Attended the screening with Erina @ Substation over the weekend.
Aside from a mildly disturbing (Erina will disagree though) intro, the main programme dished up an enjoying mix of local short films.
(1) We, the real people of Singapore
The idea of having people providing stories and re-telling them in motion is as new as last week's fresh bake. Yet to select six out of a 100+ stories, script them out and weave them together into an overall narrative structure has its challenges. Authencity aside (I haven't heard of a male pre-school/nursary educator), the flow of the film was well-handled, beginning with the monotony of a day's start, and ending with an excerpt of romantic overtones. The transitions are one of the technical highlights of the film, while the personal favourites are the anecdotes about the boy who took those jibes about being fat in his stride as well as the concluding mini-story. Now, will someone tell me which is the MRT station-cum-bus interchange that has a small ridge next to it where you can catch a beautiful sunset?
(2) National Day
This is perhaps the one that evoked those deep personal emotions, for in Wei, perhaps I saw a bit of myself - outwardly oblivious and inert to the little abrasions in life but inwardly retaining that sense of acute awareness of the little things that matter. No fancy cinematographic effects or post-editing, just an attempt that tugs the heartstrings.
(3) Kissing Faces
Radically different from the previous. Starts with a portrayal of romantic life-of-two in the shape of a Hokkien Karaoke MTV and rapidly degenerates from there (the progatonist's story, not the quality of the film itself). The monologue tells of a separation forced by the promise of a better life abraod, the happier and more unpleasant past, and the hesitation of leaving behind the current arrangement. Building upon neon lights and 'jumps' in scenes, the film is probably let down (IMO anyway) by a lack of research on KTV hostesses, but I presume this allows the director to have a little more room to work with. Sometimes, history and truth can constrain...
(4) à la folie (Like Crazy)
...which I think is the case here as well, which is the director's re-interpretation of Ramayana. Without the baggage of the stories that is Ramayana, there is no attempt to draw comparisons to the original. What I found personally refereshing is the attempt by the director in infusing elements of the different faces that make up Little India. In particular, the scenes which the female protagonist shared with the two female foreign workers provided much food for thought into the psyche of love.
The occasional forays into non-mainstream works are indeed enjoyable and insight-provoking. What an accomplishment it would be, to be able to make and produce your own film!
----------------
A Taiwanese in Paris is on a misson and making the headlines.
Objective: To kiss a hundred men in Paris, capture the kisses on photographs, and publish them on her blog.
Sounds crazy obviously.
To some (like some friends of the Taiwanese blogger), kissing 100 men is like going to bed with 100 men. But she went ahead anyway.
After all, how else can one commemerate a journey that has given her the courage and the capability that she hasn't had beforehand?
(Read: How it all started, here and here.)
(Note: She blogs almost exclusively in Mandarin though...)
Some of the photos are pretty beautiful, the accompanying entries even more so.
From whence the bold hail?
Signing off............. Look before Shoot..........
RC
Aside from a mildly disturbing (Erina will disagree though) intro, the main programme dished up an enjoying mix of local short films.
(1) We, the real people of Singapore
The idea of having people providing stories and re-telling them in motion is as new as last week's fresh bake. Yet to select six out of a 100+ stories, script them out and weave them together into an overall narrative structure has its challenges. Authencity aside (I haven't heard of a male pre-school/nursary educator), the flow of the film was well-handled, beginning with the monotony of a day's start, and ending with an excerpt of romantic overtones. The transitions are one of the technical highlights of the film, while the personal favourites are the anecdotes about the boy who took those jibes about being fat in his stride as well as the concluding mini-story. Now, will someone tell me which is the MRT station-cum-bus interchange that has a small ridge next to it where you can catch a beautiful sunset?
(2) National Day
This is perhaps the one that evoked those deep personal emotions, for in Wei, perhaps I saw a bit of myself - outwardly oblivious and inert to the little abrasions in life but inwardly retaining that sense of acute awareness of the little things that matter. No fancy cinematographic effects or post-editing, just an attempt that tugs the heartstrings.
(3) Kissing Faces
Radically different from the previous. Starts with a portrayal of romantic life-of-two in the shape of a Hokkien Karaoke MTV and rapidly degenerates from there (the progatonist's story, not the quality of the film itself). The monologue tells of a separation forced by the promise of a better life abraod, the happier and more unpleasant past, and the hesitation of leaving behind the current arrangement. Building upon neon lights and 'jumps' in scenes, the film is probably let down (IMO anyway) by a lack of research on KTV hostesses, but I presume this allows the director to have a little more room to work with. Sometimes, history and truth can constrain...
(4) à la folie (Like Crazy)
...which I think is the case here as well, which is the director's re-interpretation of Ramayana. Without the baggage of the stories that is Ramayana, there is no attempt to draw comparisons to the original. What I found personally refereshing is the attempt by the director in infusing elements of the different faces that make up Little India. In particular, the scenes which the female protagonist shared with the two female foreign workers provided much food for thought into the psyche of love.
The occasional forays into non-mainstream works are indeed enjoyable and insight-provoking. What an accomplishment it would be, to be able to make and produce your own film!
----------------
A Taiwanese in Paris is on a misson and making the headlines.
Objective: To kiss a hundred men in Paris, capture the kisses on photographs, and publish them on her blog.
Sounds crazy obviously.
To some (like some friends of the Taiwanese blogger), kissing 100 men is like going to bed with 100 men. But she went ahead anyway.
After all, how else can one commemerate a journey that has given her the courage and the capability that she hasn't had beforehand?
(Read: How it all started, here and here.)
(Note: She blogs almost exclusively in Mandarin though...)
Some of the photos are pretty beautiful, the accompanying entries even more so.
From whence the bold hail?
Signing off............. Look before Shoot..........
RC
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