Topic: Is it still viable to produce short films in Singapore?

Speakers: Suffian Zainuddin, Kelvin Ke & Danial Haris (Directors)


Estimated Duration: 140 mins

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About The Films:

(1) Tak Dong Cheng
Best Friends Jas and Farid are interested in learning lion dance. However, they face many obstacles and challenges while learning a different culture. In a multi-cultural country such as Singapore, will they be able to realize their dreams?

Director: Suffian Zainuddin
Cast: Yazid Jalil, Jasmin, Chris, Justin, Khai, Hafidz
Genre: Documentary
Running time: 36 mins
Year: 2008
Country: Singapore
Language: Malay with English subtitles

(2) Fences
Kenneth and Raja usually meet up before a game of street soccer. Both of them not only grew up together but they are the best of friends. Just before one of their games, they wait for time to pass. "Fences" details the story of two young men who shares a bond that goes beyond race and ethnicity. It is a quiet and contemplative film that examines the mood and attitudes of working class males in multiracial Singapore.

Director: Kelvin Ke
Genre: Drama
Running time: 7 mins
Year: 2007
Country: Singapore
Language: English with English subtitles

(3) Kassim
It is set amidst Singapore's 1964 racial riots and based on a true story. A Chinese girl is caught out during a curfew, runs into a Malay home for refuge, but the family there does not want her in the house. The son, Kassim, agrees to take her home through a route that would avoid police and rioters' blockades. At the same time, the girl's father is out looking for her and when he finds her in the company of a Malay boy, trouble ensures.

Director: Danial Haris
Running time: 14 mins
Year: 2004
Country: Singapore
Language: English, Malay and Mandarin language with English subtitles

(4) The Call Home
A rich and well-made film that dramatises the life of a foreign worker in Singapore, Kasi arrives from India to toil in the construction industry. We see him go through his first month here, culminating in his first phone call home to his wife. What should he say to her? How much truth? How much glossing over the truth? A poignant enquiry not only into the way we treat foreign workers, but also into hope, expectations, and the burden of culture and tradition.

Director: Han Yew Kwang
Genre: Drama
Running time: 30 mins
Year: 2002
Country: Singapore
Language: Tamil with English subtitles