Singapore Film Festival 2008

It's back again. Here's the official site.

I'm definitely up for 'I'm Not There', the Bob Dylan weird-ass biopic which is screening on Wed 9 April at 915pm. Anyone? There are a couple of shows which look pretty interesting. The Singapore collection doesn't seem to disappoint as well. I hope they are as good as their synopsis.

There are a couple which are pretty good but falls on April 6 which is the date we are releasing Zero Sequence's album. Ah well.

The Western Trunk Line
Li Jixian | Japan / China | 2007 | 101 mins | PG

It is 1978, and the arrival in a small Northern Chinese town of a pretty young music student, Yu Xueyan, from Beijing rouses a pair of brothers from their aimlessness. Eighteen-year-old Li Siping, prefers listening to music and spying on female factory workers to thinking about his future, while his 11-year-old brother Fangtou is a cause of anxiety to their parents.

When Xueyan moves into the house across the road from their family, Siping's yearning for her is stirred. Prior to this, his only distraction was secretly receiving radio signals from foreign countries in an old warehouse around the Western Trunk Line. The two of them start a romance, which has to be put on hold when Siping is drafted into the army. He returns to find that the relationship and other circumstances have changed in unpredictable ways.

Wang Yu’s gorgeous cinematography lends an ethereal quality to the muted lives of these young people living in a tiny industrial community.

6 April | 21:15:00 | Lido 3


Truth be Told, The
Pimpaka Towira | Thailand | 2007 | 110 mins | PG

In 2003, Shin Corporation, one of the wealthiest corporations in Thailand owned by the family of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, filed a defamation lawsuit against an individual. They demanded compensation of 400 million Baht (US$11 million) from a media rights activist who draws a salary of 14,000 Baht a month. Her name is Supinya Klangnarong, and this documentary chronicles her journey over the subsequent three years.

Made independently through private investments, prominent female director Pimpaka Towira adds a human dimension to the widely impersonal and turbulent political situation in Thailand. Focusing on the story of an individual’s fight against the establishment, this classic David vs. Goliath film depicts the mild-mannered Klangnarong as she copes with her situation with her family.

This timely and amazing film records the shifting political landscape of Thailand in recent times. The Truth Be Told: the cases against Supinya Klangnarong questions the price of the freedom of speech, the role of an individual and her power to affect the political climate of a nation.

7 April | 19:00:00 | The Substation


Bakushi
Ryuichi Hiroki | Japan | 2007 | 90 mins | TBA

Only the Japanese could aestheticise the tying up of women, known as kinbaku. Ryuichi Hiroki, whose roots lie in Japan’s “pink film” industry (namely erotic films that are released theatrically), explores the world of those who possess this fetish, namely the Japanese bondage masters, known as bakushi. Three of them, and three of their favourite models, are interviewed for this documentary.

Bakushi shows these practitioners in action, binding their whimpering models with elaborate knots before proceeding to the ritual chastisement for S&M specialist stage shows, photo shoots and videos. We also get a look at the history of S&M practices in Japan, and the visibility of rope-play spectacles in various media, including periodicals, films, and erotic manga. This film illuminates one of the more bizarre instances of the very Japanese attention to detail and taste for ceremony.

7 April | 21:15:00 | Lido 3


Finishing the Game
Justin Lin | USA | 2007 | 83 mins | TBA

Finishing the Game is a hilarious, eccentric and whimsical mockumentary directed by Justin Lee (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift). The scenario: In 1973, the sudden and unexpected death of Bruce Lee, iconic martial arts phenomenon of the 70s, caused a sudden halt in production of his last film, uncannily titled Game of Death.

Finishing the Game (the title should be self-explanatory by now) picks up from where work was left off and reproduces for audiences the hypothetical situation faced at the time by the producers and directors of that fateful movie. With only 12 minutes of usable footage at hand, the producers make the brave decision to forge ahead towards the completion of the film.

Thick with irony and satire, Finishing the Game documents the producers’ search for the “next Bruce Lee”. They are presented with an array of implausible, wannabe candidates, each replete with his own list of idiosyncrasies and quirks. There’s Breeze Loo, an ethnic Asian who hops around in a blue suit, there’s a White Anglo-Saxon Sinophile who is an activist for Asian rights in his spare time, and the list goes on.

Politically incorrect jokes, all versions of strangely accented English and multiple deadpan moments pervade this piece. Watch to find out who ends up with the coveted role as Bruce Lee’s stand- in!

7 April | 21:15:00 | National Museum


Lou Reed’s Berlin
Julian Schnabel | USA | 2007 | 85 mins | TBA

Born in 1942, New York, Lou Reed first found fame as guitarist and principal singer-songwriter of The Velvet Underground, a short-lived but highly influential avant-garde rock band in the late Sixties. Shortly after embarking on his solo career, Reed catapulted to mainstream popularity with his hit single, Walk on the Wild Side, a title-turned-catch-phrase now more commonly used without its original accompanying tune.

Yet, being more of an artist than a celebrity, Reed released a third solo concept-album Berlin which had a radically different style with eclectic musical arrangements. It was tragically received and the harsh reviews of his work annihilated any hope of performing the album live. His efforts were only consummated some 34 years after the release of the album – Julian Schnabel, art and stage director of Lou Reed’s Berlin World Tour 2007, is the director of this documentary which chronicles the tour.

Berlin’s world-tour was also made possible by a turnaround of critics’ reviews on the album- once castigated and condemned by the mainstream, critics now deem certain songs such as Sad Song and How Do You Think it Feels? from Lou Reed’s third album as classics. Reed was always ahead of his time and Julian Schnabel has now captured him in a moment in time.

9 April | 19:00:00 | Lido Classics


Romulus, My Father
Richard Roxburgh | Australia | 2007 | 103 mins | TBA

Romulus, My Father is based on Raimond Gaita’s critically-acclaimed memoir. Romulus (Eric Bana) and his wife, Christina (Franka Potente) have fled Yugoslavia after World War II to start a new life in Australia and bring up their son, Raimond (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

The story tells of Raimond growing up with his father amidst the beautiful natural landscape of rural Australia, and how Romulus teaches Raimond the meaning of a compassionate, decent and moral life. At the same time, the family struggles with the depression of Christina, and her increasing neglect of the family. Romulus, My Father is a celebration of the unbreakable bond between father and son, and the depth of love for family, against a background of coping as new immigrants in a foreign land.

11 April | 19:00:00 | National Museum


Dreams From The Third World
Kan Lumé | Singapore | 2008 | 86 mins | M18

Dreams From The Third World concerns a man who is trying to make a porn movie and believes he is hearing the voice of God. He meets a prostitute and begins putting his belief into effect. His wife lambastes his idealism and acts as the voice of reason. When his life begins to crumble, he goes in search for answers and discovers it in an unexpected place.

12 April | 11:00:00 | Sinema


Milky Way Liberation Front
Yoon Seong-ho | Korea | 2007 | 95 mins | PG

Korean Director Yoon Seong-ho represents the new wave of digital filmmakers in Korea, and he impresses with this film, imbuing it with a compelling visual style, mixed in with his trademark humour arising from the most absurd circumstances thinkable.

In this film, geeky Young-jae aspires to be a prominent filmmaker. He has a vague idea of making a film about the condition of aphasia, which is a condition of a sudden loss of the ability to speak or understand language. His ever-patient girlfriend decides she has had enough and finally dumps him. To add to his woes, he is unable to secure funding and he is struck with severe writer’s block. Enroute to the Pusan film festival with a bid to convince popular Japanese Punk star Ray Kimura to be his lead actor, Young-jae is ironically afflicted by aphasia himself. Even with the help of his loyal pal, a ventriloquist, the situation turns for the worse and gets out of control.

Afflicted with problems of love and work, can this fledgling director and his ventriloquist pal find a way out of this hellish situation? This unconventional film- within-a-film about the art and perils of filmmaking was shot entirely on HD.

13 April | 21:15:00 | Lido 3

I'm keen on catching the shows mentioned above. Let me know if anyone else is interested.