, so I travelled around the island and filmed the surroundings with a heightened state of awareness. The familiar—like cleaners washing tires—became unfamiliar, and the ordinary—office workers going out for lunch—became extraordinary. This “tour” was undertaken in 2006, and although the project later morphed into an entirely different film (Invisible City, 2007), some of these unused images refused to leave my mind. Every now and again, I would return to review the rushes, sensing there was a thread running through them, but I could not articulate what it was.
One day, under a deadline for the Singapore Biennale, we revisited the rushes. In three days, a miracle, the editor and I cut Snow City together. I believe one of the roles of cinema is to make dreamscapes out of the familiar. In Snow City, I invite visitors to lock step with me as I explore this dreamlike terrain, this headspace, this way of seeing.
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Produced, Directed and Photographed by Tan Pin Pin
Editors: Sun Koh, Inez Ang
Additional Photography: Ryan Seet
Production Support: James Teo / ampuletsLocations in Singapore:
Fort Canning Tunnel
Stamford Road
Reclaimed beach off Fort Road
Changi Business Park
Snow City
Singapore ZooThese images were taken in 2006.
Sound Effects Courtesy of freesound.org
With Special Thanks to
Matthew Ngui, Singapore Biennale 2011, Jasmine Kin Kia Ng, Lian Tsui Yee, Tan Lin LinWith Support from
Singapore Biennale 2011
Open House -
2012 Viennale
2011 Cinéma du Réel, In Competition
2011 World Premiere, Singapore Biennale. Shown as an installation at 8Q