Films for Change - Sinema presents International Social Action Film Festival 2009

19/09 7.30pm Screening of Heavenly Kings and AliveNotDead Forum

Festival Director — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:48:11 +0000

The alivenotdead.com Story

alivenotdead.com unites the combined talents of the members of Alive and the founders of Rotten Tomatoes, the leading movie reviews and news web site.

Members Conroy Chan, Andrew Lin, Daniel Wu and Terence Yin created Alive and the original alivenotdead.com website to support and promote the movie, “The Heavenly Kings“. A mockmentary following the rise and fall of the fictitious Hong Kong boyband Alive, the film provided a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges facing artists in Hong Kong. It also provided Hong Kong musicians with a platform to speak their minds about the state of the Hong Kong music scene, many issues of which apply to artists everywhere.

While making and promoting “The Heavenly Kings,” Alive came to realize that it was not enough to make a statement regarding the industry if you did not work to address the issues raised. Rotten Tomatoes co-founder Patrick Lee served as the film’s executive producer and, with Alive, developed the idea to create an online community that would be able to help artists in Hong Kong. A team (which included a number of former Rotten Tomatoes team members) was formed in Hong Kong in January 2007 and the new web site was launched in April 2007. Since the launch, the community has grown rapidly to encompass artists and fans around-the-world with the single-minded purpose of helping to support the arts and artists worldwide.

Buy 1 Give 1 features Sinema!

Festival Director — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:51:53 +0000

http://www.buy1-give1free.com/index.php/Latest-News/

It’s a magical place in Singapore where you can go to watch the kind of movies you won’t see anywhere else – movies by classical directors, movies that inspire, movies from Asia and above all, what Sinema Old School Co-Founder Nicholas Chee calls, ‘Films for Change’. Nicholas Chee and Randy Ang are the Co-Founders of Sinema Old School; a collaboration between Sinema and Old School (Creative Arts Hub).

Free for Kids! Hari Raya SOTA Fundraising – Open Air Sinema: Baraka (USA) in HD – 20th Sep

diyana — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:31:36 +0000

Sinema is partnering Old School to raise funds for School Of The Arts (SOTA). Sinema and Old School strongly believes that every child deserves a chance and blessings to pursue their passion and dreams. Proceeds raised from this very special Hari Raya Open Air Sinema screening of Baraka will go to support the School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA) student development.

We are trying to raise at least S$5,000 for this cause. So tell your friends about it. Lay out your mats, spread out your snacks and share the love and blessings out under the sky for Open Air Sinema: Baraka.

“Baraka” is a magical non-verbal film that transcends all race, language and time. This beauty was caught through Ron Fricke’s eyes over 13 months, 24 countries, and 150 locations. Be it’s beholder.

Limited capacity. Get your tickets now to avoid disappointment!

Time: 20th September/ seating starts at 7.15pm
Price: S$15 – Open Air Sinema ($17.12 incl. fees & GST)/Free for kids under 12 (Buy Now)
Rating: PG

About The Film:

Baraka, the Sufi term for “blessing”, is a nonverbal film with dramatic images of nature, religious ritual, oppressive city life, and war. The film, in the words of director Ron Fricke, is a journey of rediscovery and reconnecting. The dominant message is a mystical one: God is nature, big cities are unnatural, and we connect with nature through organic religious rituals.

The only movie ever transferred with an 8K HD Scan. Shot during a 13-month period in 24 countries at over 150 locations. It was shot on 70 millimeter film which gives it especially high resolution (the normal film size for a feature-length movie is 35 millimeter). Baraka follows in the tradition of the groundbreaking nonverbal film Koyaanisqatsi (1983), directed Godfrey Reggio, of which Fricke was the cinematographer. Wearing the director’s hat this time, Fricke set out to make “The ultimate nonverbal film in the ultimate format,” as Baraka’s producer Mark Magidson puts it.

Director: Ron Fricke
Genre: Documentary
Running time: 96 min
Year: 1992
Country: USA
Language: English

To find out more about SOTA, please log on to: http:www.sota.edu.sg .

“An Old School Community Program”

Talk: The Power of Blogging – 26th Sep

diyana — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:10:26 +0000

Blogging has evolved from a personal space, to a marketing, branding and public relations tool. It has also become a source for passive income for some. Be part of the discussion on the power of blogging with some of the most popular bloggers in Singapore, and how they have used it to make a social stand.

Topic: Power of Blogging as Part of a Social Media Tool
Time: 26th September/ 3.30pm
Price: $S$10 -Regular talk ($11.77 incl. fees & GST) (Buy Now)
Moderator: Dr Chung Peichi
Speakers: Dr Stephie Tan, Belinda Ang, Jeremy Ang, Pat Law

About The Speakers
————

Dr. Peichi Chung
She received her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2002. Her research area includes social impact of new communication technology, digital popular culture and film studies. Before joining CNM, Dr. Chung worked as an assistant professor at the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. Her dissertation thesis examines the use of the internet as an alternative medium in Taiwan. Dr. Chung’s research interests cover various disciplines where she sees the internet as a central theme that connects theories of culture together. She holds a MA in Telecommunication from Ohio University and a BA in British Literature from Tunghai University, Taiwan.
site: http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/cnmcp/

Stephie Tan
The co-founder of Fashion Nation, the prominent Singapore fashion blog. freelance writing for several publications –her portfolio includes Tongue in Chic and CATALOG. On her site, she shares her thoughts on entertainment, travel, food, living in Singapore and things which have caught her fancy on the Blogosphere.
Site: http://www.stephiesays.com/

Belinda Ang
An advocate of self-defined success and excellence, Belinda found her passion and forte in the social media sphere, with an all-rounded perspective of the integrated marketing environment having served in areas of film, events, viral with a foundation in multimedia. She is also guest contributor for marketing column in Lianhe Zaobao.
Site: http://belindaang.com/

Jeremy Sing
Contributor to Sinema’s official site, www.sinema.sg
Site: http://sindieonly.blogspot.com/

Pat Law
Feisty digital strategist by day, armed with through-the-line advertising experience. Dousing society’s concerns with biting humour nicely delivered through her piercing words, Pat sees blankanvas as the rehabilitation centre she couldn’t afford. Pat writes for LOTL International, iSh and Singapore Architect. When working at AKQA, Publicis, Rocket-X Media, TBWA and Arc Worldwide, she had the luxury of working with the world’s finest minds. And the dumbest, too.
Site: http://blankanvas.bypatlaw.com/

S:ISAFF09 – The Human Condition

Festival Director — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:45:36 +0000

The festival opens on the 9th of September, 2009 (09-09-09) with the highly acclaimed “War Dance” (Sean Fine & Andrea Nix Fine), a story about the refuge children of war-torn Uganda overcoming tremendous adversity and triumphing over their bleak futures in a national music and dance competition.

The presentation of about 50 short and feature length films from around the globe ends on Singapore’s Children’s Day – 1st October – with the closing film “Holly” (Guy Moshe), a powerful film about child prostitution and sex trafficking in Cambodia.

S:ISAFF Opening Film: War Dance (USA)

Festival Director — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:44:40 +0000

Set in Northern Uganda, a country ravaged by more than two decades of civil war, ”War Dance” tells the story of Dominic, Rose, and Nancy, three children whose families have been torn apart, their homes destroyed, and who currently reside in a displaced persons camp in Patongo. When they are invited to compete in an annual music and dance competition, their historic journey to their nation’s capital is also an opportunity to regain a part of their childhood and to taste victory for the first time in their lives.

Director: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine
Genre: Documentary
Running time: 105 mins
Year: 2006
Country: USA
Language: English, Swahili
Ratings: PG

Feet Unbound (Australia)

Festival Director — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:40:43 +0000

Director Ng Khee-jin’s documentary Feet Unbound follows the exploits of Elly, a 28 year-old reporter who decides to follow the trail taken by soldiers during the most massive retreat in the history the Chinese Red Army. She learns that of the thousands of soldiers who made the grueling trip, one percent were women, primarily from very poor backgrounds. As Elly discovers more and more about the hardships these women faced, particularly the cultural prejudices they encountered, she begins to understand how her own life has similarities with the lives of many of these women who, in fitting with the tradition of the times, had their feet bound. This ritual lends the film its title.

Director: Ng Khee Jin
Cast: Elly Zhen Ying
Genre: Drama/ Documentary
Running time: 87 mins
Year: 2007
Country: Australia
Language: Mandarin & English with Mandarin & English subtitles
Ratings: PG

Crash (USA)

Festival Director — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:15:23 +0000

Several stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles involving a collection of inter-related characters, a police detective with a drugged out mother and a thieving younger brother, two car thieves who are constantly theorizing on society and race, the white district attorney and his irritated and pampered wife, a racist white veteran cop (caring for a sick father at home) who disgusts his more idealistic younger partner, a successful Hollywood director and his wife who must deal with the racist cop, a Persian-immigrant father who buys a gun to protect his shop, a Hispanic locksmith and his young daughter who is afraid of bullets, and more.

Director: Paul Haggis
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Philippe, Larenz Tate, Michael Peña
Genre: Crime/Drama
Running time: 112 mins
Year: 2004
Country: USA
Language: English, Persian, Spanish, Mandarin, Korean
Ratings: TBA

Please Vote For Me (China)

Festival Director — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:10:26 +0000

Is democracy a universal value that suits human nature? Do elections inevitably lead to manipulation? Please Vote for Me is a portrait of a society and a town in through a school, its children and its families.

Wuhan is a city about the size of London located in central China. It is here that director Weijun Chen has conducted an experiment in democracy. A Grade 3 class at Evergreen Primary School has their first encounter with democracy by holding an election to select a Class Monitor. Eight-year-olds compete against each other for the coveted position, abetted and egged on by teachers and doting parents.

Elections in China take place only within the Communist Party, but recently millions of Chinese voted in their version of Pop
Idol. The purpose of Weijun Chen’s experiment is to determine how democracy would be received if it came to China.

Director: Weijun Chen
Cast: Xiaofei, Cheng Cheng, Luo Lei
Genre: Documentary
Running time: 58 min
Year: 2007
Country: China
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Rating: TBA

The Heavenly Kings (Hong Kong)

Festival Director — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:05:28 +0000

“The Heavenly Kings” is a mockumentary which blurs the line between fact and fiction, following a Hong Kong boy band called ‘Alive’, who may or may not have been created solely with the intention of poking fun at the music business. The result is a sharp and at times hilarious expose not only of the cantopop industry, but of fame and the narcissism of celebrities in general.

The film begins with the formation of the band back in 2005 by actor Daniel Wu, along with fellow thespian friends Terence Yin, Andrew Lin, and Conroy Chan, apparently “to have some fun and make some music together”. However, after failing to land a satisfactory record contract, possibly due to a glaring lack of talent, the boys hatch a plan to create an internet downloading scandal and use the resulting publicity to launch the band properly. Although this works wonderfully, the fact remains that apart from Andrew, none of them can sing, and as a woefully incompetent stage show reveals, they still have a great deal to learn about surviving in the image-obsessed industry.

Director: Daniel Wu
Cast: Terence Yin, Andrew Lin, Conroy Chan, Daniel Wu
Genre: Comedy
Running time: 83 mins
Year: 2006
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese, English
Ratings: NC 16