Highlighting the shared cultural heritage of India, Singapore
Singapore film festival has received tremendous response from Indian audiences in the past. Motivated and encouraged by the response, Delhiites will get a chance to enjoy the 4th Singapore Film Festival set to take place on February 21, 22 and 23, 2020 at the Siri Fort Auditorium-II. Organised by the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi, the festival will feature three feature-length films and three short films each followed by dialogues with filmmakers and film critics. Entry is open to public and free on a first-come-first-served basis.
The festival will open (21 Feb) with the film – Chennai 2 Singapore directed by Abbas Akbar. The film is about an Indian film maker who makes his way to Singapore to look for investors to finance his film. Abbas Akbar is a Singaporean film maker, screenwriter and actor and has worked in Tamil films and TV. Many Singaporean Indian film makers including Abbas Akbar have gained prominence in recent years, and screening such films in India helps to highlight the shared cultural heritage of India and Singapore.
The second day (22 Feb) will feature curated three short films – Melodi, BTO and Life As It Is. The curated series sharestales from Singapore's emerging creative talents. Melodi, an award winning short film, is about a lonely boy infatuated with his new neighbour. BTO, named after Singapore's Build-To-Orderpublic housing scheme popular with newly-married couples – is about a young couple breaking off their wedding and giving up their new apartment. Life As It Is is set during the gathering of the family on the occasion of the grandmother's funeral. The short films will be followed by a feature film Ramen Teh directed by Eric Khoo, an award winning film maker often credited with reviving the Singapore film industry in the 1990s. Ramen Teh is about a chef in Japan who travels to Singapore to learn about his deceased mother's past. The film will be followed by a discussion with Indian Film Critic Murtaza Ali Khan.
Murtaza is a film critic and journalist who is currently the Film Editor at Café Dissensus (New York). He is also guest panelist on various TV channels and radio.
The festival will close (23 Feb) with 3688 directed by Royston Tan. The film is about a parking attendant dreaming of becoming a singer like her idol Fong FeiFei. The film screening will be followed by discussion with Anugyan Nag.
Anugyan is an assistant profession Fil, Media and Cultural Studies at AJK Mass Communication, Jamia. He is also recipient of Full Bright Nehru Doctoral Fellowship and completed his PHD in cinema.
Speaking about the festival, Ong Chong Hui, First Secretary at the Singapore High Commission said, "In the spirit of cultural exchange, we wanted to share with our friends in India these films that are meaningful to Singaporeans. It is a matter of pride for us. The festival is indicative of the fact that Singapore has stories to tell that can resonate beyond our shores to international audiences. We hope that Delhi will enjoy the films too."
