Photo Courtesyof: Golden Village

Golden Village’s GV25 short film competition shortlists three finalists where they are required to complete their production in the next three months - from planning, filming to editing.

Earlier this month, eight aspiring filmmakers out of the nearly 200 submissions, were invited to present their ideas to a judging panel made up of prominent local directors like Boris Boo (Lucky Boy) and Kelvin Tong (The Faith Of Anna Waters), President of the Singapore Film Society Kenneth Tan, popular YouTubers Tree Potatoes, and Golden Village’s Programming Director Sharanjit Kaur. 

 
 
The three finalists are:

Marcus Goh
Title: Lost and Found

Storyline: During the Hungry Ghost Festival, a group of students stage a theatrical production about how Singapore came to be (re-enactment of our independence in 1965), but their production is plagued by accidents. They soon discover that they have inadvertently raised the ire of the ghosts of Sang Nila Utama and Sir Stamford Raffles. Both spirits are unhappy to be uncredited in a story about Singapore's beginnings, and the students must appease both spirits before they cause untold havoc. However, that's going to be a problem when Sang Nila Utama speaks Bahasa and Sir Stamford Raffles speaks archaic English... 

 

(L-R: Marcus Goh, The Apex Project, Moonmen)
Image Courtesy of: Golden Village


The Apex Project (Goh Sijia)
Title: Adam

Storyline: Adam, our protagonist, finds his mother’s time-travelling padlock and he sets out to accomplish a mission to alter the past with hopes of changing the present and his future. The film starts out with Adam pouring through his late mother’s belongings. He has always been curious about this little wooden box that Mother tried her best to keep out of his sight since he was little. He manages to open the box and finds a six-dial padlock rested neatly inside. He spins its dials and realises that it locks shut regardless of the whichever numerical combination he sets. Thinking that the lock is spoilt, he leaves the lock in his pocket and continues about his day packing his mother’s belongings. The next day, Adam wakes up to his mother knocking at his bedroom door. Stunned to find his mother alive, Adam realises that the date of the day he woke up in was the same as the numbers he left on the padlock, thus discovering the padlock’s time-travelling abilities. Adam spends the next few days flipping through his mother’s diary, frantically trying to find the dates she deemed significant, travelling back and forth time to re-experience moments that he missed with her. He starts to wonder if it is possible to bring his mother back to life by changing the past. 


Moonmen (Joshuah Lim En)
Title: Chiak (Working title) 

Storyline: The story explores how dementia warps Uncle Lim's perception of past, present and future.  Eventually suffering from dementia, his perception of time is no longer linear.  In the past, Uncle Lim is a Char Kway Teow Hawker who is content with his lifestyle. He started his family young and his career blossomed, he thought he had the ideal life. However, with the sudden passing of his wife, he realises that he never spent enough time with his family. He becomes depressed and impatient, eventually the stress and age catch up with him and he develops dementia.  At present, we see how Uncle Lim's journey with dementia becomes his truth and how the people around him struggle to accept it because reality and truth are what we make of it. Eventually, his son comes around and learns to accept his father's reality as his own.  Deciding to carry on his father's legacy, he takes over the Char Kway Teow business. Thus, making his son the embodiment of Uncle Lim's future by carrying on his craft.  


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Each of the finalists will now receive a cash grant of S$2,000 as well as the opportunity of a lifetime to speak to film industry experts and filmmakers Kelvin Tong, Boris Boo and the Tree Potatoes to gain valuable advice on how to bring to life their respective story ideas.

Distinguished local director Boris Boo added: “I’m so intrigued by the variety of genres of the entries. It wasn’t easy picking them, but at the same time, I am looking forward to seeing the three films come to life. This is an incredible opportunity for these creative individuals and I will try my best to help them on this journey through the mentoring session.”

The winner will be chosen in early October by the same panel of judges and a social media public vote, with the Best Short Film receiving a winner’s cash prize of S$3,000 and the opportunity to be screened in Golden Village’s multiplexes across Singapore.