VIDEO
Short Films To Celebrate International Women’s Day
By Chen Shun / 04 Mar 2020 (Wednesday)
On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2020, we are reminding everyone that it should be a gender-equal world. For this celebration, Viddsee has put together a playlist to raise awareness. After long deliberation, we have chosen the best 5 short films for you to enjoy.
Areola Borealis
Synopsis: An uptight mother tries to upstage her daughter's untraditional wedding with her traditionalist principles only to have her plans undermined by a broken bra.
This short film shows us how the older generation wants outsiders to perceive themselves as a happy family. From the start, the mother disapproves at her daughter, Jasmine, choice in man due to race, and she also didn’t like how the wedding was being conducted. She must have felt that it is embarrassing to the point where she hardly invited any friends. Whereas, on the other hand, Jasmine has a more modern mindset. She doesn’t mind a husband of a different race, only vegetarian food for her wedding which is vastly different from a traditional Chinese wedding. From the two parties, we can see how the female mindset has changed over the years. While the traditional mother cares more about conforming to society to be ‘normal’ but the modern daughter puts her happiness before anything else.
Sakura Toilet
Synopsis: There is one toilet on the 1st basement floor, where various women visit day by day. A heart-broken office girl, a lonely sanitation worker, a high-school girl and so on... They happen to start communicating through the wall inside the toilet while using it as a bulletin board.
One day, before the beginning of spring, a woman leaves a note on the wall, which says "Cherry blossoms will bloom soon. Why don't we go to see them together?"
They meet up under a cherry tree. They identify each other by holding toilet rolls in their hands.
This short film was an unexpected dark horse for me. The ladies go to the same toilet to seek their personal space and somehow, one by one they left things for others to use and enjoy. It is heartwarming at the end to see the ladies all meet up for a picnic and becomes friend even when they come from all walks of life.
The Poor Fighter
Synopsis: “Sun Mi” is a jobless youth who doesn’t have anything to offer to the world – not in educational background, nor in looks, nor skills or qualifications – and even whose weight is close to 100kg. While she has always had the label “worthless human being” tagging her along in her life, Sun Mi does have one thing that she does at least at well as others: “eating.” To make her mark in the world as a Food Fighter, Sun Mi sets out in search of “Ma Gudo,” the first Korean second-place winner of “The World Chicken Wing Fastest Eating Competition” that took place 30 years ago…
This film is honestly the most depressing amongst the top 5 that we have chosen. Whenever things seem to start working out for Sun Mi, it just takes a turn for the worse. I shall not spoil it too much but prepare some tissues before you press play.
Outsider
Synopsis: Supari Studios in Association with Mai Family Services, recently released an animated PSA film ‘Outsider’ which addresses the issue of domestic violence and abuse. The script, a spoken word poem, captures the turmoils of a young South Asian woman who faces abuse once she relocates to America. The film uses a classical animation style to compliment the script.
This short and impactful short film reminds us that domestic violence and abuse is still a major issue in some parts of the world. As the young South Asian women relocate to America, we also see issues such as verbal abuse, racism and lack of jobs being brought up. While we, Singaporean live in a blissful society, we must remember that people are lacking such rights and happiness in other parts of the world.
Plintik
Synopsis: ”Plintik" is a short biographical documentary regarding Salbiah Wir. She was given the nickname “Plintik” by her mother when she was young and has been commonly known as that since. She is known to be someone strong as she barely cried, preserved on and stayed patient despite the life challenges she had gone through. Married at a young age of 13 to her husband who is 20 years older than her, she got her first child at the age of 15. Life was difficult for her, especially after the death of her husband, as she faced poverty while supporting her 15 children. She had to work several jobs to earn enough income for her family, two of which was tailoring clothes and selling Malay delicacies. Her hard work paid off as her children grew up to be successful not only in terms of education and career-wise but also in terms of moral and values. She also has aged gracefully and still inculcating morals and values to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Being a great mother that she is, she was awarded the Jamiyah Exemplary Mother Award for the year 2000.
“Plintik” as a film biography showed me that motherly love knows no bound. As a mother, I am sure it isn’t an easy feat to single-handedly raise 15 children after the death of her husband. I was extremely touched by her actions when she allowed strangers to live in her house when they have nowhere to go. Plintik has not enough to feed her entire family yet she can still graciously allow a stranger to share a table. In the end, she won the Jamiyah Exemplary Mother Award which she truly deserves.
If you are interested in other short films regarding International Women’s Day you can head on over to Viddsee!