Singapore sees a range of film festivals, from smaller ones like Singapore Cult and Underground Film Festival to the comprehensive Singapore International Film Festival. And then there’s the Singapore Chinese Film Festival, one that’s dedicated to Chinese films and organized by Singapore Film Society and Centre for Chinese Studies @ SUSS. It returns for the fifth year from Apr 28-May 7, bringing you 45 films ranging from documentaries to local selections. The screenings will be held at various venues like The Arts House, Golden Village (Suntec City) and National Museum of Singapore.
The line-up includes award-wining films like Mad World by 53rd Golden Horse Awards Best New Director Wong Chun, which gives an introspective look on bipolar disorder in Hong Kong. Surprisingly, the film only worked on with a government budget of HK$2 million. Want to find out more? Meet Wong and screenwriter Florence Chan on Apr 29. Other works include Trivisa, a banned film in China which just won the Best Film Award at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Awards, and Wang Xuebo’s Knife In the Clear Water, which won the Busan International Film Festival New Currents Award last year.
Despite the dazzling list of award-winning works, one of the biggest highlights is the premiere of Singapore Shorts, a segment featuring five selected local works, including Paper House by Ler Jiyuan, which will be making its debut at SCFF, Han by NYAA 2016 Best Film and Best Director winner, and Lullaby by Stanley Xu, a heartwarming piece about grandparents’ love; among others.
This year, you’ll also get to watch classic Chinese films that have been preserved and restored. Catch the 1979 wartime romance drama Love In Chilly Spring starring the late Taiwanese “Queen of Hats” Feng Fei-fei or witness the piece of history Love and Duty, marking the first collaboration between Shanghai’s Lianhua Film Company and Ruan Lingyu, a popular screen actress back in the ’30s. The film was thought to be lost until it was later found in Taiwan.
Tickets are $13 and $10 for SFS and SUSS members. Find out more on their Facebook page and website when it goes live on Thursday, Apr 13.
