This weekend is for the film buffs. There’s not one, not two, but five festivals happening this weekend; some just starting and some about to end. Once you’ve had a fix of a good film or three, spend it dancing the day away at a daytime rave by The Council’s latest venture, or go on a tour at a local farm.
Friday, Apr 27
JU1Y by Gentle Bones and Myrne, off the album “B4NG3R PROJECT”. Artwork by Howie Kim
CONCERT
The collaborative album B4NGER PROJECT by Singaporean hotshot musicians Gentle Bones and Myrne was just released pretty recently. Now they’re putting up a live show at The Pavilion to perform hits off the new record, with a special appearance by Linying. Apr 27
PARTY
From helming the world’s biggest festivals to producing the biggest mainroom dancefloor hits of the century, Dutch electronic dance artiste Laidback Luke will be holding court from the 71st and 72nd floor of Bar Rouge Singapore for one night only at this special edition of Go Rouge!. Apr 27
TOUR
It’s one thing to take a walk through hell at Haw Par Villa during the day, and a whole other experience if you go at night. The twilight tour of Haw Par Villa is back—check out the infamous 10 Courts of Hell, King of Ghosts, the upcoming Hell’s Museum and the Aw family memorials. Apr 27
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PERFORMANCE
How well do you know your history? As part of Voilah! French Festival SIngapore, Roots explores Belle Epoque, or better known as Europe’s Golden Age after the end of Franco Prussian War; a period where numerous masterpieces of music, theater, literature and visual art were created and widely appreciated. This performance delves into what was happening during the same period in Southeast Asia and Singapore, essentially taking you on a musical journey to discover the cultural and musical traditions of the two continents through works and popular melodies by some of the greatest composers and artists of those times, performed by a multi-national cast. Apr 27
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PARTY
Blackout Agency, run by the unwavering resident creature of the night Zig Zach, has been crazy this past few months, bringing in the likes of Roman Flugel and Marvin & Guy and reigniting his party night, Ritual (and got Lithuanian producer Manfredas and DJ-producer Thomas Von Party to be on deck duty). For April’s debauchery, he’s teaming up with Lucha Loco for a special Disco Loco night, with special guest and house music DJ The Revenge helming the decks for the night. Apr 27
FILM
The annual celebration of the region’s best short films, Shorties Film Festival, returns this week. For the past four days, 14 different short films from filmmakers in the region were screened. The winners will be announced this Friday. Apr 27
FOOD
The 22nd World Gourmet Summit (WGS) is coming to an end this weekend. If you haven’t gone for any of their gastronomically pleasing events, you might wanna sign yourself up for “Makanan Wangi“, where chef Baba Ben, a well-known chef in the Peranakan culinary scene, will host a demonstration and prepare a dinner with dishes like Nasi Ulam. Apr 27
PARTY
Can’t get enough of Britpop, indie and everything in between from last Saturday’s Poptart at Canvas? Head over to The Great Escape as Misshapes takes over everyone’s favorite gritty rooftop carpark for an unabashed night of screaming, jumping, dancing and boozing. Apr 27
FOOD/DRINK/MUSIC
If your Friday nights out on the town have started to feel a little bit too predictable, Friday Night Live‘s the thing you need to spice things up. Come April, Sentosa beach bar and restaurant Coastes will turn your Friday evenings into one filled with live jazz music, good grub, booze and beach vibes as they all come together to make your Friday nights come alive. Apr 27
FILM
The sixth edition of the Singapore Chinese Film Festival, a joint program organized by Singapore Film Society (SFS) and Centre for Chinese Studies, Singapore University of Social Sciences (CCS@SUSS), returns with a whopping 58 films in total across four main segments: Chinese Panorama (narrative feature films), Documentary Vision (documentaries), Chinese Shorts Showcase (short films) and a Tribute to Leslie Cheung (four films to pay homage to the man himself). Apr 27-May 6
THEATER
Not one, not two, but four Korean cultural performances are taking place at The Star Theatre this week, as part of Korea Tourism Organization’s bid to spread K-culture. At K-Performance Night, expect two days of performances including the famed NANTA, among other musical and dance acts. Through Apr 27
THEATER
If you’ve ever wanted to thoroughly explore the blue and white heritage buildings along Waterloo Street, this April is your chance to do so. Local theater company The Theatre Practice will be taking its visitors through the buildings in an immersive new show titled Four Horse Road where you can walk through multiple sites located across the three now iconic buildings on the storied street. Through Apr 28
FILM
Take a look into the lives of Polish people at the inaugural Polish Film Festival, co-presented by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and The Projector, through notable films like Breaking The Limits, which is based on the true story of former drug addict turned Ironman Jerzy Gorski; United States of Love, a tale of four women breaking out of their unhappy circumstances, and more. Through Apr 29
FOOD
To celebrate the launch of their new Chocolate & Hazelnut Praliné ice cream, Magnum has opened the Magnum Pleasure Boulevard in the middle of ION Orchard so that everyone can go and try it for themselves. Besides eating chocolaty-good ice cream, there are a few experiential booths there you can try out too. Through Apr 29
FILM
The organizers of Voilah! French Festival Singapore have teamed up with The Projector to bring you classic French animation films like A Cat in Paris, which follows a the secret life of a Parisian cat; Persepolis, a minimalist-noir, coming-of-age animation of a young girl set during the Iranian Revolution; sci-fi flick Fantastic Planet and more. Through Apr 29
THEATER
As part of their 15th anniversary celebrations, Esplanade is putting five female artists into the spotlight with five special commissioned works under their developmental theater program, The Studios. Catch the program’s last show, Leda and The Rage, a dark and honest look at trauma and recover inspired by actual events of the director and writer, Edith Podesta. Through Apr 29
FESTIVAL
The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is back and this 2018 edition marks the changing of the guard at the helm as Singapore Repertory Theatre director Gaurav Kripalani takes over the festival. He’s promised to make this a more accessible festival this year. Expect more than 100 events spread over three weeks by performers from 15 countries at 13 venues. Through May 12
MARKET
The Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) turns 80 this year. And to celebrate, they’re throwing an eight-week arts festival to showcase the school’s diverse talents. As part of the festival, a series of festival markets will take place each weekend, featuring craft-makers and jewellers, local fashion labels, original artworks and vintage collectibles. You can even be part of the excitement and book a booth here. Through Jun 3
Saturday, Apr 28
SIFA’s Singular Screens: A Man With Integrity (Lerd)
FILM
And among the hundreds of events scheduled for this year’s SIFA is the pinnacle performing arts festival’s film series Singular Screens, which will see one Asian premiere and 12 Singapore premieres curated by Asian Film Archives. Each of these films celebrate the independent voices around the world and the power of the individual, and professes a love for cinema, providing unique cinematic visuals and narratives. Apr 28-May 11
PARTY
Fancy a daytime rave? Singapore’s first pop-up club Tuff Club is throwing their first triple threat microfestival on the 19th floor of Oxley Tower (yes, Myo Restobar) featuring Berlin-based DJ-producer Powel, Canadian producer Gab Rhome with his lush soundscapes and Thailand-based Swiss producer Myle. Apr 28
FILM
Not all films are just about entertaining. Enter Stories That Matter, an annual program held by Objectifs to address critical issues through both film and photography. This third edition’s theme is borders, tackling matters of physical, social and political borders that both define and restrict communities and laying out on the table possible ways of collaboration and change. Apart from exhibitions and seminars, this program will also be screening Singapore premieres of five documentaries. Through Apr 29
EXHIBITION
A cursed gem, a dodo and a giant stuffed sloth walk into a museum; the punchline is that they’re here to stay till the end of April. Treasures of the Natural World , the traveling exhibition from the Natural History Museum in London, makes its first and only stop in Southeast Asia at the ArtScience Museum, bringing over 200 of the London museum’s star artefacts Through Apr 29
Sunday, Apr 29
The Great Race
EXHIBITION
Chinese New Year may be long over, but this new exhibition looks at the Chinese zodiac through the eyes of European artists. The internationally renowned Mazel Galerie from Brussels has commissioned The Great Race, a new exhibition that takes source material from the traditional Chinese zodiac. Through Jun 30
SPORTS
Organized by NTUC Income, the Income Eco Run works (or runs) towards environmental conservation and reducing waste. To start, all runners who pledge to be ‘Zero Waste Runners’ don’t receive a finisher tee or medal. 2017 saw them successfully cut down on 88kg of textile from finisher tees, as well as 2991kg of carbon emissions, thanks to shuttle buses provided for runners; biodiesel was also used to generate power on the race day. This year, there’s a newly introduced 5km fun run, 10km runs (mixed team and competitive), and a 21.1km half marathon. Apr 29
FESTIVAL
The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s monthly Car-Free Sunday event is leaving the civic district for the first time and into the westerly area of One-North. Besides the change in scenery, expect the same good ol’ fun free from car traffic, including a drone showcase, mountain biking trials, a robotics workshop and more. Apr 29
FESTIVAL
Held in conjunction with Car-Free Sunday is the Public Hygiene Council’s Keep Clean, Singapore! 2018 and first ever PHC Walk, where participants get to learn all about cleanliness and partaking in a carnival at Timbre+ after, that’s filled with life-sized playsets, stilt walkers, air hockey games, food, a live performance, farmer’s market and more. Apr 29
Local farm Bollywood Veggies is opening up their 10-acre farm in the Kranji Countryside for visitors to go on a guided tour where you’ll get to see, touch, smell and taste some of the produce in their food forest. Apr 29
EXHIBITION
Singapore artist Brian Gothong Tan’s “Lost Cinema” is an exploration of Asian filmography. He deconstructs tropes often found in this genre, with a focus on three iconic films that will help answer questions like, “How does our perception of a film change when live performances by the actors are introduced?” and “How does the mood or narrative change when colour and sound are removed from a film?” Through May 6
EXHIBITION
You’d think a traveling exhibition from the London Natural History Museum would be hard to top, but ArtScience Museum’s upcoming shtick will trace 40 years of street art, from its controversial beginnings as expressions of counterculture, to its current standing as a major pillar of contemporary art. Art from the Streets will feature the works of the world’s top street artists, such as Magda Danysz, Banksy, Shepard Fairey and more. Through Jun 3
