The Singapore Panorama is one of the most anticipated and talked about sections of the Festival, enjoying sold-out screenings and extended post-show discussions with the directors in attendance.
Introduced in 2008 as a platform for the newest local films, Singapore Panorama has its fingers on the pulse of the latest and most exciting developments in Singapore Cinema.
The Festival also celebrates the 15th year anniversary of two iconic local films. They are Jack Neo's I Not Stupid and Colin Goh and Woo Yen Yen's TalkingCock the Movie - two irreverent social satires that, whilst fun and entertaining to watch, are nevertheless serious about their intentions to discuss the local state of education and politics.
Four new feature films will be unveiled at Singapore Panorama this year. They are:
Diamond Dogs
Written and directed by TV director Gavin Lim, Diamond Dogs, his debut feature, is an exhilarating action-thriller, in which the deaf and mute protagonist, played by Sunny Pang, is lured into a deadly underground social experiment which pits fighters against one another. It's Jet Li's Unleashed meets Battle Royale.
hUsh
Kan Lume is back at SGIFF with his latest outing, hUsh. This time, he co-directs with Indonesian writer-filmmaker Djenar Maesa Ayu on a film about Cinta, a free-spirited aspiring singer from Bali who decides to move to Jakarta in search of success. But the trappings of city life and its materialism leaves her disenfranchised. Hush is a complex portrait of contemporary feminity and also a hard look at the malaise that plagues the modern world.
I Want To Go Home
I Want To Go Home is Wesley Leon Aroozoo's debut documentary. Having world premiered at Busan International Film Festival, the film follows Yasuo Takamatsu who lost his wife in the tsunami during the Great East Japan Earthquake and has been diving in the sea every week in search of his wife. The film is a deeply emotional and sensitive depiction of the inexorable sadness and yearning that dwells with the loss of a loved one.
Shadows of Fiendish Ancestress and Occassionally Parajanov on Durian Cialis
Chew Tze Chuan is one of Singapore's underground filmmakers. He is mainly known for the documentary F, which is an intimate portrait of the late Toh Hai Leong's struggle with diabetes. Toh was arguably Singapore's most passionate cinephile. He also contributed a segment to the 2008 omnibus film Lucky 7. In his new film Shadows of Fiendish Ancestress, Chew reimagines the mythology of a hermaphrodite who comes to own to impart wisdom but it proves untimely and carnal.
All photos courtesy of the Singapore International Film Festival
Be sure to catch these films from 26 Nov to 2 Dec at the National Museum of Singapore!
Support local films!