Even if two people are on the opposite sides of the universe, once the connection is made, they're basically one.
Class Acts is a feature-length documentary tracing the genesis of Singapore's creative scene in the '90s through intimate conversations with its pioneering personalities. These are the stories of individuals who started creating with nothing, who push Singapore’s creative standards even today. The ones who went on to inspire a new generation of musicians, designers, and street artists.
A jaded Office Lady’s perspective on life is thwarted when she runs into her ex, an Ah Beng giving out free hugs to strangers.
5 years old Yang spends an afternoon with his mother on a shopping trip. When he throws a tantrum after feeling neglected, she decides to punish him by walking away. A seemingly harmless punishment eventually becomes a pivotal childhood experience for Yang that will forever change him.
WHAT IF, in the unforeseen future, when there are not enough boys in Singapore? If Girls have to serve National Service also, what will happen? The story will focus on the first batch of female recruits, a bunch of Gen Z teens and youngsters with different backgrounds and education. As they trained under the fierce leadership of Sergeant Chow and Lieutenant Roxanne, they find themselves being pushed to the limit of their potential. Together, they overcome hardship and initial resistance to serve NS and discover newfound abilities, using it to solve and mend relationships in their personal life as well.
An intimate portrait of an inter-generational family as they bid farewell to the common ground that binds them together.
Partitions draws on photographs, state documents, audio recordings and footage of domestic spaces and routines, to tell a story of Sindhi migration following the Partition of India in 1947. Inspired by the life of a woman who was born in Hyderabad, Sindh, grew up in Madras (Chennai) and lived the rest of her life as a Singaporean, the film juxtaposes fragmented recollections of the past with enduring practices of the present.
"When I first started to photograph in dark and unfamiliar places all over Singapore in 2003, I had no idea that those images I made would come to define me as a photographer. Born out of a curiosity of the unknown, as well as a young photographer’s restlessness, While You Were Sleeping grew to say as much about our country as it did of me. Eighteen years, two books and two exhibitions later, Singapore is now a very different place. Many of the locations I visited in the early 2000s, once alien, are now completely transformed." – Darren Soh, photographer
Ah Bee goes on a comedic odyssey through Tiong Bahru Social Club, a data-driven project to create the happiest neighborhood in the world. Little by little, his encounters with the neighborhood's residents reveal the absurdity of life.
Amid the noisy spectacle of Singapore’s golden jubilee celebrations in 2015, filmmakers Chew Chia Shao Min and Joant Úbeda conduct casual interviews with people from different walks of life, each with their own set of values and beliefs. The subjects share deeply personal stories and their perspectives on issues such as religion, race, identity and mortality. Unhurried interviews are interspersed with highly recognisable local scenes, and at times punctuated with serendipitous poetic moments.
Booklovers, booksellers, storytellers and writers can easily squeeze into various demos of important issues. This documentary brings this group of people in the limelight, discussing the value of art space in bookshops. The book-loving director Kong King Chu visited independent bookshops in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia for three to four years, tried to understand how a bookshop can become a dynamic, inspiring and heartwarming space, even these booksellers carry different attitude towards life, books and community, as well as management beliefs. These booksellers do not care about the commercial value emphasized by the capitalist society and they are content in their own way by sharing their enthusiasm about books with the others in spite of all difficulties. Thus, they keep trying new methods to sharpen their touch on social issues and become an important starting point for the general public to reflect upon conflicts in our society.
A wildlife enthusiast, Jean-Pierre Bosquet brings us on a journey to Singapore's Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to uncover some of the unknown nature in the midst of our metropolis city. Subaraj Rajathurai, a veteran wildlife consultant speaks on behalf of these animals and the threats they face.
Wet Season revolves around the life of Ling, a schoolteacher who deals with infertility while having to take care of her infirm father-in-law at home. One of Ling's students, Kok Wei Lun, develops a crush on her during remedial Chinese classes. The two become closer as Wei Lun embraces Ling's extra tutoring.
50-year-old Jim (Gerald Chew, "Apprentice", Cannes Film Festival 2016 Un Certain Regard) loses his high-flying job in status-conscious Singapore, but his ego and pride compel him to hide this from his wife (Amy J Cheng, "Crazy Rich Asians") and daughter. His only confidante is his best friend (Sivakumar Palakrishnan, "A Yellow Bird", Cannes Film Festival 2016 Critics' Week). Desperately clinging onto the material symbols of his past success, he unlocks a hibernating malevolent force, with sinister roots in long-buried secrets. As his dream life crumbles around him, worlds collide, the lines between then and now become increasingly blurred, and Jim descends into a waking nightmare. REPOSSESSION is a bold, genre-bending film, with an ever-evolving, haunting soundscape from Golden Horse Award-winning composer Teo Wei Yong ("A Land Imagined").
A cop in Singapore investigates the disappearance of a Chinese migrant construction worker who spent sleepless nights playing a mysterious video game.
Dismembered limbs. Topless mermaids. Crabs with human heads. These Chinese folklore-themed statues, in all their surreal, grotesque glory, are seared into the mind of Singapore's Haw Par Villa. But no one knows them as well as Teo Veoh Seng. Decades ago, he started out as an apprentice at the park, which opened in the 1930s; now, at 83, Teo has finally decided to retire. Though his successors prepare for his departure, what will be lost when the master craftsman steps down? Interspersing interviews with animation, this documentary weaves personal and national histories into the portrait of an unlikely Singapore hero. It sheds light on an artisan whose quiet dedication has preserved a uniquely charming slice of a city hounded by rapid urban developments.
In a world where food has been outlawed, a small band of food lovers risks their skins to defy the authorities and feast on contraband food.
In „Crazy Rich“ begleitet die geborene New Yorkerin Rachel Chu ihren langjährigen Lebensgefährten Nick Young zur Hochzeit seines besten Freundes nach Singapur. Rachel freut sich riesig auf ihre erste Asienreise, doch die Begegnung mit Nicks Familie steht ihr sehr bevor. Völlig unvorbereitet erfährt sie nun etliche Einzelheiten aus Nicks Leben, die er ihr bisher vorenthalten hat: Wie sich herausstellt, ist er nicht nur der Spross einer der reichsten Familien des Landes, sondern auch einer der begehrtesten Junggesellen. Weil Rachel an Nicks Seite auftaucht, gerät sie sofort ins Visier eifersüchtiger Schickeria-Typen. Und was noch schlimmer ist: Nicks eigene Mutter ist mit Rachel nicht einverstanden und nimmt sie entsprechend aufs Korn. Bald wird überdeutlich, dass man mit Geld zwar keine Liebe kaufen kann – aber komplizierter wird sie dadurch auf jeden Fall.
Der junge Masato beherrscht ein wunderbares Handwerk: er ist Koch in einer traditionellen japanischen Suppenküche. Die Ramen-Nudel-Suppe ist seine Spezialität. Der plötzliche Tod des Vaters versetzt Masato in seine Kindheit zurück. In einem Koffer voller Erinnerungen findet Masato nun Spuren der Liebesgeschichte seiner Eltern. Er beschließt, sich auf den Weg nach Singapur zu machen, ins Heimatland seiner Mutter, die starb als Masato 10 Jahre alt war. Für den jungen Koch beginnt eine kulinarische Reise in die Vergangenheit, denn die Geschichte seiner Familie ist eine Geschichte voller Sinnlichkeit und von großer Liebe. Masato probiert sich durch die kulinarischen Traditionen Singapurs, Japans und Chinas und lernt nicht nur die Kunst des Kochens ganz neu kennen, sondern auch die Kunst des Zusammenseins.
When Nina wins free airline tickets, she leaves her dingy apartment and part-time factory job in Yamato City, Japan for Singapore with her friend Su.