soUtHeAst AsIAn FILM FestIVAL

Now in its adolescence, the Southeast
Asian New Wave is still pushing the region’s
envelope. Featuring 20 challenging works by
Southeast Asian filmmakers, 19 of which are
Singapore premieres, the Southeast Asian
Film Festival continues to highlight new
works by key and rising directors. Noted films
include Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr.’s gritty and
fantastical Fable of the Fish, Kamila Andini’s
(daughter of Garin Nugroho) debut feature
The Mirror Never Lies, Pham Nhue Giang’s
lyrical Mother’s Soul and Before We Forget, a
documentary by young Singaporeans Jeremy
Boo and Lee Xian Jie. This year, several
films demonstrate why the Philippines is the
current leader of the Southeast Asian film
wave. Additionally, there will be a directors’
panel on Southeast Asian film, and 12 postscreening discussions.
contents
4
Schedule & Ticketing
6
Director’s Message
8
Introduction by Sam I-shan
Essays
10
Floating in a Sea of Choices –
If It’s Not Now, Then When? by Philip Cheah
54
Pinoy Indie Power by Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr.
Film Synopses
14
Fable of the Fish (Isda)
16
Dancing With Dictators
18
P-047 (Tae Peang Phu Deaw)
20
Water Hands
22
Flight of an Angel (Paglipad ng Anghel)
24
Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings
(Zombadings 1: Patayin sa shokot si Remington)
26
The Collector
28
Trespassers (Bisperas)
30
Brother Number One
32
Lumpinee
34
The Land Beneath the Fog
36
The Dream of Eleuteria (Ang Damgo Ni Eleuteria)
38
The Mirror Never Lies
40
Tatsumi
42
The Legend of the Impacts
44
Before We Forget
46
Baby Factory (Bahay Bata)
48
Bunohan (Return to Murder)
50
World Without Shadow (Wayang Rindukan Bayang)
52
Mother’s Soul (Tam Hon Me)
58
About SAM
58
About The Curators
General Information
SOUTHEAST ASIAN
FILM FESTIVAL
2 – 31 March 2012
Moving Image Gallery, SAM at 8Q
$10 for each film screening
$8 concession for students with valid
ID, senior citizens and NSFs.
Tickets are available from SISTIC.
Ticket price includes $1 SISTIC fee.
Limited seating, please purchase your
tickets early.
For ticket purchases at the door,
please call SISTIC hotline 6348 5555
ahead for availability.
Tickets can be redeemed for onetime museum admission from 1 to 31
March 2012.
Visit www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/
seaff for more information.
Directors’ Panel:
When the Going Gets Tough,
the Indies Get Going!
Sat, 3 Mar | 2pm
This special panel on Southeast Asian
cinema features emerging talents and
industry veterans from Singapore, the
Philippines and Thailand. Featured
are directors Adolfo Borinaga Alix,
Jr., Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr., and
Kondej Jaturanrasamee, as well as
actor Sunny Pang and film critic
Philip Cheah. Join this discussion for
first-hand insights into the making,
marketing, distribution and watching
of regional cinema.
Complimentary with purchase of any
SEAFF2012 ticket. Limited seating.
Registration required. Please email
[email protected].
4
Dates
Film
Director
Year
Country
Runtime
Rating
Post-screening talk
Fri, 2 Mar
7:30pm
Fable of the Fish (Isda)
Adolfo Borinaga
Alix, Jr.
2011
Philippines
96 mins
PG13
Adolfo Borinaga
Alix, Jr.
Sat, 3 Mar
2pm
Directors’ Panel :
When the Going Gets Tough,
the Indies Get Going.
Sat, 3 Mar
4:30pm
Dancing With Dictators
Hugh Piper
2011
Myanmar /
Australia
90 mins
NC16
Myo Myo (Journalist)
Sat, 3 Mar
7:30pm
P-047
(Tae Peang Phu Deaw)
Kongdej
Jaturanrasamee
2011
Thailand
98 mins
M18
Kongdej
Jaturanrasamee
Sun, 4 Mar
4:30pm
Water Hands
Vladimir Todorovic
2011
Singapore /
Serbia /
Montenegro
93 mins
PG
Vladimir Todorovic
Sun, 4 Mar
7:30pm
Flight of an Angel
(Paglipad ng Anghel)
Clodualdo Del
Mundo, Jr.
2011
Philippines
95 mins
PG13
Clodualdo Del
Mundo, Jr.
Fri, 9 Mar
7:30pm
Remington and the Curse
of the Zombadings
(Zombadings 1: Patayin sa
shokot si Remington)
Jade Castro
2011
Philippines
96 mins
M18
Jade Castro
Sat, 10 Mar
7:30pm
The Collector
James Lee
2011
Malaysia
95 mins
NC16
James Lee &
Sunny Pang (Actor)
Sun, 11 Mar
4:30pm
Trespassers (Bisperas)
Jeffrey Jeturian
2011
Philippines
88 mins
NC16
Fri, 16 Mar
7:30pm
Brother Number One
Annie Goldson
2011
Cambodia /
New Zealand
98 mins
PG
Sat, 17 Mar
4:30pm
Lumpinee
Chira
Wichaisuthikul
2010
Thailand
97 mins
PG13
Sat, 17 Mar
7:30pm
The Land Beneath the Fog
Shalahuddin
Siregar
2011
Indonesia
105 mins
PG
Sun, 18 Mar
4:30pm
The Dream of Eleuteria
(Ang Damgo Ni Eleuteria)
Remton
Siega Zuasola
2010
Philippines
90 mins
PG
Fri, 23 Mar
7:30pm
The Mirror Never Lies
Kamila Andini
2011
Indonesia
100 mins
PG
Sat, 24 Mar
4:30pm
Tatsumi
Eric Khoo
2011
Singapore /
Japan
96 mins
M18
The Legend of the Impacts
Jeevan Nathan
2011
Singapore
Sat, 10 Mar
4:30pm
Sat, 24 Mar
7:30pm
Join speakers Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr. (Philippines), Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr. (Philippines),
Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (Thailand), Sunny Pang and Philip Cheah (Singapore) for their views on
the Southeast Asian Wave.
Shalahuddin
Siregar
Tan Fong Cheng
(Producer)
13 mins
PG13
Before We Forget
Jeremy Boo &
Lee Xian Jie
Jeremy Boo &
Lee Xian Jie
Sun, 25 Mar
4:30pm
Baby Factory
(Bahay Bata)
Eduardo W. Roy, Jr.
2011
Philippines
97 mins
NC16
Fri, 30 Mar
7:30pm
Bunohan (Return to Murder)
Dain Said
2011
Malaysia
97 mins
NC16
Sat, 31 Mar
4:30pm
World Without Shadow
(Wayang Rindukan Bayang)
Khoo Eng Yow
2011
Malaysia
90 mins
M18
Sat, 31 Mar
7:30pm
Mother’s Soul
(Tam Hon Me)
Pham Nhue Giang
2011
Vietnam
95 mins
M18
54 mins
Pham Nhue Giang
5
director’s message
Welcome to the second year of the Southeast Asian Film Festival,
curated by Philip Cheah, Teo Swee Leng and the Singapore Art
Museum. Moving image forms like cinema are an integral part of
the regular programming of contemporary art institutions around
the world and some like the Museum of Modern Art in New York
have established a strong international reputation for their cinema
programme.
Focused on contemporary Singapore and its immediate neighbours,
the Festival extends the reach of the Museum’s Southeast Asian
exhibitions and continues its mission to showcase and document the
most contemporary visual art and cultural expressions of the region.
Through the moving image of cinema and video art, audiences will
experience the social and cultural transformations of Asia in a fresh
and dynamic way.
Highlighting the work of new, young and emerging regional talent, we
are presenting this year an expanded slate of 20 films, 19 of which
are Singapore premieres. One of the most enjoyable aspects of last
year’s festival was the atmosphere it cultivated in the museum, where
people stayed back after the screenings to chat with the directors as
well as with each other. This year, we will feature 12 post-screening
discussions, as well as a special directors’ panel on Southeast Asian
cinema. Audiences will truly have an abundance of riches to enjoy.
Enjoy the show.
Tan Boon Hui
Director
Singapore Art Museum
Film still from The Mirror Never Lies.
Courtesy of SET Film Production 2010. Photograph by Tri Wahyu Jatmiko.
6
7
INTRODUCTION
by Sam I-shan
In April 2010, the Singapore Art Museum launched a short programme
of Southeast Asian films, also in partnership with Philip Cheah and
Teo Swee Leng. While a modest first endeavour, more than half of
the screenings featured directors in attendance, and the programme
garnered strong audience support. This first foray has grown into the
Southeast Asian Film Festival, now in its second year. Our films are
fresher than ever, and we are continuing to bring in as many directors
and guests as possible. Best of all, we are privileged to be the site of
an informal and growing community of film buffs, art lovers and new
audiences.
As a screening gallery in a contemporary art space, we are able to
explore various aspects of visual culture and use a range of crossdisciplinary approaches to contextualise the new and experimental
works we show. Completely dedicated to directors and artists
from the region we call Southeast Asia, this festival presents an
unadulterated set of films for enjoyment and interrogation, so that we
might try to draw out some common threads or highlight constructive
contrasts, not just in terms of the content of the films, but in terms of
the larger structures that influence their creation and reception.
Many intriguing themes and questions can emerge from this: for
instance, how do we understand the differences between what are
sometimes called independent versus more commercial films in the
media industries of the respective countries? What kind of effects do
local or international film festivals have on films or filmmakers whose
development they fund? What are the interesting ways that some
practitioners cross over into filmmaking from other parts of media,
art or cultural arenas? What is the importance of the documentary
or the “documenting perspective” in a festival film from a country or
community whose history and culture may not be so well known?
How is the relationship between the metropole and the periphery,
or the urban and rural (or coastal, as is often the case in the region)
within each Southeast Asian country depicted? How are regions
within our region treated in filmic terms? How do tensions between
the individual, the group and the broader forces of political, social and
religious norms play out? Given Southeast Asia’s maritime histories
and riverine connections, what are the different ways that bodies of
water serve as symbolic and narrative tropes in these films? And, why
do kids make such frequent appearances in these movies anyway?
Many more of such questions can be constructively asked of many of
the films in the programme.
8
Production
still from
The Collector
In addition, the filmmaker sessions, including a directors’ panel
that will focus on the theme of independent filmmaking in various
Southeast Asian countries, will allow an opportunity to engage in
open discussion and direct debate in relation to the issues the works
give rise to. We are pleased also to present this year the latest work
of Singaporean veterans and newcomers, including young directors
Jeremy Boo and Lee Xian Jie’s subtly provocative documentary
Before We Forget and Eric Khoo’s Tatsumi which debuted at Cannes
in 2011 and is Singapore’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 84th Academy Awards.
A festival lineup in any given year is really a snapshot, but what a
picture it can make. Through these films, talks and exchanges, we
hope to experience a little of the sheer range, richness and diversity
of the work that is emerging from our immediate region. And if one of
the conclusions arrived at is that the categories we have placed these
films in are more provisional or commodious than they would appear,
or that these works give rise to more conundrums and lead us down
more tangents than we expect, then so much more the better. As the
Southeast Asian Film Festival enters its sophomore year, also known
in some quarters as the terrible twos, we hope to please and provoke
in equal parts, and also look forward to growing up all together.
9
Floating in a Sea of Choices –
If It’s Not Now, Then When?
appears for only five minutes). Her emotionally nuanced performance
is shockingly good. Just compare that against her bump-and-grind
early bold roles. The tension builds up revealing the conflict within
each caregiver, balancing their personal needs and the harsh reality
of underprivileged mothers, or those who have multiple pregnancies,
unwed young mothers and those with no homes. For a young director,
the film’s tone is delicately balanced between the joyful spirit of
Christmas time (carols are persistently heard in the background) and
the melancholia of mothers with no future. The traditional time of hope
by Philip Cheah
It’s difficult to leave the Philippines out of your sights for too long.
The country’s level of creativity is so dynamic that in the early ‘50s,
the Philippines was responsible for the first colour films in Indonesia.
Their contribution to early Singapore cinema is perhaps even more
well known. Think Lamberto Avellana, the Philippines’ First National
Artist for Film, who made films in Singapore, for both Cathay Keris
Films and Shaw Organisation.
Filipinos themselves don’t realise the nexus of creativity that they
exist in. They groan at the thought of how far behind their cinema is.
But any outsider will be rendered breathless at the amazing power of
their independent spirit. I know I was blasted away when I watched
last year’s crop of new indie films at the 7th Cinemalaya film festival.
There were tons of new films and after the regional wave of 2010, you
could say that the empire (or the country’s centre) struck back! The
Manila-based directors rallied and released a surge of great films. But
it’s not a real competition anyway. Filipinos know that they were born
to create.
At this year’s second Southeast Asian Film Festival, we wanted to
show just what made the region tick last year and what better way
than to show how the Filipinos rocked better than anyone else.
The movement cuts across age, language, genres and film length.
From shorts to nine-hour films, from comedy to realism, from first time
directors to veterans; the Philippines film movement exemplifies that
diversity is Indie Power!
These guys are new and often first-timers, but their films look as good
as any mainstream film. Eduardo W. Roy, Jr.’s debut feature, Baby
Factory (Bahay Bata), takes place on Christmas Eve and follows a
team of nurses, struggling to finish work and get home for Christmas
mass and dinner. Shot in a public maternity hospital for the poor,
the film opens with a roomful of mothers giving birth. While there
are multiple storylines concerning the nurses and the patients, the
storytelling is seamless with the handheld camera tailing and following
the natural course of each narrative.
Diana Zubiri, a sex starlet a decade ago, plays Sarah, a senior
nurse, hurrying home for a Christmas Eve dinner with her married
lover (played by Yul Servo, who gets second billing even though he
10
Film still from
The Mirror
Never Lies
Courtesy of SET Film
Production 2010.
Photograph by Tri
Wahyu Jatmiko.
and childbirth, as seen in the Jesus myth, is given a short shrug.
Tales of the Catholic faith can also be felt in Clodualdo (Doy) Del
Mundo, Jr.’s Flight of the Angel (Paglipad Ng Anghel) that updates
Ishmael Bernal’s 1982 Miracle (Himala). Instead of superstar Nora
Aunor’s hapless fate as a miracle worker, the miracle is now a man
(played by Sid Lucero) who becomes an unwilling angel. Doy, a
veteran screenwriter of the Philippines New Wave of the ‘70s when
he scripted for the likes of Lino Brocka and Mike De Leon, dwells
deep into the psychology of a kind-hearted person who is constantly
tempted, who wants to help but who dislikes the public nature of the
role, who wants to give love but is plagued by desire. It’s an intriguing
contradiction and Doy shows just how hard it is to resist temptation.
In many ways, many of the other films are about choices too. Remton
Siega Zuasola’s single-take feature, The Dream of Eleuteria (Ang
11
Damgo Ni Eleuteria), is about Terya’s dream of going abroad but the
pain of leaving her family nevertheless hurts. This Festival’s Opening
Film, Fable of the Fish (Isda) is about a mother’s choice to believe that
the fish she gives birth to is God’s gift of a son to her. Remington and
the Curse of the Zombadings (Zombadings 1: Patayin sa shokot si
Remington) is the sleeper hit of this year, a gay horror comedy like no
other, when a boy who spent his childhood laughing at gay people, is
cursed to become gay himself. It’s a choice right? Or perhaps not?
Choices don’t come so easy when you live in Myanmar or Cambodia.
The to-ing and fro-ing of political games in the name of democratic
process in the only too-“transparent” Myanmar is clearly seen in Hugh
Piper’s Dancing With Dictators. Ross Dunkley, the Australian editor
and co-owner of Burma’s leading newspaper, The Myanmar Times,
thought he had a choice when he began publishing in Myanmar. But
the censoring process crept in, which swiftly led to his arrest and
imprisonment. In Annie Goldson’s Brother Number One, the choice is
between remembering and forgetting. Rob Hamill chose to remember
how his elder brother, Kerry, was tortured and murdered by the Khmer
Rouge in 1978.
It’s a choice of a different kind when you live in Shalahuddin Siregar’s
The Land Beneath the Fog, a village on the slope of Merbabu
mountain. It’s a choice of no-choice, where a family earns less than
US$50 a month, breaking their backs to grow crops that are always
at the mercy of the wholesalers. It’s an invisible and disenfranchised
society, struggling hard underneath its veiled existence. In a different
way, Siregar’s film mirrors Uruphong Raksasad’s Agrarian Utopia
(Thailand, 2009), retaining its poetic visuals but reflecting instead an
agrarian dystopia. Meanwhile, in Kamila Andini’s beautiful debut, The
Mirror Never Lies, a little girl of the Bajo tribe (sea gypsies), has to
choose whether to accept her father’s absence as death.
In Chira Wichaisuthikul’s documentary Lumpinee, young boys choose
to fight for a living. And in Kongdej Jaturanrasamee’s P-047, the
fantasy is that if one had a choice, one would choose to live someone
else’s life. What happens when a former communist country such
as Vietnam chooses capitalism? Pham Nhue Giang’s Mother’s Soul
(Tam Hon Me) examines this quandary in a tale of a single parent
trying to find her own fulfillment while meeting the needs of her young
daughter.
If you live in a town called Bunohan (killing in Malay language, and
the title of Dain Said’s film, also called Return to Murder) in Malaysia,
would killing be a choice? And if you have spent your whole life
learning the art of wayang kulit (shadow play), as seen in Khoo Eng
Yow’s World Without Shadow (Wayang Rindukan Bayang), would
a government legislation force you to choose another way of life?
James Lee’s The Collector stars Singapore actor and martial artiste,
Sunny Pang, as an aging debt collector who sees his road ending.
The crossroad that he is facing is also a choice.
What choices then indeed? What choices for independent film, for
political freedom, for personal fulfillment? If it’s not now, then when?
More no-choices abound in Singapore where Vladimir Todorovic’s
Water Hands works both as a romantic allegory of a man who has
to choose whether to return home to his lover and perhaps as an
unconscious political reflection of a country luring its citizens to
return home. In Jeremy Boo and Lee Xian Jie’s stirring documentary,
Before We Forget, we meet families whose elderly members suffer
from dementia. In the first case, a 50-year-old daughter decides to
quit her job to care for aged mother. In the second case, a former
teacher discusses suicide with regard to her illness. Her feistiness is
a marvel of will and resilience and yet her illness narrows her choices.
Meanwhile, Eric Khoo’s animated Tatsumi takes us away to Japan
where Yoshihiro Tatsumi had the choice of making of living through his
personal tales of misery and self-doubt.
12
13
FABLE OF THE FISH
(ISDA)
Fri 2 Mar | 7:30pm
Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr., 2011, Philippines, 96 mins
Tagalog with English subtitles, PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr.
Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr. will also participate in the Directors’ Panel on
3rd March. See page 4 for more information.
When they move to a slum, Lina and
Miguel have no choice but to join the
local scavengers digging through a
garbage dump in order to survive. Lina
still dreams of becoming a mother despite
Miguel’s lack of enthusiasm. Her prayers
are answered and in her flooded house
during a storm, she gives birth to a son.
However, when her son turns out to be a
fish, Lina’s love for her offspring, as well
as her marriage to Miguel, are tested by
the strange and surreal moments that
surround them.
Born in 1978, Adolfo Borinaga Alix, Jr.
has a degree in Mass Communications.
He started as a screenwriter for films and
television before starting to direct features
in 2006. His first film, Donsol (2006),
was the Philippines’ official submission
to the Academy Awards, and his
subsequent films have screened in various
international film festivals including
Cannes, Toronto, and Rotterdam. In
its “Next Generation Asia 2010”, the
Hollywood Reporter listed Alix as one
of the top twenty young entertainment
personalities in the region.
Director’s Notes
The film is based on a true story about an
incident in the late ‘80s about a talk show
host who was asked to be a godmother
in the baptism of a mudfish. In such
times when many things happen in the
Philippines due to issues of corruption
and poverty, it is refreshing to take
such moments—surreal yet rooted in
reality—and use them to dissect and
discuss the cross-section of Philippines
society, through the point of view of this
seemingly normal family. The situation
feels like a modern day version of the
Sarah-Abraham story. The premise may
be based on a peculiar incident but the
story deals primarily with the workings of
a typical household, the only oddity being
that the son is a fish. It is interesting to
explore the relationship of the community
within the context of such an occurrence,
as Philippines cinema would most often
portray such a situation as fantasy rather
than human realism.
The film follows the characters in a
stationary canvas to reveal portraits of
different characters, showing each of their
developments as well as the community
as a whole, in order to emphasise the
dilemma and the humanity of the story
concept. The camera gazes at them
as they each try to survive in their own
conflicts. Fable of the Fish may be shot
in a dumpsite, which is typical of current
movies being produced in the Philippines,
but the “realness” of the situation blurs
the lines between fantasy and reality.
Genuine tragedies in the world are not
conflicts between right and wrong; they
are conflicts between two rights. Cinema
can also be like that. It can feel real but
also has a sense of fantasy.
Print Source:
Visit Films (Aida LiPera)
89 Fifth Avenue Suite 806 New York,
NY 10003, USA
Tel: +1-718-312-8210 (office)
+1-646-371-8673 (mobile)
[email protected]
www.visitfilms.com
14
15
Dancing with dictators
Sat 3 Mar | 4:30pm
Hugh Piper, 2011, Myanmar/Australia, 90 mins
English and Myanmar with English subtitles, NC16 (Mature Content)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with journalist Myo Myo. She is one of the
film’s subjects.
This film is about the struggle for control
of MCM, the only media company in
Myanmar with any foreign investment. A
colourful and ambitious figure, Australian
Ross Dunkley is the founder and owner
of 49% of one of the country’s main
newspapers, the weekly The Myanmar
Times, which is published in both English
and Myanmar. Like all media in the
country, the paper is heavily censored.
Shot during the country’s first election
in 20 years, the film depicts how the
government enforces a 51% partner
on Dunkley. Subsequently arrested
and charged with immigration offences
linked to assault, Dunkley’s court case is
continually postponed as backroom deals
are made.
Hugh Piper is the director of many featurelength and multi-part documentaries
that have been screened at film festivals
or made for television broadcast. His
recent documentaries include Crime
Scene Bangkok, about the flamboyant Dr
Porntip Rojanasunan’s quest to reform
the Thai forensic system. Happiness is a
film about Tibetan monk Matthieu Ricard,
“the happiest man on earth”, and his
journey to measure how mental health
and happiness are improved through
meditation. He has also made a film
called The Post, about the reporters on
Cambodia’s leading English language
newspaper, The Phnom Penh Post.
Director’s Notes
Twelve years ago, Helen Barrow and I
made a film about the Phnom Penh Post
newspaper in Cambodia. We wanted to
re-visit the film in light of the recent Khmer
Rouge trials. However, we found that the
paper had changed ownership and is now
owned by an Australian, Ross Dunkley,
who also owns The Myanmar Times. We
learnt that Burma was about to hold its
first election in 20 years and asked Ross
Dunkley if we could come and film inside
The Myanmar Times. To our surprise
he agreed, not without risk for him and
his business. I think he agreed for three
reasons: 1. He was aware that change
would not take place overnight but he
honestly believed a new, more liberal
Burma was on its way and he wanted the
world to know. 2. He wanted us there to
record him achieving one of his dreams,
his paper moving from being published
weekly to daily. 3. He wanted us there as
he solved an ongoing problem and found
a new local partner.
Unfortunately for Ross, none of these
things have happened to date. When we
started filming I had no idea that the battle
for control of the company would be the
film’s major theme or that Ross would end
up in such dire circumstances. At first we
found it hard to film outside the office.
Although most Burmese staff supported
the aspiration to make a film about the
election through the eyes of Ross and
the paper, when it came to us going
out on the streets with reporters, some
made it difficult. Those who welcomed
us along ensured they were covered in
terms of permissions from management
and Ross. Small acts of everyday bravery
mean so much. After the election, we
were deported and managed to leave
the country with 40 hours of material.
We thought we might have had a movie
at that stage but then Ross Dunkley was
arrested. It was deeply disturbing in that
we knew our deportation had played some
part in his troubles. At the same time we
sensed that the story was just beginning.
Print Source:
Producer Helen Barrow
Tel: +61-0-409-300-040
[email protected]
16
17
P-047 (TAe peang phu deaw)
Sat 3 Mar | 7:30pm
Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, 2011, Thailand, 98 mins
Thai with English subtitles, M18 (Some Homosexual Content)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Kongdej Jaturanrasamee.
Kongdej Jaturanrasamee will also participate in the Directors’ Panel on
3rd March. See page 4 for more information.
Lek is a lonely locksmith who has never
had a girlfriend. Kong is an aspiring
writer who lives with his mother. At first
strangers to one another, they work in
close proximity in a shopping mall, one
copying keys, the other selling tabloid
magazines. One day, they start to break
into apartments during the day when the
owners have gone to work. They are not
there to steal but only to borrow the lives,
loves, and things that belong to strangers.
However, they inevitably and fatefully
end up borrowing more than they bargain
for. Later, Lek wakes up in a hospital. To
his confusion, everyone begins calling
him Kong. After he leaves the hospital,
Lek breaks into Kong’s home and to his
surprise discovers secrets about his old
friend that he never knew. But where is his
friend?
Kongdej Jaturanrasmee has a Bachelor’s
Degree in Mass Communication (film and
video). His first feature, Sayew, debuted
in 2002 and won honourable mention at
the Seattle Film Festival, while his second
film, Midnight My Love (2005), starring
well-known Thai comedian Mum Jokmok,
won Best Script at the Deauville Asian
Film Festival. His third film was Handle
Me With Care. Jaturanrasmee is also a
well-known scriptwriter for films such as
Tom Yum Goong (directed by Prachya
Pinkaew), Queens of Pattani (directed by
Nonzee Nimibutr), and Me…Myself and
Happy Birthday (directed by Pongpat
Wachirabanjong).
Director’s Notes
If imagination can become memory and
fantasy can become truth…
If facts can become fiction… if lives can
be borrowed and copied like pages from
a book…
Then what remains of who we really are?
Print Source:
Kongdej Jaturanrasmee / Soros Sukhum
49/76 Nawamin26, Nawamin Road,
Klongklum Bungklum, Bangkok 10240, Thailand
Tel: +66-2-691-6770 Fax: +66-2-691-6771
[email protected] / [email protected]
www.p-047.co.cc
18
19
Water hands
Sun 4 Mar | 4:30pm
Vladimir Todorovic, 2011, Singapore/Serbia/Montenegro, 93 mins
Mandarin and Cantonese with English subtitles, PG
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Vladimir Todorovic.
Water Hands is a road movie about a
Chinese sailor who starts doubting his
beliefs after experiencing the beauty of the
remote Balkan landscapes and the folk
stories of the region. The more he explores
the landscapes and the stories around
him, the more he is determined to change
something about himself. However, his
attempt at making life-changing decisions
become more difficult because of a
woman, “She”, a mysterious and sultry
creature who keeps on calling him back to
his country, his life, and his reality.
Vladimir Todorovic is a filmmaker, new
media artist and educator. His recent
generative movie, Silica-esc, was awarded
a Special Mention at the Visions from the
Future 2010 Iridescent Worlds and was
a jury-recommended work of Japan’s
Media Art Festival. Water Hands, his debut
feature, premiered in the 40th International
Film Festival Rotterdam 2011. It received
a special mention award at the Yamagata
International Documentary Film Festival
(2011).
Director’s Notes
The movie was born during my recent
travels to various remote places in
Serbia and Montenegro. Among the
places visited, was the lake of Skadar,
the location of the famous Serbian folk
poem, “The Founding of Skadar”, which
Jacob Grimm referred to as one of the
most outstanding songs of all peoples
and all times. During the same trip, in a
bookstore in Belgrade, I came across
Yukio Mishima’s The Sailor Who Fell
from Grace with the Sea. Both of these
literary masterpieces were to become the
leitmotifs of the movie.
Upon hearing numerous folk stories
from the region and comparing them
to an everyday life of an expatriate in
Singapore, I decided to make a movie
capturing these polarities. Thus, one half
of the movie focuses on the reality of
common people living in the economically
devastated Balkans, while the other
half paints a quasi-bourgeois life of a
foreigner in Singapore. In the movie, the
main character speaks Cantonese, a
Chinese dialect not officially recognised
in China and Singapore. In contrast, his
love interest speaks back to him in the
standard Mandarin, with a Singaporean
accent.
Only in the moments when she begs him
to return, she tries speaking to him in his
mother tongue, Cantonese. She plays
a role of a wife, girlfriend, mother, or a
homeland, always calling and waiting for
her sailors to return.
In Chinese, “Water Hands” refers to a
sailor.
Print Source:
Vladimir Todorovic
[email protected]
20
21
Flight of an angel
(paglipad ng anghel)
Sun 4 Mar | 7:30pm
Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr., 2011, Philippines, 95 mins
Tagalog with English subtitles, PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Disturbing Scenes)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr.
Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr. will also participate in the Directors’ Panel on
3rd March. See page 4 for more information.
Gabby is a young man leading a rather
uneventful life. Working as an accountant
in the office, he occasionally enjoys the
company of a few colleagues and friends.
On his way to work one day, he sees
an old, sickly beggar needing help. He
decides to bring the old woman to a
hospice that is run by nuns who take care
of the poor and dying, but after this act
of charity, feathers start to grow on his
back. As the feathers grow into full wings,
Gabby faces the consequences of being
an “angel”.
Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. has written
many classic screenplays such as Manila
in the Claws of Neon Light (1975), Batch
‘81 (1982), Blink of an Eye (1981), and 3rd
World Hero (2000). His first feature, Pepot
Artista, won Best Film in the Cinemalaya
Independent Film Festival 2005, and Best
Actor at the Singapore International Film
Festival 2006. His documentaries include
Lupa, on land reform; Maid in Singapore,
on domestic helpers; Ehem!plo, on
corruption; and Tinitingnan, ‘Di Nakikita,
on urban poverty. He is professor emeritus
and university fellow at De La Salle
University.
Director’s Notes
In 1997, while teaching a screenwriting
workshop at De La Salle University, I wrote
a screenplay inspired by an incident that
was related to me by Manny Pichel, the
late entertainment editor of the Philippines
Daily Express. Sometime before the
mid-‘80s, he saw an old beggar on the
sidewalk, who looked emaciated and
dying. Manny decided to carry him and
being frail himself, must have exerted a lot
of effort. He brought the beggar to a place
in Tondo where a community of nuns took
care of the poor and the dying. Manny’s
story stuck in my archive of ideas. What
if a man who makes a supreme act of
charity (like helping a dying beggar)
grows a pair of wings? The result was this
screenplay. I then tried to get it produced,
but no studio wanted to do it.
In 2000, I heard that Manny was critically
ill. I sent him a copy of Ang Lalaking
Tinubuan ng Pakpak. He read it and sent
me a note saying that he immediately
recognised the reference to his experience
with the old beggar. In 2009, I retired from
full-time teaching and, like manna from
heaven, was asked to do a film that De La
Salle University could use to raise funds
for the One La Salle Scholarship Fund. I
was free to do any film I wanted to do (as
long as it was within budget).
In 2010, I formed the production staff and
cast the film. After two or three months,
with 19 shooting days, we finished the
principal photography. Postproduction
took several more months. Today, I am
happy to present to you Paglipad ng
Anghel that all started many years ago
when Manny Pichel decided to help a
dying beggar.
Print Source:
Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr.
[email protected]
22
23
Remington and the Curse of
the Zombadings (Zombadings 1: Patayin sa
shokot si Remington)
Fri 9 Mar | 7:30pm
Sat 10 Mar | 4:30pm
Jade Castro, 2011, Philippines, 96 mins
Tagalog with English subtitles, M18 (Mature Theme)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Jade Castro on each
screening day.
Remington is content with being a bum
along with his fun-loving friends in the
sleepy town of Lucban, Quezon. But
when the lovely Hannah comes along,
Remington suddenly becomes neater,
nicer, and more sensitive. Is it because
of Hannah? But at the same time, his
hips are starting to sway and his heart
is beginning to beat for his best buddy
Jigs. To find the answer, he must deal
with a curse from his past and a serial
killer on a rampage against gay men. With
the help of Hannah, Jigs, and a cast of
colourful folks, Remington sashays into
an adventure that will unravel a mystery
of murderers, spirits, and gay zombies
roaming the streets.
Print Source:
Origin8 Media Corp. (Manila, The Philippines)
Tel/Fax: +63-2-726-9645
[email protected]
24
Jade Castro writes, directs, produces, and
teaches. His screenwriting credits include
D’Anothers, RPG: Metanoia, My Amnesia
Girl, and Endo, his directorial debut. He
co-founded ufo Pictures and Origin8
Media, both writer-producer collectives
responsible for films such as The
Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Sarong
Banggi, and Zombadings which Castro
co-wrote (with Raymond Lee and Michiko
Yamamoto) and directed. Castro teaches
directing at the Asia Pacific Film Institute.
Director’s Notes
The idea seemed like a joke really, told
to me one afternoon, and indeed it was
delivered like a joke, by Raymond Lee,
right after he ran into a little boy who
called him names in the quiet town of
Lucban, in the province of Quezon. I
always tell people when asked that the
movie sprung forth from the mad lab
in Raymond’s head, and I was only too
happy to nurse the mutant infant with
him and the rest of our company. A boy
who taunts gay men is cursed to be gay
himself when he grows up. That was the
premise. How cheeky! How provocative!
Yet I only fully embraced becoming its
director much later, when I saw that the
film could also be about my love for a
certain kind of cinema.
There are two “mash-ups” going on in the
movie. Fans of horror could easily spot
a werewolf movie here, a zombie movie
there, some ghosts, nightmares, and
serial murders. Fewer might see the other
genre being mashed up: the Filipino queer
movie, of which I have been an ardent
follower of, even the bad ones. In 2009,
when we first began making Zombadings,
claims were being made that gay movies
had taken over Philippine cinema, and
of course, it wasn’t true. In the margins,
under-financed, under-distributed, and
under-reported by mainstream media,
the genre had much to desire, including
respect. And so our movie is a collage
of its conventions, clichés, and topical
issues as well: macho dancers, a best
friend-turned-lover, the use of gayspeak,
powerful transvestites, homophobia,
discrimination, and even elements from
pop movies of decades past, the most
prominent of which is a swishy stereotype
as the lead star who also happens to be
an everyman action hero. You laugh at
him, with him, but you also cheer for his
dignity. The challenge was how to tie it
all up together in tone, style, narrative
flow so that it becomes one celebration
of otherness (of people, culture, as well
as cinema), and of emancipation. At the
same time somehow make it palatable
(or not), an effortless ride for the Filipino
audience mainly, and maybe anyone else
who might care. I relished the challenge
and took to it like the amateur that I was,
and surprised even myself, because I’ve
never done anything like it before, and
it will probably be a while before I do
anything quite as tricky or humbling.
25
the collector
Sat 10 Mar | 7:30pm
James Lee, 2011, Malaysia, 95 mins
Mandarin and Cantonese with English subtitles, NC16 (Some Violence)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director James Lee and actor Sunny
Pang. Sunny Pang will also participate in the Directors’ Panel on 3rd March. See
page 4 for more information.
Sunny, a kind-hearted but tough debt
collector, has a good record in debt
collection as no one ever dares to avoid
paying up. When Sunny has his palm
read by a fortune-teller, he is told that
he would suffer the disastrous effects of
bad luck unless he quits his job or does
good. During a collection trip, Sunny
encounters Ah Yuen, a 12-year-old boy
whose father owes Sunny money. With the
boy’s father nowhere to be found and his
mother indisposed, Sunny has no choice
but to take care of Ah Yuen. At the same
time, various gangs are closing in to grab
the boy to force his father to come out
of hiding. Lead actor Sunny Pang also
choreographed the fight sequences in this
film.
James Lee is one of the pioneers of the
Malaysian New Wave, otherwise known
as the Malaysian Independent Film
movement. He has produced early films of
other Malaysian filmmakers such as Amir
Muhammad and Ho Yuhang, under his
company, Doghouse73 Pictures. He also
has experience directing and acting in
theatrical productions. In 2004, he set up
Da Huang Pictures with Amir Muhammad,
Tan Chui Mui and Liew Seng Tat. In
2007, the 9th Deauville Asian Film Festival
organised a tribute for him—A Glance at
the Work of James Lee—which honoured
his young career as a director with a
personal vision.
Director’s Notes
I have always intended to do an actionpacked, martial arts fighting movie, but it
was always about finding the right actor
for the lead role: an actor with years of
martial arts training as well as acting
skills. When I worked with Sunny Pang
in my indie work Call If You Need Me and
watched his stunt show reel I thought
that I had finally found the right person
to collaborate. This was the start of The
Collector.
Print Source:
Doghouse73 Pictures (James Lee)
[email protected]
26
27
trespassers (bisperas)
Sun 11 Mar | 4:30pm
Jeffrey Jeturian, 2011, Philippines, 88 mins
Tagalog with English subtitles, NC16 (Sexual References)
When the Aguinaldo family returns from
attending Christmas Eve Mass, they find
their home broken into and burglarised.
Amidst the tension that results from this
crime, underlying family issues surface.
Mother Salud has to deal with father
Ramon’s gambling problem; while their
adult children have troubles of their own.
Their second daughter Ara is a strongheaded single woman, and their son Mio
is in the closet. Meanwhile, their eldest
daughter Diane is a migrant (or balikbayan)
with an illegitimate teenage FilipinoAmerican daughter, Steph. As the night
wears on, more and more hidden secrets
emerge, raising broader questions about
the family unit, the nation, and the church.
Jeffrey Jeturian worked as production
assistant, script continuity, art director,
production designer and assistant
director over a 15-year period before
directing his feature debut, Sana Pagibig
Na (Enter Love, 1998). His second feature,
Pila Balde (Fetch A Pail Of Water, 1999),
won the NETPAC Award at the 1st
Cinemanila International Film Festival. His
third film, Tuhog (Larger than Life, 2000),
was in competition at the 2001 Venice
International Film Festival. Kubrador (The
Bet Collector, 2006) won two FIPRESCI
awards from Moscow and New Delhi.
Bisperas (Trespassers) is his most recent
film, and won the Best Asian Film Award
at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Director’s Notes
It is said that it is in moments of crisis that
the true nature of an individual surfaces. In
the case of the Aguinaldo family, a mishap
that occurs on Christmas Eve causes
them to reveal their real sentiments
towards each other, the hypocrisy, foibles
and follies not only of each member of the
family but of the social class they belong
to and represent.
In Philippines cinema, most social realist
dramas tackle the plight of the lower
class. Rarely are the struggles and
concerns of the middle class depicted
on screen. If at all, the middle class is
used mainly as a backdrop to rich-boypoor-girl love stories or depicted as
stereotyped oppressors of the poor. The
film’s contribution to Philippine cinema will
lie on the film’s social realist depiction of
the middle class Filipino family in natural
time mode, the novelty of which has yet
to be realised in local cinema. The story
unfolds in a timeframe of two days, in a
manner that is continuous, contiguous,
and unconventional.
The domestic debacle of this Filipino
family is depicted vis-a-vis the influence
of the Church in Philippine society. The
Aguinaldo family is one that professes
love and devotion for each other, yet
harbours resentment and deep-seated
feelings against one another. It is a family
that prays and goes to mass together, yet
commits acts of indiscretion once left on
their own. It is a family that draws strength
from each other yet drains one another.
It is basically this contradictory and
schizophrenic nature of the Filipino middle
class that I, as a director, want to bring to
the fore in this independent film.
Print Source:
Producer Josabeth Alonso
[email protected]
28
29
brother number one
Fri 16 Mar | 7:30pm
Annie Goldson, 2011, Cambodia/New Zealand, 98 mins
English and Khmer with English subtitles, PG
“Brother Number One” was the name
that Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer
Rouge gave himself. Kerry Hamill was also
“brother number one”, or the oldest boy in
the Hamill family of New Zealand. In 1978,
the lives of these two “brother number
ones” collided when Kerry was tortured
and killed at the Khmer Rouge prison, Tuol
Sleng (S-21). In 2010, Kerry’s youngest
brother Rob, participated in the Cambodia
war crimes tribunal and testified against
Comrade Duch, the former commander
of S-21. While focusing on the personal
story of the Hamill family, this film also
deals with the struggle to forgive versus
the long-lasting anger at the trauma that
continues to grip the whole country and
Cambodian communities worldwide.
Print Source:
Annie Goldson
[email protected]
30
Annie Goldson has been producing and
directing award-winning documentaries
for 20 years. Her films include Punitive
Damage (1999), Georgie Girl (2002),
Pacific Solution: From Afghanistan
to Aotearoa (2005); Elgar’s Enigma:
Biography of a Concerto (2006) and An
Island Calling (2008). Goldson has also
been director of the biennial New Zealand
International Documentary Conference
held at the University of Auckland since
1996, and is on the board of DocEdge, the
New Zealand International Documentary
Film Festival. A professor at the
Department of Film, Television and Media
Studies at the University of Auckland, she
received an ONZM (Officers of the New
Zealand Order of Merit) in 2006 for her
services to film.
Director’s Notes
Directing and producing Brother Number
One has been a fulfilling albeit challenging
experience, given the difficulty of the
subject matter. Ever since I first saw the
Tuol Sleng photos in New York City in
the 1980s, I have been thinking about
Cambodia and how it was effectively
abandoned in the post-Vietnam war
era, and how it has taken so long for its
people to begin to see any form of justice.
Having Rob Hamill, an elite sportsman and
well-known Kiwi, at the centre of the film
assisted us in gaining support from New
Zealand funding agencies. One of our
senior judges, Dame Silvia Cartwright also
sits on the war crimes tribunal in Phnom
Penh, so there are strong links between
our country and Cambodia.
One of the challenges was to ensure
that we did not appear to be Eurocentric
in our focus. Without demeaning the
terrible experience of the Hamill family
after the murder of their eldest son at
Tuol Sleng, it is true that the Cambodian
experience is almost unimaginable.
But I think our strategies in addressing
this, developing Cambodian characters,
particularly our translators, so that their
stories ran in parallel to Rob’s own meant
that the film addresses the Cambodian
context fully. In fact, Cambodians we met
embraced Rob as a fellow victim and
were appreciative that he appeared at
the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts
of Cambodia (ECCC). Another issue I
felt was important was to address the
history of the region, as I firmly believe
that conflicts are conflagrations that
need to be contextualised, and as is the
case so often, Cambodia was embroiled
in a Cold War not of its own making.
I believe all of us in the international
community are responsible and that
the legacy of the Khmer Rouge is not
just “intra-Cambodian”. Addressing a
historical context—and “history” is always
contested already—is quite hard to do
well in documentary, so another balance
that I needed to achieve was that between
history and the journey at the heart of the
film.
31
lumpinee
Sat 17 Mar | 4:30pm
Chira Wichaisuthikul, 2010, Thailand, 97 mins
Thai with English subtitles, PG13 (Some Violence)
Destiny brings a group of dead-end kids
into the world of muay thai, or Thai kickboxing. Hailing from a remote region in
southern Thailand where prospects are
limited, the dream of fighting at Lumpinee
Stadium becomes a glimmer of hope for
the kids. Their fortunes rise and fall, but it
is all about determination, and faith, and
the opportunity—no matter how scant—to
flip their life crises into a potential future.
It may look like an unjust choice in some
people’s view but muay thai is a two-sided
coin in Thai society.
Chira Wichaisuthikul began his career
as a fashion photographer and music
video director and has photographed
musicians, models and starlets at the
forefront of Thai pop culture. At the same
time, he has exhibited his photographic
work showcasing portraits of teenagers of
diverse nationalities living in Bangkok and
revealing their way of life in a changing
Thai society. In 2006, he exhibited his
photographs of teenagers from rural
Thailand who travelled to Bangkok for
kick-boxing. Lumpinee is his first feature
film. It received the Jan Vrijman Fund
and was selected for the Reflecting
Images - Panorama section in the 2010
International Documentary Film Festival
Amsterdam. It was also nominated for the
Humanitarian Awards for Documentaries
in the 2011 35th Hong Kong International
Film Festival.
Director’s Notes
Today, a number of Thai boxers join the
industry and begin their fight in the ring
at a very young age. This has become a
subject of controversy in Thai society as
questions of propriety and human-rights
violations are raised, due to the obvious
violence and seemingly abusive treatment
of children by adults in the boxing
industry. At the same time, the influence of
gambling has also played a bigger role in
pressuring and determining the outcome
of a fight, making people focus less and
less on the sport of boxing itself.
The kids in the film represent a large
number of Thai youngsters who live in
rural areas in various parts of Thailand
where urban pop culture has not yet
completely dominated their life. This film
shows how they live and why Thai boxing
is deeply ingrained in their innocent souls.
The story of their boxing life journey
inspired this documentary project, with
the boxing camp serving as a platform
to depict various types of social and
personal problems and their nuances. It
is a story that begins from the modest
lives of impoverished kids, and evolves
to reveal various important questions that
have great impact on the Thai boxing
industry and society as a whole.
Print Source:
Banphot Wudhiprecha
Jaikao Art Box
45 Rama IX 41, (Saree 9 Road), Suanluang,
Bangkok 10250, Thailand
Tel: +66-81-751-0523
Fax: +66-82-719-1714
[email protected]
32
33
the land beneath the fog
Sat 17 Mar | 7:30pm
Shalahuddin Siregar, 2011, Indonesia, 105 mins
Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles, PG
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Shalahuddin Siregar.
In a remote mountain village called
Genikan, situated on the slopes of
Gunung Merbabu, a quiet community
is facing change without understanding
why it happens. The film documents the
lives of two farming families, who have
always relied on the traditional Javanese
calendar system to read the seasons.
However, it has been raining more than in
previous years, and farmers Muryati and
Sudardi are growing increasingly puzzled
and distressed by the failing harvests
and lower crop prices. Meanwhile, young
Arifin, immersed in the complications of
the public school system, is faced with
the question of what the future offers
him. With a rhythm of a meditative visual
journey, this film describes a world on
the brink of vanishing, offering intimate
insights into familial relations amongst the
disenfranchised.
Shalahuddin Siregar started his career in
documentary filmmaking as a finalist in the
Eagle Awards 2005, a documentary film
competition. He was also a participant in
the “Indonesia: 10 Years after Reformasi”
Capacity Building Programme of 2008.
In 2009, he was selected from 3,800
submissions spanning 128 countries as
a participant in the 7th Berlinale Talent
Campus. During his time at Berlinale, he
presented the documentary project, The
Land Beneath the Fog.
Director’s Notes
I developed this film when the number of
documentary film productions in Indonesia
were growing like mushrooms. However,
almost all films were dominated by a
journalistic television approach, ranging
from the choice of the stories and the
protagonists, to the approach and the
artistic style. When watching Indonesian
documentaries at local film festivals, we
often see few differences between each
film. This is why I intentionally chose a
different way. I wanted to try something
new and more personal. I was looking for
a different way of storytelling and artistic
film language. I applied a different visual
approach.
During the shooting period I did not
expect to find big dramatic moments
or tearjerking scenes. My intention is to
build meaningful narratives from simple
scenes. Each scene traces the complexity
of “feelings” or “moods”, more than
focusing on facts and information. One
scene defines the other, through indirect,
yet strong links and associations, just like
a puzzle. The main idea is to present each
scene as a complete miniature picture of
the whole film and at the same time to
maintain its secret particularity, so that the
audience would individually place each
piece of the puzzle where it belongs as the
story evolves.
I preferred to use rather still and static
pictures, because I want to preserve the
slow and repetitive rhythm that dominates
everyday life in this village. The use of
still pictures allows stories to be created
through the protagonist’s body language,
gestures and facial expressions. By
applying this visual treatment, I also want
to enhance a film-watching experience
that triggers the audience to use and
enjoy their own audiovisual sensitivity.
Print Source:
STUDIOKECIL
Tel: +62-815-790-1418
[email protected]
www.studiokecil.com
34
35
the dream of eleuteria
(ang damgo ni eleuteria)
Sun 18 Mar | 4:30pm
Remton Siega Zuasola, 2010, Philippines, 90 mins
Cebuano with English subtitles, PG
“Damgo”, or the Cebuano word for
“dream”, describes the situation of the
film’s protagonist, Terya, a simple island
girl who is about to leave her home to
marry a foreigner. As she asks herself
whether or not she should go, she faces
the pressures of people around her whose
own dreams depend on her departure.
Taking place in the scenic Olango Island
in the midst of the Baliw-Baliw festival, the
film captures Terya and her state of mind
as she walks towards her destiny. On the
way, a small series of events are ignited
and certain characters are introduced,
that affect her eventual decision to stay or
leave. This film is shot in one single take.
Remton Siega Zuasola is a Cebuano
independent filmmaker. His short, To
Siomai Love, won the Best Short Film
award at the Cinemanila International
Film Festival, where he was also given
the Ishmael Bernal Award for the Most
Outstanding Young Filipino Filmmaker.
The Dream of Eleuteria is his debut feature
and won the Best Southeast Asian Film at
the Cinemanila International Film Festival
2010, and was given the awards for Best
Director, Best Film, Best Cinematography,
and Best Music at the 34th Gawad Urian
(2011), an annual film awards held in
the Philippines since 1997. It also won
the Special Jury Prize at the 12th Jeonju
International Film Festival (2011).
Print Source:
Cinema One Originals (Ronald Arguelles)
[email protected]
36
37
The mirror never lies
Fri 23 Mar | 7:30pm
Kamila Andini, 2011, Indonesia, 100 mins
Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles, PG
12-year-old Pakis lives in Kampung Bajo,
a fishing village situated in the Wakatobi
Sea of East Sulawesi. When her father
goes missing at sea, she recalls an old
Bajo belief about mirrors and water, and
tries in vain to spot a reflection of her
father in a mirror he gave her. Meanwhile,
dolphin researcher Tudo comes to the
village from the mainland, and becomes
intrigued by Tayung, Pakis’ mother.
Meanwhile, changes are happening
in the village, as the tides and seastorms become more unpredictable and
dangerous. Together with her best friend
Lumo, Pakis keeps searching for answers
from the sea.
Born in Jakarta in 1986, Kamila Andini is
the daughter of internationally acclaimed
director, Garin Nugroho. Andini was a
diver and a photographer when she was
in junior high, then started shooting shorts
and documentaries when she was in high
school. She has been a documentary
filmmaker for the World Wildlife Fund and
has also worked as an assistant director
and director for film and television. The
Mirror Never Lies is her debut feature,
and won the Bright Young Talent Award
in the Mumbai International Film Festival
(2011), The Earth Grand Prix and Special
Mention awards in the Tokyo International
Film Festival (2011), and received Special
Mention awards in the Cinemanila
International Film Festival (2011).
Director’s Notes
Indonesia is an archipelago and seas fill
most parts of the country. This is why we
call it “Tanah Air” (Water Land) Indonesia.
We always focus on Indonesia as an
agricultural country but this movie gives
us a second look at the “water” part of
Indonesia.
The first time I dived in Wakatobi, an
archipelagic province in Indonesia, I was
amazed by its nature and culture. It is a
miniature of Indonesia itself. I visited the
Bajo tribe in Wakatobi, a sea-wandering
group which builds their lives in the middle
of the wide oceans. I was impressed with
how close they live to the sea and how
they use tradition and local wisdom to
protect it. But in Indonesia and the world,
climate change is getting more and more
unpredictable. This change has become
a conflict in fishermen’s lives. There are
many times when the sea is no longer
friendly and they can no longer read it.
The exploitation of natural resources
causes the depopulation of marine biota
and decreases their livelihood.
The mirror is one of the cultural tools for
the Bajo to find missing things or people.
There has also always been a connection
between women and mirrors as the
moments of a girl growing up are created
when she looks at herself in the mirror.
Through her mirror, a girl is waiting and
hoping her father would come back from
the sea.
For my feature film debut, I would like to
show the sea world of Indonesia to the
world and I would like to take everyone
to know Indonesian maritime life a bit
closer. I also pondered on other ideas that
are part of the weave of the film, like the
nature of loss and alienation that exists in
both the individual and society.
Print Source:
Set Film Workshop (Gita Fara)
[email protected]
38
39
Tatsumi
Sat 24 Mar | 4:30pm
Eric Khoo, 2011, Singapore/Japan, 96 mins
Japanese with English subtitles, M18 (Sexual Scenes)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with producer Tan Fong Cheng.
Tatsumi explores the life of the father of
gekiga (or “dramatic pictures”) comics,
an adult alternative manga style that
Yoshihiro Tatsumi pioneered in the late
1950s. The film depicts Tatsumi’s career,
from the early days as a comic artist in
post-war Japan, to his invention of the
gekiga, and his innovation of the genre
as his style became increasingly bizarre
and explicit in terms of sex and violence.
The film showcases some of Tatsumi’s
most important stories of the early ‘70s
such as “Hell”, “Beloved Monkey”, “Just A
Man”, “Occupied” and “Goodbye”, which
revolutionised the manga universe when
they were published.
Print Source:
Zhao Wei Films (Fong Cheng)
[email protected]
40
Eric Khoo put Singapore on the
international film map with his first feature
film, Mee Pok Man (1995), which received
prizes at Fukuoka, Pusan and Singapore
International Film Festivals. His second
feature, 12 Storeys (1997), was the first
Singapore film to be invited to the 50th
Cannes Film Festival (1997). In 2004,
Khoo directed his third feature, Be With
Me, which was selected as the opening
film for the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes
2005. He received the highest arts honour,
the Cultural Medallion, from the President
of Singapore in 2007. In 2008, his feature
film, My Magic, was selected for Cannes
in competition. Tatsumi debuted at
Cannes in 2011 and is Singapore’s entry
for the Best Foreign Language Film for the
2012 Academy Awards.
Director’s Notes
I have been a massive fan of the short
stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi for over two
decades and I was overwhelmed after
reading his 800-page autobiography, A
Drifting Life. I was extremely moved by the
love and passion he has for his craft, and
the trials and tribulations he went through
in pursuit of it. Not only is Yoshihiro
Tatsumi a consummate storyteller, he is
also a brutally astute and honest observer
of love, life and the human condition. And
these observations remain as haunting
and disturbing today.
Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s works had never been
adapted into a film before Tatsumi. When
I went to Japan to meet Mr. Tatsumi, our
first meeting was in the basement of an
old coffeeshop. It had been arranged for
him to see my films beforehand, and I was
pleased when he told me that he could
relate to my films and their characters.
But I think that what made him feel most
comfortable with me was when I showed
him that I could draw. I had illustrated
how I envisaged the film. We spent over
three hours together and he gave me his
blessing to make the film.
Yoshihiro Tatsumi liked the idea of
combining his autobiography A Drifting
Life with his short stories. I laughed
when he told me that if I would feature
only his short stories, then people would
commit suicide after watching the film!
He was pleased with my selection of five
stories and we proceeded from there. The
stories used in Tatsumi are an example of
the adult-oriented and risqué work that
shocked many back in the ‘70s. But there
were also a growing number of alternative
readers who fell in love with the stories he
was telling in true gekiga fashion. Even
writer Yukio Mishima was a fan of this new
bold form of storytelling. To me, all of his
stories are gems, so it’s a pity we could
not fit them all in. It just wasn’t possible
for a feature under 100 minutes. If I ever
do another animation feature, it will be
with the stories of Mr. Tatsumi that I could
not fit into Tatsumi.
41
the legend of the impacts
Sat 24 Mar | 7:30pm
Jeevan Nathan, 2011, Singapore, 13 mins, PG
Director’s Notes
Mike reminisces about his past as a
This short film is dedicated to the Mikes
member of The Impacts, a 1960s local
and The Impacts of the 1960s.
band. In 1966, music was rocking and
rolling in a newly independent Singapore.
It was a bittersweet and unforgettable time
of his life.
Jeevan Nathan is a director of short films
and television programs. The Legend of
the Impacts is his sixth short film.
Print Source:
M’GO Films
[email protected]
42
43
before we forget
Sat 24 Mar | 7:30pm
Jeremy Boo and Lee Xian Jie, 2011, Singapore, 54 mins, PG13 (Some Disturbing Scenes)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with directors Jeremy Boo and Lee Xian Jie.
Filmed in an observational style, this
film interweaves the stories of two
Singaporean families and their journey
with dementia over the course of a year.
50-year-old Joyce Fernandez’s mother
Celine has had Alzheimer’s disease for
seven years. Staunch Catholics, the duo
keep their heads above the emotional
turmoil through daily prayer. Dr. Irene
Giam is diagnosed with “mild cognitive
impairment”, but vascular dementia
causes her to forget the frequent visits by
her husband and deepens her feelings of
loneliness. She is an atheist with strong
views about death in the face of terminal
illness. Intimate and unflinchingly honest,
this is a film about two women with
dementia who live in an Asian society
where terminal illnesses and dying remain
taboo.
Print Source:
Jeremy Boo
+65-9667-7447
[email protected]
44
Jeremy Boo and Lee Xian Jie are
humanitarian reporters and documentary
filmmakers. Graduates from Ngee Ann
Polytechnic’s Mass Communication
school, they have photographed and
written stories about the Burmese
community in Singapore, arseniccontaminated waters in Cambodia, and
slums in Manila, among others. Their work
has been published by The Straits Times
Saturday Special Report and Reader’s
Digest Asia. Boo received an award in
the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) Young Reporter Competition
in 2010, and both of them run Hachisu, a
communication and production house.
Director’s Notes
We believe that neurological disorders will
be the cancer of our generation. Today,
we have treatments for cancer but not
for treatments for neurodegenerative
diseases, which are chronic and terminal.
These disorders will only rise with an
ageing population. Jeremy has personal
experience with taking care of his mother
who has a motor neurone disease,
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known
as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He expected
sorrow and grief during caregiving,
but was not prepared for the anger,
guilt, denial, and physical, mental, and
emotional exhaustion which feed off each
other. Neurodegenerative diseases do not
affect just the person with it, but also the
loved ones of that person.
When we were looking for subjects
for this story, many were not willing to
come forward because of the stigma of
mental illnesses (even though dementia
is not a mental illness) and end-of-life
issues, which makes it more difficult for
people to learn more. Consequently, we
hear of stories of people with dementia
locked at home because their children
do not understand why their parents
are wandering outside; or who have to
be restrained to their beds, sedated or
intubated, or hooked up to machines,
even though there is little evidence that
this necessarily improves the quality of
life. When we made this documentary, we
wanted to observe, for a year, the lives of
people with dementia and their caregivers.
We wanted to tell the stories of these
people so that others may understand and
empathise with them.
Lee Xian Jie
+65-8198-1433
[email protected]
45
baby factory (bahay bata)
Sun 25 Mar | 4:30pm
Eduardo W. Roy, Jr., 2011, Philippines, 97 mins
Tagalog with English subtitles, NC16 (Some Nudity)
Sarah is a nurse at a bustling public
maternity hospital that is full of mothers
in different stages of pregnancy and
labour. As the hospital is short of staff on
Christmas Day, Sarah is forced to put in a
double shift. As she observes the women
coming and going in her ward, Sarah
takes note of those who are first-timers
and those who are veterans. The wards
are overcrowded, with two women and
their babies sharing single beds while
those in labour spill over from the delivery
rooms into the hallways. The film tracks
the stories of the patients as well as the
denizens of the hospital, returning always
to Sarah, whose heart and mind keeps
labouring over her own personal pain.
Eduardo W. Roy, Jr. graduated from the
Philippine School of Interior Design in
2010 and joined a workshop on Found
Story under Bing Lao. In addition to
designing living and working spaces
for clients, he also directs and writes
screenplays. His film Ulirat won the Film
Academy of the Philippines (FAP) award
for Best Short Film in 2002; and his
second film, Ang Pinakamahabang (One
Night Stand), was exhibited at the Festival
Del Mar Ibiza, Grand Canaria Film Festival
in Spain and the Reeling Film Festival in
Chicago. Baby Factory is his first fulllength feature film and received a Special
Mention in the Vancouver International
Film Festival (2011).
Director’s Notes
“To burn with desire and be quiet about it
is the greatest punishment we can bring
on ourselves.” - Frederico Garcia Lorca
My first full length film is about birth.
In Baby Factory, I wanted to be able
to capture the real life-versus-death
struggles of women during childbirth. I
wanted to see, literally and figuratively, the
different faces of women from all ages and
all walks of life who are confronted with
issues about child-bearing in the midst of
a society which casts the role of women
primarily as nurturers of life.
Print Source:
Ferdinand Lapuz
[email protected]
46
47
bunohan (return to murder)
Fri 30 Mar | 7:30pm
Dain Said, 2011, Malaysia, 97 mins
Bahasa Malaysia with English subtitles, NC16 (Some Violence)
Set in a border town in northeastern
Malaysia of the same name, Bunohan tells
the story of three estranged brothers–
Adil, Bakar and Ilham–and their ailing
father, as the brothers’ fates are tragically
intertwined in a web of deceit and
corruption. After fleeing a deathmatch
in Thailand, kickboxer Adil is on the run
from hitman Ilham. The chase brings
them to Bunohan, where they become
entangled with the shady schemes of
ambitious businessman, Bakar. The trio’s
unlikely homecoming brings to light the
past of patriarch Pok Eng, whose secrets
will unravel all their lives. Each man’s
unfulfilled struggle for reconciliation and
forgiveness leads to the violence of loss,
betrayal, corruption and murder.
Print Source:
Apparat Films (Nandita Solomon)
[email protected]
48
Dain Said is a Malaysian writer and
filmmaker who graduated in film and
photography from the University of
Westminster in London. His film Surabaya
Johnny was screened at the London
Film Festival in 1989, and he made
Dukun, his controversial first feature in
2007. His media installations have been
shown at the Biennale of Sydney and the
University of British Colombia Museum
of Anthropology and at the Burj al-Arab
in Dubai. His second feature, Bunohan,
premiered at the 36th Toronto International
Film Festival and received the NETPAC
award at the Taipei Golden Horse Film
Festival.
Director’s Notes
Bunohan is set in the so-called “badlands”
of Malaysia. The modern Malaysian state
has long tried to define this place by its
borders but to many communities this
means nothing. From the northern fringes
of Terengganu, through Kelantan, and
across the border to Pattani in southern
Thailand is the Malay conservative
heartland that defies sovereign
boundaries. The inner sanctum of Malay
culture resides here, incorporating a whole
mixture of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and
animism; Malay, Thai and Chinese. I drew
inspiration from my childhood memories
growing up in the border town of Tumpat,
tapping into a tapestry of stories of
assassins, kickboxers and smugglers
told to me by my policeman father who
patrolled the border.
Cultural and mythological elements are
inextricable from the landscape and
the largely rural community. Animist
beliefs that have evolved into cultural
practices like the Mak Yong, Main Puteri,
shadow puppetry and oral folklore like
the Crocodile-Man (which I adapted for
Mek Yah’s story). Assassin Ilham prefers
the intimacy of killing with the traditional
Lawi Ayam knife; Tomoi fighters dance in
traditional ceremonial blessing as a ritual
of respect; the distinctly oral nature of
the Kelantanese dialect used throughout
bristles with nuances and the natural
sounds of the environment resonate
throughout the film.
Placed within this mythological landscape
is the psychology of a culture that takes
on complexities beyond the machismo of
physical violence. I was eager to explore
the subtler violence that arises from the
relationship between men. They cannot
articulate emotions and what their actual
problem is. And because they can’t
confront, it then catches up with them 10
to 20 years later. Adil and Ilham’s exit and
return to Bunohan is underscored by their
inability to cope with personal traumas.
It’s an inarticulate speech of the heart.
49
World Without Shadow
(Wayang Rindukan Bayang)
Sat 31 Mar | 4:30pm
Khoo Eng Yow, 2011, Malaysia, 90 mins
Bahasa Malaysia with English subtitles, M18 (Some Mature Content)
A centuries-old form of theatre is under
threat of extinction in the state of Kelantan
in Malaysia. Wayang kulit, or the art of
shadow play, has become the victim of
conservative state policies and religious
puritanical influences. What was once a
revered art form is now seen as a threat
to religious values, although it has coexisted with Islam since the 13th century.
Many wayang kulit practitioners are now
caught in the conflict between the art and
the government. This documentary looks
into the lives of the few remaining master
puppeteers who hold steadfastly onto
their dying art despite the great odds.
Khoo Eng Yow is from Taiping, Malaysia,
and is an engineer by training. His interest
in still photography led him to his full-time
profession as an editor. Having edited
other filmmakers’ works for many years,
Khoo started making his own films from
2002, so as to explore the freedom of
form and style in independent filmmaking.
His films focus on gritty, real life issues,
and include the award-winning short film,
Railway Steps, as well as the docu-drama
Ah Kew the Digger. Khoo is currently an
editor and director based in Kuala Lumpur.
Print Source:
Da Huang Pictures Sdn Bhd
B-7-6, Menara Menjalara, Jalan 1/62B, Bandar Menjalara,
52200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60-12-397-9947
[email protected]
50
51
Mother’s Soul (Tam Hon Me)
Sat 31 Mar | 7:30pm
Pham Nhue Giang, 2011, Vietnam, 95 mins
Vietnamese with English subtitles, M18 (Some Sexual Scenes)
Featuring a post-screening discussion with director Pham Nhue Giang.
Lan lives with her daughter Thu in a
lowland area in the middle of the Red
River Delta. They make a living by buying
wholesale groceries early in the morning
at Long Bien Market and reselling them
locally throughout the day. But when
Thu’s mother falls for a driver, she enters
a relationship that has no future, and her
business suffers as a result. Trying on her
own to make ends meet, strong-willed
Thu longs for her mother’s affection and
in compensation, devotes her affection
to her classmate Dang, whom she calls
her son. An orphan, Dang also lacks a
mother’s love. What kind of soul does a
mother have?
Pham Nhue Giang graduated from the
Hanoi University of Cinematography
and the Hanoi University of Architecture.
Since her debut film, Le Petit Culi (1992),
she has directed many award-winning
TV series and feature films. Among
them are The Deserted Valley (2001),
which won the Silver Lotus Prize at the
13th Vietnam National Film Festival, the
FIPRESCI Prize at the 52nd Melbourne
International Film Festival, and Second
Prize from the Vietnam Association of
Cinematography. She has also won prizes
for her 25-episode television series Hau
Hoa (2007). The Real and the Ideal (2009)
was given the Golden Kite Award from
the Vietnam Association of Filmmakers.
12-year-old Phung Hoa Hoai Linh won
the best actress award at the 2011
Dubai International Film Festival for her
performance in this film.
Director’s Notes
The different things that make up a
“mother’s soul” can be seen in the
character of the mother as well as in
the little girl: whatever that is good and
the bad, or noble and wretched. Their
compassion and strong feminine instincts
reflect a mother’s complex, conflicted
and emotional soul. However, goodness
will help them survive and conquer in any
circumstances.
Print Source:
Vietnam Feature Film Studio (Mr Vuong Duc)
4 Thuy Khue Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
[email protected]
52
53
Pinoy Indie Power
by Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr.
The development of contemporary independent filmmaking in the
Philippines is quite phenomenal. Those who are in the habit of grading
film history like a piece of stone or metal have rated this decade of
the new millennium as another golden age of Philippine Cinema. It’s
ironic that we can have a golden age when the mainstream industry
has been declared dead or dying or languishing in the ICU. In this
essay, I am going to explore the phenomenon of indie filmmaking in
the Philippines. How did this happen? What is the source of this socalled Pinoy indie power?
In the historical development of cinema, there are four elements
that interplay to make things happen – 1) technology that makes a
kind of filmmaking feasible; 2) filmmakers who create the films; 3)
audiences that are open to a new kind of cinema; and 4) business that
sustains filmmaking. Pinoy indie filmmaking is made possible by the
confluence of these elements.
In the ‘70s, Lino Brocka and his generation of filmmakers did not
have any feasible alternative but to break into the industry. Certainly,
the 16mm film format was available, but this was quite expensive for
feature filmmaking and the post-production facilities were not readily
accessible. There were a few filmmakers who used 16mm film,
particularly for documentaries. When we were shooting Maynila… Sa
mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila… In the Claws of Light), Kidlat Tahimik
was doing his Perfumed Nightmare in 16mm; he depended on some
grants, but it did not mean that Kidlat was a poor filmmaker. For
most of the ‘70s generation of filmmakers, the industry was the only
available alternative to do films.
Today’s generation of filmmakers can do their thing outside of
the industry. The advent of the digital video technology made
this possible. Mini-DV was the new format then at the turn of
the new millennium. This new technology was revolutionary and
made filmmaking possible to many. The filmmaker was no longer
constrained by expensive film stock. A 60-minute mini-DV tape
became an affordable luxury. Today, developments in digital
technology continue to raise the quality of digital filmmaking.
Filmmakers have an incredible line of cameras, from DSLRs to
high-end HD cameras. Post-production technology ranges from
the desktop computer to the more sophisticated off-line and online editing equipment. Technology has made filmmaking more
democratic. There is no excuse not to be able to make one’s dream
film (except sloth).
54
In the late ‘90s and the beginning of the new millennium, a few
filmmakers started to explore the possibilities of digital video in
feature filmmaking. For example, Jon Red did his experiment with
an immobile camera in Still Lives (1999); and Astigmatism (2004),
his experiment with point of view. In 2002, Ditsi Carolino did Riles,
her documentary on the life of a poor couple living along the railroad
tracks. In 2005, when the first Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
happened, more filmmakers plunged into filmmaking, producing
their films with the grant of Php500,000 (approximately US$10,000)
per filmmaker. The new millennium ushered in a new generation of
filmmakers who had the desire and passion for filmmaking. It was
also in 2005 when Brillante Mendoza made his first digital movie,
Masahista (Masseur). Many of this new generation of would-be
filmmakers are educated in filmmaking in college or film workshops;
definitely, they are all exposed to world cinema (thanks to pirated
DVDs and internet downloads). They come not only from Metro
Manila, but also from the various regions around the country. This
new generation of filmmakers includes the young Filipinos abroad,
mostly Filipino-Americans. The time of this new generation of
filmmakers has definitely come.
Together with this new generation is a young audience that has a
similar passion for films. These are the moviegoers (in their twenties
or thirties) who patiently queue to watch the films sponsored by the
various embassies and cultural institutes - the Cine Europa Film
Festival, the Japanese Eiga Sai, the films from Instituto Cervantes,
the French Film Festival, the Italian Film Festival, and the films from
the Goethe Institut. These are also the moviegoers who attend the
Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.
The business side of filmmaking is something that Pinoy indie
filmmakers have yet to explore fully. Pinoy indie films, which are not
usually released commercially, are done at a low budget, sometimes
at an atrociously low budget. Some films are done with US$1,000 (or
even lower). A US$40,000 budget is not usual; a US$60,000 budget
is already quite a risk. Of course, the quality of a film does not have
to be a function of budget – as many of the Pinoy indies can show.
To make ends meet, the Pinoy indie filmmakers have to depend on
ex-deals (e.g. meals from a restaurant in exchange for a mention in
the end credits) and the cooperation of professional actors who waive
their fees. But this kind of filmmaking can’t continue without building
a huge debt of gratitude. Therefore, filmmakers have to explore the
business possibilities of their film property. Creating venues for their
films is a challenge that indie filmmakers face. Schools offer captive
audiences, but when you have several filmmakers trying to get into
the same school, you can imagine the difficulty of breaking into the
55
cameras, like the digital SLRs, and in editing softwares that are more
affordable. Most probably, some indie filmmakers will raise their
technical quality to another level, using the latest in HD cameras, like
Red or Alexa. How they can make this happen will depend on their
ingenuity in getting or raising funds. Or, they can go mainstream and
harness the resources of the industry, hopefully without sacrificing
their integrity as filmmakers.
school campuses. If indie filmmakers want to sustain their production,
then they have to explore the marketing possibilities of their films in
and out of the country.
How long will this indie film power last? The answer lies with the
filmmakers themselves. They have to sustain what they do best – i.e.
make films. There are many indie filmmakers who have taken over
the development of Philippine Cinema. And they don’t all come from
Metro Manila. What is interesting about this film revolution is that it
is also happening in various regions of the country – from the north
in Luzon, to the islands of the Visayas, and the southern reaches
of Mindanao. Cinema Rehiyon is an annual festival that features
The mainstream industry, on the other hand, if it wants to rise from
the slump that it has been experiencing since the turn of the new
millennium, has to take advantage of the indie power. Opening itself
up to the new breed of filmmakers is a major way of developing the
industry. A few major studios have already opened their doors to
young filmmakers, but the opportunity has not been translated into a
level of freedom where the filmmakers can flourish. The mainstream
industry, if it wants to develop, has to provide an environment for
young filmmakers to practice their creativity. It may not be total
creative freedom that indie filmmakers breathe; but, it should not mean
cloning the young filmmakers into mainstream technicians either.
A process of appropriation has to happen. The mainstream industry
needs to appropriate the indie filmmakers who desire a wider audience
and make their crossover profitable for both the industry and the
filmmakers. The infusion of new blood to the mainstream will certainly
develop the industry. Meanwhile, the diehard indie filmmakers who
remain outside the mainstream must continue to develop themselves,
and reinvent the idea of Pinoy indie filmmaking. That process of
appropriation and re-invention bodes well for a national cinema that
continues to be enlivened by its Pinoy indie power.
the varied films from the regions. For the first time in the history
of Philippine Cinema, we hear voices coming from places outside
the political and economic center of the country and we see local
images from the eyes of the regional filmmakers. Digital filmmaking
is alive and well in the whole country. Filmmakers will continue to
find support and their audiences in various festivals – notably the
Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, the Cinema One Originals (a
programme of grants sponsored by a major cable network), and soon
another festival competition to be sponsored by another television
network.
Film still from
The Dream of
Eleuteria
(Ang Damgo Ni
Eleuteria)
Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. is professor emeritus and university fellow at De La Salle
University in the Philippines. He is also the writer of many classic screenplays such as
Manila in the Claws of Neon Light (1975), Batch ‘81 (1982), Blink of an Eye (1981), and
3rd World Hero (2000). His first feature, Pepot Artista, won Best Film in the Cinemalaya
Independent Film Festival 2005, and Best Actor at the Singapore International Film Festival
2006. His documentaries include Lupa, on land reform; Maid in Singapore, on domestic
helpers; Ehem!plo, on corruption; and Tinitingnan, ‘Di Nakikita, on urban poverty.
How long will indie filmmaking be sustained? The technology will
be available and will be more accessible. We have seen this in new
56
57
General informatioN
ADDRESSES
OPENING HOURS
Singapore Art Museum is located at
71 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189555
Mondays to Sundays | 10am to 7pm
(Last admission at 6:15pm)
Fridays | 10am to 9pm
SAM at 8Q is located at
8 Queen Street, Singapore 188535
ENQUIRIES
6332 3222 or 6332 3200
[email protected]
Museum admission applies.
Free admission to SAM every Friday from
6pm to 9pm and on Open House days.
HOW TO GET TO SAM & SAM AT 8Q
about sam
The mission of Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is to advocate and present contemporary
art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. Opened in January 1996
as a museum under the National Heritage Board of Singapore, SAM has amassed one
of the world’s largest public collections of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian
artworks, with a growing component in international contemporary art. Since 2009,
SAM has focused its programming and collections development initiatives around
contemporary Southeast Asian art and art practices. Through strategic alliances with
arts and cultural institutions and community organisations, SAM facilitates visual arts
education, exchange, research and development within the region and internationally.
SAM is also the organiser of Singapore Biennale 2011.
By bus
SBS 7, 14, 16, 36, 111, 131, 162, 175, 502, 518
SMRT 77, 167, 171, 700
By MRT
2-minutes walk from Bras Basah MRT
Station. 10-minutes walk from Dhoby
Ghaut, Bugis or City Hall MRT stations.
By car
Carparks available at Waterloo Street,
Queen Street, NTUC Income Centre,
Plaza by the Park, Hotel Grand Pacific and
Singapore Management University.
about the curators
Philip Cheah is a film critic and Vice-President of NETPAC (Network for the
Promotion of Asian Cinema). He is programme consultant for AsiaPacificFilms.com
online film library, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival, Cinema Digital Seoul Film Festival
and the Dubai International Film Festival. He is a Founding Member of the Singapore
International Film Festival and was the programmer and director for 23 years from 1987
to 2010. Philip has received the Korean Cinema Award at the 9th Pusan International
Film Festival (2004) for his contribution to Korean film, and the Asian Cinema Prize at
the 8th Cinemanila International Film Festival (2006) for his contribution to Asian film.
Teo Swee Leng is a veteran arts administrator and consultant and has worked in
the local arts and film community for the past 25 years. She was festival director of the
Singapore International Film Festival from 1991 to 2007, administrator for TheatreWorks
from 1985 to 1989, executive producer of ISEA2008, and works as consultant on
projects including NETPAC, Asia Pacific Films.Com, Lien Fung’s Colloquium and the
Buddhist Film Festivals in Singapore.
Sam I-shan is a Programmes Manager at the Singapore Art Museum where she
manages the Moving Image Gallery.
SAM ONLINE
www.singaporeartmuseum.sg
www.facebook.com/singaporeartmuseum
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www.youtube.com/samtelly
All information is correct at the time of print.
The Museum reserves the right to make changes and modifications to the programmes without prior notice. The views and opinions
expressed by the films, artists, directors, speakers, or facilitators do not represent the position of the Singapore Art Museum.
All rights reserved. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced in part or in whole
without written consent of the Museum. © Copyright 2012
coming soon
SOPHIE CALLE &
GREGORY SHEPHARD
No Sex Last Night (Double-Blind)
13 & 20 April 2012
DANIEL COCKBURN
You Are Here
May 2012
www.singaporeartmuseum.sg
Top: Sophie Calle and Gregory Shepard Double-Blind, 1992.
Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York
Bottom: Film still from You Are Here