Media Release For Immediate Release Singapore Art Museum

 Media Release
For Immediate Release
Singapore Art Museum Presents the Fifth Southeast Asian Film Festival
Celebrating the diversity of Southeast Asia through independent cinema
Singapore, 16 March 2015 - The fifth edition of the Southeast Asian Film Festival (SEAFF)
presented by the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) returns from 10 April to 3 May 2015 with an
exciting line-up of the newest and most compelling cinematic work from the region.
Celebrating the spirit of independent filmmaking in Southeast Asia and reflecting the region’s
diversity, the Festival features films from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Taking a co-curated approach, SAM once again
collaborates with independent film curators Phillip Cheah and Tay Swee Leng for this
edition’s film selection, presenting a total of 20 films. The films Chasing Waves (2015) and
Fundamentally Happy (2015) make their world premieres at this Festival, while K’na the
Dreamweaver (2014) and Riddles of My Homecoming (2013) and Sparks (2014) are
international premieres showing outside their home countries for the first time.
Opening and Closing Films
SEAFF opens with the film The Last Executioner (2014), directed by Tom Waller, which tells
the story of Chavoret Jarubon - the last person in Thailand whose job was to execute death
row prisoners with a machine gun. The film stars Vithaya Pansringarm in the role of Chavoret,
for which he won Best Actor at the Shanghai Film Festival in 2014. He is also internationally
known for his role in the 2013 crime drama Only God Forgives alongside Ryan Gosling and
Kirsten Scott Thomas. The closing film, NOVA (2014) by Malaysian director Nik Amir
Mustapha, is a tale about the madcap adventure of a group of friends on a quest to prove that
UFOs are real. Focusing on the camaraderie of old friends and childhood memories, the film
also pays homage to Malaysian cinema greats like P. Ramlee, Shamsuddin and Aziz Sattar.
Next Generation Directors
The screening of NOVA at SEAFF underscores the role the Festival plays as a place to
discover the next generation of Southeast Asian filmmakers. In addition to Nik Amir
Mustapha, this year’s stellar list includes Charliebebs Gohetia (Chasing Waves, 2015), Daniel
Hui (SNAKESKIN, 2014), Giancarlo Abrahan (Sparks, 2014), Tan Bee Thiam and Lei Yuan
Bin (Fundamentally Happy, 2015), and Ida Anita del Mundo, daughter of celebrated Filipino
film director Clodualdo del Mundo, with her debut feature film, K’na the Dreamweaver.
An Evolving Festival
SEAFF is also reflective of the changing times and demographics, evolving to mirror the
transcendence of boundaries - an experience that characterises the region today. It is the
subject that Fluid Boundaries (2014), a cross-cultural film project by Mun Jeonghyun, Vladimir
Todorovic and Daniel Rudi Haryanto, engages with. This experience is also reflected in the
Festival with the increasing number of non-Asian filmmakers who have made Southeast Asia
their home and those who have strong links with the region. They include Joshua
Oppenheimer, a US-born MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant recipient fluent in Bahasa Indonesia who
directed The Look of Silence (2014), the sequel film to his successful documentary The Act of
Killing (2012) about Indonesia’s so-called communist purge of the 1960s which saw the
killings of hundreds and thousands of people; Tom Waller, Thai-Irish director of The Last
Executioner (2014) who resides in Thailand; French director Bastian Meiresonne (Garuda
Power: The Spirit Within, 2014) who is also an Asian film critic; and Australian Andrew
Leavold whose fascination with popular Filipino cinema led him to direct the film, The Search
for Weng Weng (2013).This diversity offers an opportunity to present a snapshot of Southeast
Asia with multiple points of view from within and without, pushing audiences to reflect on
issues highlighted in the films.
“The Southeast Asian Film Festival offers a space for the exploration of film as contemporary
artistic practice, expressing core issues and concerns of the region. These are articulated
through the different filmic genres such as documentary, action, comedy, drama and science
fiction and framed against the culturally, socially and politically specific backdrops of each
Southeast Asian country. The films direct our attention on human struggles and triumphs,
question social and political conditions, re-examine historical narratives and reflect upon the
times we live in today. These explorations resonate with the spectrum of Southeast Asian
contemporary art, which is SAM’s focus.” says Dr Susie Lingham, Director of the Singapore
Art Museum.
New Genres
For the first time, SEAFF introduces the action film genre. As a special tribute, the Festival
presents two films as part of Action Asia: The Wild Wild Years of Asian Film Action – The
Search for Weng Weng directed by Andrew Leavold and Garuda Power: The Spirit Within
directed by Bastian Meiresonne. The former is a documentary about 85-cm tall Filipino action
hero, Weng Weng, who was known as the Filipino James Bond and is an investigation into
the eccentric history of Filipino B-grade cinema and the business of film, power and politics.
Garuda Power: The Spirit Within takes an incredible journey into Indonesia’s action films from
their beginnings in 1920s up to the latest international successes.
The science fiction and dystopia genres also make their mark at SEAFF’s fifth edition with two
films - 2030 (2014) and SNAKESKIN (2014). The films envision alternative futures based on
existing social, political and environmental issues re-examine the present and the past with
their narrative and experimental structures. 2030 by Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo predicts a
future in which rising sea levels adversely affect Vietnamese farmland, mixing this dystopic
vision with a gritty noir mystery. In Daniel Hui’s hybrid film, SNAKESKIN, Singapore’s history
and past is explored via the narrative of a single survivor of a mysterious cult from the year
2066.
SEAFF continues its practice of bringing film directors to the Festival for post-screening
dialogues and discussions. Over the three-week festival period, audiences will be able to
meet 13 directors, producers and other industry professionals associated with these films,
participate in these sessions where filmmakers will discuss issues raised in their work and
share insights into their filmmaking process.
SEAFF runs from 10 April to 3 May 2015 at the Moving Image Gallery, SAM at 8Q. Tickets
are priced at $10 and are available from SISTIC. More details about the film programme and
post-screening discussions can be found at www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/SEAFF.
www.singaporeartmuseum.sg
www.facebook.com/singaporeartmuseum
www.twitter.com/sg_artmuseum
www.instagram.com/sg_artmuseum
www.youtube.com/samtelly
-
About the Singapore Art Museum
The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) focuses on contemporary art practice in Singapore,
Southeast Asia and Asia within the global context. It advocates and makes accessible
interdisciplinary contemporary art through research-led and evolving curatorial practice.
Opened in January 1996, SAM has built up one of the most important collections of
contemporary art from the region. It seeks to seed and nourish a stimulating and creative
space in Singapore through exhibitions and public programmes. These encompass crossdisciplinary residencies and exchanges, research and publications, as well as outreach and
education. SAM was the organiser of the Singapore Biennale in 2011 and 2013.
SAM was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee on 13 November 2013 and has
moved from the National Heritage Board to the Visual Arts Cluster (VAC) under the Ministry
of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). The other institutions under the VAC are the
National Gallery, Singapore and STPI.
For more information, please contact:
Shirlene Noordin
Lynn Sim
Phish Communications
Singapore Art Museum
DID:
DID:
+65 6344 2953
Email: [email protected]
+65 6697 9762
Email: [email protected]
Festival Venue
The Moving Image Gallery at SAM at 8Q is located at 8 Queen Street Singapore 188535
Festival tickets
$10 for each film screening. Tickets are available from SISTIC.
Concessions available, excludes SISTIC FEE
Limited seating, please purchase early. For ticket availability at the door, please call SISTIC
at 6348 5555.
SAM Online
www.singaporeartmuseum.sg
www.facebook.com/singaporeartmuseum
www.twitter.com/sg_artmuseum
www.instagram.com/sg_artmuseum
www.youtube.com/samtelly
How to get to SAM
By Bus:
SBS
7, 14, 16, 36, 111, 131, 162, 175, 508, 518
SMRT 77, 167, 171, 700
By Train:
2-minute walk from Bras Basah MRT Station
10-minute walk from Dhoby Ghaut, Bugis or City Hall MRT stations
By Car:
Carpark spaces available at Waterloo Street, Queen Street, NTUC Income
Centre, Plaza by the Park, Hotel Grand Pacific and Singapore Management
University
Annex A: Southeast Asian Film Festival 2015 – Film Synopses and Schedule
Southeast Asian Film Festival 2015
Friday, 10 April 2015 – Sunday, 3 May 2015
Moving Image Gallery, Singapore Art Museum at 8Q
Visit www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/SEAFF for more information.
The Southeast Asian Film Festival celebrates its fifth year with an exciting presentation of the
newest and most compelling cinematic work emerging from the region. A line-up of films and
post-screening discussions from emerging and veteran directors will provide a diverse,
engaging view into essential aspects of contemporary Southeast Asia. A celebration of
independent filmmaking, the Festival provides a space for inter-cultural and philosophical
sharing, and for art and film friendships to form.
$10 for each film screening*. Tickets are available from SISTIC.
Limited seating. For ticket availability at the door, please call SISTIC at 6348 5555.
*Concessions available, excludes SISTIC fee.
Film Programme
The Last Executioner
Tom Waller, 2014, Thailand, 95 min
Date: Fri, 10 April 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: M18 (Mature content)
(Singapore Premiere)
Inspired by real events, this film tells the story of Chavoret Jaruboon, the last person in
Thailand whose job was to execute death row prisoners with a machine gun, before the
legislation of the lethal injection method in 2002. A wild rock-and-roller in his youth, Jaruboon
becomes a state prison guard in a bid for stability and respectability. However, when he is
appointed executioner, he is plunged into a never-ending conflict between his morality and his
duty. How is it possible to reconcile the good karma that comes from being a dedicated family
man and employee, and the bad karma that comes from being a killer? Showing life at its
most beautiful and death at its most surreal, this film features a powerful performance by
Vithaya Pansringarm.
Thai with English subtitles. Post-screening discussion with director Tom Waller.
The Search for Weng Weng
Andrew Leavold, 2013, Australia/Philippines, 96 min
Date: Sat, 11 April 2015
Time: 5:00pm
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Singapore Premiere)
Standing just under 85 centimetres, Weng Weng was a Filipino James Bond who was adept
at karate chops, machine-gun wielding, and the art of wooing a woman. An enigma even to
those who have worked with him, his cinematic reign as the midget Agent 00 was an
outrageous novelty that plucked him from complete obscurity and then returned him to it just
as quickly. What was he like? When and how did he pass away? Leapfrogging from one
eccentric character to the next, this documentary features directors, producers, actors,
stuntmen, dwarf waiters, and even Imelda Marcos herself, each with their unique place in
Filipino cinema. Proving that reality sometimes really is stranger than fiction, this detective
story is an engaging history of Filipino B-grade cinema and the business of film, power and
politics.
English and Tagalog with English subtitles. Post-screening discussion with director Andrew
Leavold and producer Daniel Palisa
Fluid Boundaries
Mun Jeonghyun, Vladimir Todorovic and Daniel Rudi Haryanto, 2014
Indonesia/Serbia/Singapore/South Korea, 90 mins
Date: Sat, 11 April 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: PG13 (Some mature content)
(Singapore Premiere)
In a series of video letters, a director from Indonesia, Korea and Singapore reflect on sociopolitical, cultural and geographical borders and share stories of people who cross them.
Workers of different nationalities flock to Singapore to find a job, renewing their employment
passes in Malaysia. Others find themselves frequently crossing the border demarcating East
Timor and Indonesia. Desperate realities face an immigrant family in South Africa, while a
person who left Vietnam for a refugee camp in Indonesia recounts his past. Another
reminisces about tragic life of his uncle, who had to change his nationality from Joseon to
Korean. What are the threads that tie these different individuals and their varied stories
together? Through the lives of these people and the unpredictable twists of modern history,
we witness the rigidity of borders melt away.
Various languages with English subtitles, Post-screening discussion with directors Vladimir
Todorovic and Daniel Rudi Haryanto
The Look of Silence
Joshua Oppenheimer, 2014, Denmark/Finland/Indonesia/Norway/UK, 99 min
Date: Sun, 12 April 2015
Time: 3:00pm (12 April 2015)
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Singapore Premiere)
The 2012 documentary The Act of Killing was a troubling, surreal look at a forgotten chapter
of Indonesian history: the killing of more than one million alleged communists, ethnic Chinese
and intellectuals following the overthrow of the government by the military in the 1960s. This
film delves deeper into this dark legacy, but focuses this time on the perspective of the victims
rather than the victors of history. Village optometrist Adi’s older brother was one of these
victims, and as he quizzes his patients about their memories of this violent era, he discovers
the story of how his brother was murdered, and that some of his killers are still in positions of
great power. Adi decides to confront each of them, asking them how they can possibly live
side by side with their victims’ loved ones.
Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese with English subtitles.
Sparks
Giancarlo Abrahan, 2014, Philippines, 120 min
Date: Sun, 12 April 2015
Time: 5:30pm
Rating: M18 (Sexual scenes)
(International Premiere)
It is summer. Jimmy and Issey are professors at the University of the Philippines who have
been married for 25 years and are on the brink of separation. Jimmy’s research work is
interrupted by an apparition who seems to be an ex-girlfriend, to whom he is equally haunted
by and drawn to. Meanwhile, Issey goes on a creative writing retreat where she is mentoring
young writers, and finds herself drawn to university student Gab. When one of Gab’s nonfiction pieces about his sexual awakening comes to widespread attention, a scandal ensues
that puts everyone’s relationships under a spotlight. The virtuoso performances of Eula
Valdez and Nonie Buencamino complement Abrahan’s deftly written, absorbing screenplay,
and they are entirely convincing as two still-loving individuals enmeshed in the complexity of a
decades-long relationship.
Tagalog with English subtitles. Post-screening discussion with director Giancarlo Abrahan.
Vanishing Point
Jakrawal Nilthamrong, 2015, Netherlands/Thailand, 100 min
Date: Fri, 17 April 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Singapore Premiere)
The starting point of this experimental drama is a disastrous car crash that took place more
than 30 years ago. The film then follows two characters whose lives intersect in tangential
ways: an idealistic young journalist who accompanies police to crime scene reconstructions,
and a factory owner in a border town, who is experiencing some family problems. Along the
way we meet his teenage daughter, a motherly sex worker, a dreaming monk, and the film
slowly but surely reaches its denouement. Wending through visions, tall tales and strange
sceneries, this meditative work always returns to the notion of the karmic cycle and the idea
that every action taken and decision made affects the course of one or many lives. Vanishing
Point won the Hivos Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (2015).
Thai with English subtitles. Post-screening discussion with director Jakrawal Nilthamrong
Chasing Waves
Charliebebs Gohetia, 2015, Philippines, 92 min
Date: Sat, 18 April 2015
Time: 5:00pm
Rating: PG (Some violence)
(World Premiere)
Editor of Brillante Medoza’s early landmark works, Charliebebs Gohetia’s third directorial
feature sees him return to the Southern Philippines. Set in remote community Panyan, the
story opens when young Sipat’s family is forced by their landlord to leave the mountains—
where he has spent his entire life—to migrate to the unfamiliar landscapes of the seaside.
Nervous but excited, Sipat is convinced that his greatest dream of experiencing the beach will
be fulfilled. As he counts down the days to his departure with his best friend En-En, he is
unaware of what the future will hold. The semi-unexplored terrain of Barangay Tamugan with
its peaks, caves, falls and rivers forms a dramatic backdrop to the natural, unaffected
performances by the child actors.
Visayan with English subtitles. Post-screening discussion with director Charliebebs Gohetia
Garuda Power: The Spirit Within
Bastian Meiresonne, 2014, France/Indonesia, 77 min
Date: Sat, 18 April 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: NC16 (Some violence and gore)
(Singapore Premiere)
An incredible journey into Indonesia’s action films from their beginnings in the 1920s up to the
latest international successes, this documentary is an insight into one of the less well-known
cinematic action industries. Its colourful history is closely related to the country’s own annals
of change and development, with the mythical heroes and spectacular set-pieces serving as
escapism and indirect social critique while representing the popular desires of the tens of
thousands of ordinary people who enjoyed them over the years. This film features hitherto
unseen footage, rare images, unusual poster art and interviews with top actors Barry Prima,
George Rudy and Willy Dozan, directors Awyl Ackari and Imam Tantowi and action
choreographers including Edy Jonathan.
This film is part of the festival sidebar Action Asia: The Wild Wild Years of Asian Film Action.
Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles.
Aimless
Pham Nhue Giang, 2013, Vietnam, 87 min
Date: Sun, 19 April 2015
Time: 3:00pm
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Singapore Premiere)
Leaving their village to earn a living in the big city, Tham and Quy’s relationship soon suffers
in the face of their impoverished conditions. Depressed Tham falls for the charms of Thuat,
an urbane and sophisticated man. When Quy discovers Thuat’s secret, he embarks on a
desperate search for his wife. An examination about the choices and risks faced by women,
the film presents the urban environment as a place where independence and agency can be
pursued, but in the face of constant turbulence and temptations. Can there be joy without
material comfort? This film evokes Doi Moi (renovation) cinema, where changing
contemporary sensibilities clash with restrictive hierarchies in a bewildering way. Aimless won
the Silver Kite from the Vietnam Cinema Association (2013) and the Silver Lotus from the18th
National Film Festival, Vietnam (2013).
Vietnamese with English subtitles
K’na the Dreamweaver
Ida Anita del Mundo, 2014, Philippines, 85 min
Date: Sun, 19 April 2015
Time: 5:30pm
Rating: Parental Guidance (PG)
(International Premiere)
The T’boli are one of the indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao. This film tells the story of one of
their legends, the princess K’na who grows up amidst a century-old clan war which has separated the
T’boli people into two villages on the North and South banks of Lake Sebu. At a young age, K’na is
trained in the art of traditional weaving using designs granted through dreams by the goddess of the
abaca plant. When she becomes the village’s dreamweaver, her father arranges a marriage between
her and the heir to the throne of the North so as to end the war. But K’na has fallen in love with
childhood friend Silaw. As the wedding date draws near, a revolution brews among those who do not
believe in the joining of the two royal clans.
T’boli with English subtitles. Post-screening discussion with director Ida Anita del Mundo
Fundamentally Happy
Tan Bee Thiam and Lei Yuan Bin, 2015, Singapore, 60 min
Date: Fri, 24 April 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: NC16 (Mature theme)
(World Premiere)
Twenty years ago, Habiba and Eric were neighbours. When Eric revisits her home to find her
still living there with her husband, what seems like a friendly reunion turns into the gradual
revelation of a painful secret from the past. Winner of Best Production and Best Original
Script at the 2007 Life! Theatre Awards, this chamber drama gets a film treatment by
Singapore independents Tan Bee Thiam and Lei Yuan Bin, with the camera helmed by
Christopher Doyle. With its wrenching psychodrama and scalpel-edged dialogue, the film’s
moody cinematography and varied close-ups bring viewers further into the story’s heart of
darkness, breaking down the distance of the stage and cinema’s fourth wall, and creating its
own form of detachment. An unflinching look at the consequences of abuse, Fundamentally
Happy explores without judgment or condemnation critical issues such as trust, memory,
relationships and consent.
English and some Malay with English subtitles. Post-screening discussion with directors Tan
Bee Thiam and Lei Yuan Bin
JALANAN
Daniel Ziv, 2013, Indonesia, 107 min,
Date: Sat, 25 April 2015
Time: 5:00pm
Rating: NC16 (Some coarse language)
About 7,000 buskers roam the streets of Jakarta, often jumping buses to perform for small
donations. This documentary tells the story of three charismatic street musicians over a
tumultuous five-year period in their own lives that coincides with political and social change in
Indonesia. Easy-going Boni lives in a sewage tunnel with his wife, tapping on city power and
water supplies. Rare female busker Titi balances her religious family’s demands with her job,
and plans to return to school. Dreadlocked Ho’s specialties are anti-establishment songs, but
he is also looking for a stable relationship. With their original compositions as soundtracks,
the film traces the three musicians’ elusive quests for identity, autonomy and love in a
turbulent city overrun by the effects of globalisation and corruption.
Bahasa Indonesia with English subtitles.
Jade Miners
Midi Z, 2015, Taiwan/Myanmar, 104 min
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Asian Premiere)
Jade is a prized gem across Asia, and Kachin state in Myanmar is a source of much of the
world’s jade. However, hostilities between the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar
army have led to the government-contracted corporations ceasing their operations, as the
jade mines that spread over hundreds of kilometres become a war zone. Despite the risk of
arrest or physical danger from the chaotic landscape, workers from all over Myanmar still
flock to these deserted mines to dig illegally for jade, desperately hoping to find a piece that
will transform their lives. Shot with the aid of locals, Midi Z has complied a sober and intimate
social documentary that focuses on the daily lives of these labourers.
Myanma Bhasa with English subtitles.
Justice
Joel Lamangan, 2014, Philippines, 120 min
Date: Sun, 26 April 2015
Time: 3:00pm
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Singapore Premiere)
Erstwhile domestic worker Biring rises to become the right-hand woman of Vivian, who runs a
human trafficking syndicate in Manila. Her job entails bribing the authorities to turn a blind eye
to their illegal activities, which is not difficult when the bureaucracy is already corrupt. Even
though her children refuse her money because of how it was made, Biring knows that in this
line, it's better to see no evil, hear no evil and look after only oneself. However, when she is
framed for murder, she starts on a spiral of ever-deepening reprobation. When she has to
make the stark choice of whether to be a victim or a victimiser, her transformation becomes
complete. Filled with the harsh realities of society, this film features a bravura performance by
superstar Nora Aunor that is replete with moral and psychological complexity.
Tagalog with English subtitles.
So Be It
Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, 2014, Thailand, 85 min
Date: Sun, 26 April 2015
Time: 5:30pm
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Singapore Premiere)
Seven-year-old Thai-American student William becomes an overnight celebrity when he
participates in a reality show that depicts his experiences in a Buddhist summer ordination
programme. Meanwhile, 11-year old Bundit, who is from an ethnic minority hilltribe, starts on
his own Buddhist journey as he is sent to a temple along with more than 2,000 children,
where he chafes at the strict rules and being separated from his family. Both William and
Bundit must learn in their own ways to pursue freedom of mind and self-control of spirit. In an
age where organised religions are losing their shine, why and how does a young child choose
of his own volition to become a monk? How do children who live in temples survive and what
do they think of religious practice? The documentary-fiction hybrid film is a coming-of-age tale
of two boys from vastly different backgrounds, who each have their own way of learning the
meaning of Buddhism in daily life.
Thai and Hmong with English subtitles.
SNAKESKIN
Daniel Hui, 2014, Portugal/Singapore, 105 min
Date: Fri, 1 May 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: Rating to be advised
(Asian Premiere)
It is the year 2066, and the sole survivor of an enigmatic cult recounts his country's traumatic
history and the events that led to the rise and collapse of this cult. As he reminiscences,
ghosts from 2014 and the years before appear as witnesses. Part dream documentary, part
city symphony, this hybrid film traces the lineage of oppression as inscribed both in
Singapore's physical landscape, as well as its collective unconscious. The personal
recollections of different characters are interspersed with scenes of familiar settings and
places. Loosely binding this chorus together is a narrative voice-over that reflects on the
nature of history, showing the richness of all that is forgotten, erased, subjective and
polymorphic. This unusual film is a thoughtful look at the legacy and future of this strange
Southeast Asian island.
English. Post-screening discussion with director Daniel Hui
2030
Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo, 2014, Vietnam, 98 min
Date: Sat, 2 May 2015
Time: 5:00pm
Rating: M18 (Sexual scene)
(Singapore Premiere)
Set in the vast and beautiful coastal regions of southern Vietnam, this dystopic film envisions
a near future when water levels have risen to swallow farmlands due to global climate
change. The Vietnamese people must now live in houseboats and rely solely on rapidlydepleting fishing grounds for food. As vegetables are now highly priced commodities, huge
multinational conglomerates are competing to build floating farms equipped with desalination
and solar power. Amidst all this is fisherwoman Sao, who was briefly involved with visiting
science researcher Giang before her marriage. However, when her husband Thi is murdered,
Sao sets out to discover the truth and is forced to make a dramatic decision. This
atmospheric maritime mystery highlights the creative and destructive force that is water.
Vietnamese with English subtitles.
Riddles of My Homecoming
Arnel Mardoquio, 2013, Philippines, 82 min
Date: Sat, 2 May 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Rating: R21 (Sexual scenes and violence)
(International Premiere)
One of the most experimental narratives yet to speak of the conditions of exploitation and
poverty in southern Philippines, this film is a visual tapestry of evocative symbols,
choreography and landscapes. Alfad’s dream is to work abroad. Swallowed by the sea, his
soul returns to the island of his birth where he finds his memories on its shore. Aliya is a
young girl who represents the spirit of the new day and the uncertainty of the future. When
they return to their homeland, they find it destroyed and the people searching for a divine
presence to save them, which emerges in the form of old Wahab, ruler of a strange cult.
However, female shaman Mariposa and rebel woman farmer Mayka join forces to confront
him. A poetic exploration of the labyrinth of tragedies and anatomy of violence in Mindanao,
this film won Best Director, Best Cinematography and Grand Jury Prize at the Cinema One
Originals Film Festival (2013).
No Dialogue. Post-screening discussion with assistant director Yam Palma
Wukan: The Flame of Democracy
Lynn Lee and James Leong, 2013, Singapore, 90 min
Date: Sun, 3 May 2015
Time: 3:00pm
Rating: NC16 (Mature content)
Wukan, a village in southern China, captured international attention in 2011 when
demonstrators took to the streets to rebel against decades of corrupt rule. In the face of
insurmountable odds, the village committee fell and democratic elections were announced.
Wukan’s residents then found themselves grappling with the challenges of a new political
system: former rebel leaders now had to run the village, respond to the demands of the
electorate, and deal with provincial and county authorities. This intimate documentary portrait
of a rural Chinese community mirrors the complex mix of challenges, euphoria, hopes and
hard realities facing fledgling democracies across the world. The film was given Special
Mention at the 2013 Dubai Film Festival and won first prize at the 2014 Human Rights Press
Awards in Hong Kong.
Mandarin with English subtitles.
NOVA
Nik Amir Mustapha, 2013, Malaysia, 109 min,
Date: Sun, 3 May 2015
Time: 5:30pm
Rating: NC16 (Some drug use)
(Singapore Premiere)
Filmmaker Berg, obsessed with an unidentified blob he saw in the sky when he was a
student, reunites his old friends on a whim, calling them to go on a road trip for old times’
sake, while capturing this alien spacecraft on film. Despite their doubts about this shaky
premise, and Berg’s filmmaking abilities and drug habit, they all agree to go on this
expedition, as each of them have their personal reasons for doing so. As they reminisce
about their old school days, tension arises as they start to disagree on what happened back
then. This chase for this elusive UFO becomes more than what it seems. A quirky genre
mash-up of comedy, sci-fi, road-trip and buddy movie, this engaging film contains several
homages to Malaysian cinema.
Bahasa Malaysia and some English with English subtitles.
Annex B: Southeast Asian Film Festival 2015 – Directors Biographies
Biographies
Film: The Last Executioner
Tom Waller
Tom Waller is Bangkok-born and of Thai Buddhist and Irish Catholic heritage. He has
produced films for 12 years, including Soi Cowboy (2008), which was selected for Un Certain
Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. His film Mindfulness and Murder (2011) was nominated
for five Thai National Film Awards including Best Director and Best Film. His most recent film
The Last Executioner (2014) premiered in competition at the Shanghai International Film
Festival, where it won the Best Actor Golden Goblet for lead Vithaya Pansringarm.
Film: The Search for Weng Weng
Andrew Leavold
Andrew Leavold owned and managed Trash Video, the largest cult video rental store in
Australia, from 1995 to 2010. He is also a filmmaker, author, researcher, film festival curator
(for the Brisbane International Film Festival and Melbourne Underground Film Festival),
musician, TV presenter, and fan of genre cinema. His debut feature film was Lesbo A Go Go
(2003) and he is the co-writer of action script Blood Red Sea, and the co-founder of
production company Death Rides a Red Horse. He is completing a book called Bamboo Gods
and Bionic Boys: A History of Pulp Filmmaking in the Philippines. Eight years in the making,
The Search for Weng Weng is his latest film project.
Film: Fluid Boundaries
Mun Jeonghyun
Mun Jeonghyun has been with P.U.R.N Production, an independent documentary production
since 2003. His film Grandmother’s Flower (2007) won best documentary in the Busan
International Film Festival and he was invited to the Berlin Film Festival Forum. His film
Yongsan (2010), won an Award of Excellence in the Yamagata International Documentary
Film Festival.
Vladimir Todorovic
Vladimir Todorovic is an Assistant Professor at the School of Art, Design and Media, NTU,
Singapore. His short film Silica-esc (2010) won Special Mention for the category of Computer
Art at the Japan Media Arts Festival. His debut feature Water Hands premiered at the
Rotterdam International Film Festival’s Bright Future section in 2011. He released his second
feature Disappearing Landscape in 2013.
Daniel Rudi Haryanto
Daniel Rudi Haryanto was born in Semarang, Central Java, 1978. In 1999, he helped to
establish Cinema Society, an organisation focused on Indonesian cinema studies and
research. His feature documentary Prison and Paradise (2010) won the Director Guild of
Japan award at the Yamagata Documentary International Film Festival 2011 and a Special
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Mention at the 8 CinemAsia Film Festival 2015.
Film: The Look of Silence
Joshua Oppenheimer
Joshua Oppenheimer is an American based in Denmark where he is a partner at the
production company Final Cut for Real. Recipient of a 2014 MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellowship,
Oppenheimer has worked for over a decade with militias, death squads and their victims. His
debut feature-length film, The Act of Killing (2012), won 72 international awards, including the
European Film Award 2013, BAFTA 2014, Asia Pacific Screen Award 2013, Berlinale
Panorama Audience Award 2013 and the Guardian Film Award 2014 for Best Film. His latest
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film, The Look of Silence (2014), premiered in competition at the 72 Venice Film Festival,
where it won five awards, including the Grand Prize of the Jury, the international critics award
(FIPRESCI Prize), and the European film critics award (FEDEORA Prize). Oppenheimer is
artistic director of the International Centre for Documentary and Experimental Film, University
of Westminster.
Film: Sparks
Giancarlo Abrahan
Giancarlo Abrahan is a producer, director, and writer. Primarily a screenwriter, Abrahan is
noted for his screenplays for Hannah Espia’s Transit (Best Film, Cinemalaya IFF; Special
Mention, Busan International Film Festival New Currents) and Whammy Alcazaren’s Islands
(Cinema One Originals Film Festival 2013). His debut feature as director, Sparks premiered
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at the 10 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, winning Best Director and Best Screenplay
(for Abrahan) and Best Actress (for Eula Valdes). Also a creative director at production
company TEN17P, he is developing as co-writer-producer and writer, two feature films with
the support of the Asian Cinema Fund Script Development Fund.
Film: Vanishing Point
Jakrawal Nilthamrong
Jakrawal Nilthamrong is an artist and filmmaker. His work spans short films, documentaries,
video installations and feature films. The themes of his work often relate to Eastern
philosophy in contemporary contexts, and the local history of specific environments, so as to
establish dialogue among multiple perspectives. His shorts, documentaries and video
installations have been shown in international film festivals including Rotterdam, Berlin,
Toronto and Yamagata, as well as exhibitions including the Taipei Biennial 2012 and SeMA
Biennale Mediacity Seoul 2014. He is currently a professor at Thammasat University,
Thailand. Unreal Forest (2010) was his debut documentary feature and Vanishing Point
(2015) is his second feature.
Film: Chasing Waves
Charliebebs Gohetia
Charliebebs Gohetia started editing films in 2005 when still a university student, working on
Brillante Mendoza’s Masseur, The Teacher, Foster Child and Slingshot. He has edited for
Filipino filmmakers including Adolf Alix, Jr., Joel Lamangan. Goheita’s debut feature The
‘Thank You’ Girls competed at the Vancouver International Film Festival and became a cult
hit in the Philippines. His sophomore film The Natural Phenomenon of Madness (2011)
screened at the BFI London Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival and
received five nominations at the 2012 Gawad Urian 2012 including Best Picture and Best
Screenplay. His documentary, How to Make a Visayan Chopsuey (2014) won Special Jury
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Mention in October at the 1 Cine Totoo Philippine International Documentary Film Festival.
His recent films are Love and Everything After and Chasing Waves.
Film: Garuda Power: The Spirit Within
Bastian Meiresonne
Bastian Meiresonne became interested in Asian cinema while studying film in Paris. He has
written for many newspapers, magazines and collaborative works and has published a book
about Japanese auteur Imamura Shohei. Meiresonne serves as consultant for several
international film festivals, and is a long-time collaborator for the Vesoul International Film
Festival of Asian Cinema (FICA). Garuda Power: The Spirit Within is his first feature
documentary.
Film: Aimless
Pham Nhue Giang
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 is The Deserted Valley (2001), which
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won the Silver Lotus Prize at the 13 Vietnam National Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Prize at
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the 52 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) received the Golden Kite Award from the
Vietnam Association of Filmmakers. For her film Mother’s Soul (2011), 12-year-old lead
Phung Hoa Hoai Linh won the best actress award at the Dubai International Film Festival
2011.
Film: K’na the Dreamweaver
Ida Anita del Mundo
Ida Anita del Mundo has an MFA in Creative Writing from De La Salle University, Manila. She
writes for The Philippine Star’s Starweek Magazine and has been a fellow of the Silliman
University National Writers Workshop and the Iyas National Writers’ Workshop. Del Mundo
has been playing the violin since she was three years old, and is a member of the Manila
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Symphony Orchestra. Her debut feature K’na the Dreamweaver premiered at the 10
Cinemalaya Film Festival 2014 where it received a Special Jury Prize and the award for Best
Production Design.
Film: Fundamentally Happy
Tan Bee Thiam
Tan Bee Thiam is producer, director and editor with independent film collective 13 Little
Pictures. He has produced Red Dragonflies (2010); Eclipses (2013) and SNAKESKIN (2014).
He directed Kopi Julia, one of 13 short films selected by Apichatpong Weerasethakul for the
Sharjah Biennale 2013. Founder of the Asian Film Archive, Tan edits the Cinemas of Asia
journal and curates films for the Singapore International Festival of Arts. He has served as the
jury at the Berlinale, Locarno and Golden Horse film festivals and in 2009, was honoured as a
National University of Singapore Outstanding Young Alumni.
Lei Yuan Bin
Lei Yuan Bin is a director and cinematographer. His directorial debut White Days (2009) has
screened to international audiences in Berlin, Rome, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong and Bangkok.
Lei’s sophomore feature, documentary 03-FLATS (2014) has been described as "an
absorbing, almost hypnotically arresting treatise". As cinematographer, Lei has worked on As
You Were (Liao Jiekai) and Haze (Anthony Chen). A founding member of 13 Little Pictures
film collective, Lei was conferred the Young Artist Award in 2012 by the National Arts Council,
Singapore’s highest award for young arts practitioners.
Film: JALANAN
Daniel Ziv
Daniel Ziv was born and raised in Canada, and has been living and working in Jakarta since
1999, where he documents urban life in Indonesia’s bustling capital city as a writer, magazine
editor and filmmaker. He is the founder and editor of the monthly Djakarta! The City Life
Magazine, and the author of Jakarta Inside Out and Bangkok Inside Out. He previously
worked in international humanitarian aid and development agencies, including UNICEF,
USAID and UN-OCHA, and has a MA in Southeast Asian Studies from the University of
London. JALANAN is his first feature-length film. The film won Best Documentary at Busan
International Film Festival and Special Mention at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival,
Indonesia (2013).
Film: Jade Miners
Midi Z
Born in Myanmar, Midi Z trained as an artist in Taiwan. His graduation film, Paloma Blanca,
was acclaimed worldwide. One of his first short films, Hua-xin Incident (2008), was produced
by Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Ang Lee. Midi Z’s first feature Return to Burma (2011) was in the
Rotterdam International Film Festival Tiger Competition and the Busan New Currents
Competition. His latest feature, Ice Poison (2014), premiered at the Berlinale, won Best Film
at the Edinburgh Film Festival and represented Taiwan in the Best Foreign Film category at
the Oscars. Jade Miners is his first documentary.
Film: Justice
Joel Lamangan
Joel C. Lamangan is a multi-awarded Filipino director who has trained and worked in the
fields of film and theater in the Philippines and abroad. He acted and directed for stage and
television and also took screen roles, before opting for film direction, making his debut in
1991 with Darna. Among his notable films are The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995) which
won the Golden Pyramid award at the Cairo International Film Festival 1995 and Best Actress
for Nora Aunor, Pusong Mamon (1998), Deathrow (2000), Hubog (2001), Huling Birhen sa
Lupa (2003), Blue Moon (2006) and Deadline (2011).
Film: So Be It
Kongdej Jaturanrasmee
Kongdej Jaturanrasmee is a veteran filmmaker and scriptwriter, and the writer and director of
Sayew (2003), Midnight My Love (2005), and Handle Me with Care (2008). His film P047 (2011) premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2011 while Tang Wong (2013) premiered at
the Berlin International Film Festival 2013. As a scriptwriter, he has won awards and written
the most successful Thai films of recent years including Tom Yum Goong (by Prachya
Pinkaew), Queens of Pattani (by Nonzee Nimibutr), and Me…Myself and Happy Birthday (by
Pongpat Wachirabanjong). He is widely known for his two hits including The Letter (2004), a
remake of the 1997 Korean film Pyeonji and the Tony Jaa action movie Tom-Yum-Goong
(2005). Jaturanrasmee is a film professor at Assumption University in Thailand.
Film: SNAKESKIN
Daniel Hui
Daniel Hui is a filmmaker and writer. A graduate of the film/video programme in California
Institute of the Arts, his films have been screened at film festivals in Rotterdam, Hawaii,
Manila, Seoul, Bangkok, and Vladivostok. Hui is also one of the founding members of the
independent 13 Little Pictures film collective, whose works have garnered international critical
acclaim. His debut feature film, Eclipses, won the Pixel Bunker Award for International New
Talent at the Doclisboa International Film Festival 2013. His second feature film,
SNAKESKIN, won the Special Jury Prize at the Torino Film Festival in 2014. He is also a
contributing editor to the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) online
journal, Cinemas of Asia.
Film: Water 2030
Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo
Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo was born in Vietnam, and frequented his small town’s only movie
theatre as a way to escape the atrocities of the Indochina conflict. Emigrating to France to
study aeronautical engineering, he continued to the US where he became a physicist. In
1998, his passion for cinema led him to pursue a programme in screenwriting and directing,
and his directorial debut, Buffalo Boy, was Vietnam’s entry to the 2006 Academy Awards. It
won 15 awards around the world including the New Directors’ Silver Hugo Award at the
Chicago International Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Jury Award at the Palm Springs
International Film Festival, and the Youth Jury Award at the Locarno International Film
Festival. His latest film 2030 opened the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film
Festival 2014.
Film: Riddles of My Homecoming
Arnel Mardoquio
Arnel Mardoquio was born and works in Davao City, Mindanao, in the Philippines. He has
won the grand prize at the literary Palanca Awards, and was also awarded Best Director and
garnered a nomination for Best Screenplay at the Gawad Urian for his films Earth’s Whisper
(2008) and Hospital Boat (2009). His film Sheika (2010) won Best Screenplay, Best Actress
and Best Editing at the 34th Gawad Urian Awards and received NETPAC awards at the
Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2010. The Journey of the Stars into the Dark Night
(2012) won Best Film at the Gawad Urian Awards 2013, Best Screenplay at the Young Critics
Circle 2013 and the Grand Jury Prize at both the Cinema One Originals Film Festival 2012
and at Cinemanila IFF 2012. Riddles of My Homecoming (2013) won the Grand Jury Prize,
Best Director, Best Cinematography at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival 2013.
Alienasyon (2014), his latest feature, won the Jury Prize and Best Cinematography at the
Gawad Tanglaw Awards 2014.
Film: Wukan: The Flame of Democracy
Lynn Lee & James Leong
Lynn Lee and James Leong are filmmakers who have spent the last decade making
documentaries across Asia. Their first feature documentary Passabe (2005) was a grant
recipient from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund and was acquired by ARTE. Their
second film, Aki Ra’s Boys (2006), won two international awards, while their third, Homeless
FC (2007), received the Grand Prize at the Chinese Documentary Festival. Their
documentary The Great North Korean Picture Show (2012) has screened at film festivals
across the world. Lee and Leong have also made numerous television documentaries,
including Nowhere to Go, an investigative piece for Al Jazeera English, which won the First
Prize at the 2013 Human Rights Press Awards.
Film: NOVA
Nik Amir Mustapha
Nik Amir Mustapha was trained in engineering but became a filmmaker after pursuing training
in the medium. His first feature film, Kil (2013) won Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best
Supporting Actress in the Malaysian Screen Awards 2013. The film also won Best Film, Best
Director, Best Screenplay and Best New Actress at the Malaysian Film Festival 2014. NOVA
(Terbaik Dari Langit) is his second feature.