The first big win for a Singaporean filmmaker this year, director Chai Yee Wei, known for his feature films Blood Ties and That Girl in Pinafore, has won the grand prize, the George Lucas Award, at the 20th Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia for his 15-minutes short film Benjamin's Last Day At Katong Swimming Complex.
The short film was selected from more than 10,000 submissions from more than 100 countries all over the world to be included in the festival.
Benjamin's Last Day At Katong Swimming Complex follows Benjamin who, upon finding out that the Katong Swimming Complex will be demolished, rushed down to relive his childhood memories. It is a wistful, longing, and nostalgic film, inspired by the director's childhood days spent at the swimming complex, that explores the rapid loss of heritage that follows Singapore's rapid development as well as a young boy's sexual awakening.
The short film is part of an anthology of short films, entitled Void Deck, commissioned by Starhub Cable TV, to tell stories set in the lesser known satellite towns in Singapore.
It had its world premiere last year at the Singapore Panorama section of Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) in November before travelling to other festivals such as the Tokyo Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia.
Two other local short films were in competition at the Tokyo Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia. They are veteran filmmaker Wee Li Lin's Areola Borealis, which also premiered at SGIFF last year, and veteran Mediacorp actress Jeanette Aw's directorial debut, The Last Entry.
A grateful Chai dedicates his award to the struggling filmmakers in Singapore.