Apart from the onslaught of films that we’ve had the pleasure of watching through various festivals in the recent (and coming) weeks, there’s another film series that we’re pretty thrilled about. From now till Nov 20, relive the golden age of Singapore cinema from the 1950s to 1970s with screenings of old and rare local films at the third edition of Fade In/Fade Out, a collaboration between the National Library Board and the Asian Film Archive (AFA). And the best part is that they’re all free, though the limited seats are on a first-come-first-served basis.
Similar to the Asian Film Archive’s Asian Restored Classics that were screened at the snazzy Capitol Theatre in August, we’ll once again be transported to an era when everything looked and felt totally different from today’s fast paced world. Four iconic films that the AFA has dug out from their archives will be screened at the Bukit Merah Public Library and Woodlands Regional Library over four Sundays (one of which was already screened on Oct 30).
Each film screening will be followed by talks by various industry folks who will give different insights into the films and the restoration process of these multimedia time capsules. The next gem that’ll be screening is the 1963 Teochew opera epic, Twin Charms, directed by Chow Sze Luk, at the Bukit Merah Public Library. It’s a classic tale of family drama; a man emerges as the champion at a martial arts competition to win a woman’s hand in marriage while his twin brother falls for an outlaw’s daughter. Obviously, complications ensue, forcing them to flee their own home.
The other two films are Malay folklore narrative Sultan Mahmood Mangkat Di-julang (The Passing of Sultan Mahmood) and Cantonese romance The Merdeka Bridge.
