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'Gado Gado'

As part of the Singapapour en France - le Festival, the largest overseas showcase of Singapore’s contemporary arts and culture, 50 local films including films from the 1950s will be showcased to the French audience this June.

Commemorating Singapore’s 50th year of independence, the Singapore Film Commission and the prestigious Cinematheque francaise will co-organise a special retrospective programme showcasing 50 Singapore films - ‘Cinemas de Singapour en 50 films’.

A diversity of films will be showcased, with the varied genres ranging from horror, melodrama, socio-comedies to home-grown works which have garnered international and commercial success.

The films include Liao Jiekai’s As You Were; Royston Tan’s ’15’; Glen Goei’s ‘The Blue Mansion’; Anthony Chen’s ‘Ilo Ilo’, Eric Khoo’s ‘Mee Pok Man’, Ken Kwek’s ‘Unlucky Plaza’, etc.

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'Ilo Ilo' gala premiere in Singapore

The films selected in the programme collectively charts the development of Singapore’s filmic landscape through iconic films produced by the nation from the golden age of Singapore cinema in the 1950s and 1960s to the latest offerings from the burgeoning Singapore film industry.

“At the beginning, we had about 80 films which were mostly feature-length films. In the process of selecting the films with them (Cinematheque francaise), we started to explore further and included short films as well,” said Mr Warren Sin, film programmer and Manager (Audience Development and Partnerships), National Museum of Singapore.

He added: “We both agreed that the films should be quite sizeable… so our part is to feed them with films. It’s really about wanting to tell the Singapore story.” 

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'Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Di Julang'

In addition, the programme will feature new 4K restorations of two classic films - Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Di Julang, and Gado Gado (a musical variety short). The prints which the films were restored from are the sole surviving copies of the films.

The Singapour en France - le Festival is a 1.5-month long festival showcasing a diverse line-up of works that put Singapore's artistic talents on the international stage. Visitors have the chance to experience the best of Singapore's art and culture which prsents more than 70 events, ranging from visual and performing arts to literature, films, architecture and lifestyle-related programmes at various prestigious institutions in key French cities.