ARTICLE
3rd MINDS Film Festival to Include 2 Shorts Films Executive Produced by Royston Tan
By Flora / 11 Sep 2018 (Tuesday)
For the third year running, the MINDS film festival aims to raise awareness for persons with intellectual disability (PWIDs). This year, the festival will feature 6 films from 6 countries, as well as the debut of two MINDS-commissioned short films, REHEARSAL and LAYANG-LAYANG TERBANG MELAYANG, produced by Chuan Pictures, and executive produced by filmmaker Royston Tan.
The festival will run for four weeks from 15 September to 7 October at GV Cinemas islandwide, and tickets are on sale. To complement the movie-going experience, audiences can visit the roving MINDS exhibition at Tiong Bahru Plaza, Tampines Mall, and Junction 8 during its festival period. The exhibition will feature a photo gallery showcasing many inspiring stories of the beneficiaries in MINDS. The aim is to advocate for PWIDs and educate the public on what an inclusive society that embraces and uplifts the “differently-abled” can look like.
Opening the festival is SWIM TEAM (United States), which chronicles the rise of a competitive swim team made up of teenagers on the autism spectrum. The documentary is directed by Lara Stolman, the mother of one of the swimmers.
This year’s international showcase also features works from South Korea, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
For the first time, the festival will also feature two original short films commissioned by MINDS and produced by Chuan Pictures – REHEARSAL and LAYANG-LAYANG TERBANG MELAYANG (The Kite Soars High). REHEARSAL showcases the celebrated Taiko drummers from MINDS, while LAYANG-LAYANG places a spotlight on the sombre realities of a caregiver’s demise.
Royston Tan, one of Singapore’s top film directors, is the Executive Producer of these films. He said: “It has been a great privilege to be able to collaborate on these unique films with such dedicated and talented clients from MINDS, and I believe that you will enjoy their enthusiastic and honest performances in the films.”
One of the two short films will be screened prior to each of the international feature films during the eight public screenings.
The local film THE WAYANG KIDS will also be screened on 30 September at GV Tampines, accompanied by a dialogue with director Raymond Tan.
Head to the official website for updates and schedule of the roving exhibition