RETURN OF FARTMAN!

A Singapore Portrait

A Family Portrait / Un Retrato de Familia


I remember getting the vcd of 12 Storeys by Eric Khoo in secondary 4, for the simple reason that I knew one of the actors in the movie. Yup, talk about basking in reflcted glory, but it turned out to be money well-spent. 12 Storeys had a deep impact on me, as it represented to me the gloominess that we lived in, and it was in line with a lot of my sentiments at that point in my life. 2 months ago, I watched it again, and the film has not lost its beauty.

Forward to yesterday afternoon. I went with a friend, Lizzie, to the Singapore History Museum to watch a showcase of short films by Singaporeans. My initial purpose in going there was to see a film called A Family Portrait by a friend of mine, Junfeng. It was the winning short film for this year's Singapore Film Festival, and I've been bugging him to give me a copy for the longest time. Sadly enough, he's against piracy. Well, we all should make some compromises sometimes. Anyhow, I was honestly rather blown away by the quality of all 5 films that were screened. Granted, to me Junfeng's film was the best because I'm biased towards him, but all the films were of a pretty high standard. I won't really go into my interpretation of all the films at this point, because honestly it might mean different things to different people, and it's pointless also because I don't think many people have actually watched them.

My point is that Singapore film-makers have really come some ways in terms of the underlying themes and even the basic stories. They seem to have become a lot more expressive, especially with the largely taboo subject of gangs in Royston Tan's 15 and many of the gay, i'll call it inspirations, in some of the other short films. Their voices are louder now than before.

I feel that the Singapore films being made now are even comparable to those made overseas, and I finally have one more thing to be proud of. Not that I hail from Singapore, the land of an improving repertoire of impressive films, but rather that we've come a long way, and in these films the Singapore Portrait is no longer just a mirage.

Till next time, goodbye world.

posted by Da Buffalo! @ 3:14 AM