I was at the National Museum ticket counter last weekend to get tickets for this coming Saturday’s screening. And you guess right, they were all taken! Yep, no kidding. And there I was, surprised and flabbergasted saying to the museum staff; “But the ticket distribution starts today right?”. “I’m sorry, ma’am but the tickets are all out” came the apologetic reply. So within the space of 3 hours since the museum opened, there must have been a stampede from all over the island for the tickets, way before you could even finish saying” Speedy Gonzales”! It got me thinking, why is there such a sudden surge of interest in local films? I remember in the early years, late-nineties thereabouts where no one bothered to see Singapore-made films. So much so that organizers have to resort to giving away free tickets (a practice they still maintain) to entice audience to catch locally-made films. The early film-makers have it tough in those days as no commercial cinema wanted to screen their films so a lot of them have to resort to art venues like The Substation, the National Museum and the Singapore International Film Festival. It was normal to find largely empty halls whenever a local film was being screened. And it was at these screenings that I discovered the hidden talents of local film-makers like Roystan Tan, Victric Thng, Eric Khoo and Tan Pin Pin; all of whom are very successful film-makers in their own right and have their films showcased and have won awards at prestigious film festivals like Cannes.

So maybe it’s a snob thing. Singaporeans are generally a snobby lot and we don’t appreciate our local talents until they have been judged and been critically acclaimed overseas. Or could it be there is a new appreciation to discover who or what we are as a people and nation. I would like to think this is the real reason. So instead of feeling peeved that I have been unable to get tickets to the films, I should be glad that more people are taking a genuine interest in Singapore films.

There’s only 1 more week left before the final screening of the Singapore Short Cuts season. Which means I have to be at the National Museum when the doors open at 10 am this Saturday if I want to get my hands on a ticket. Do I have a choice?

And a note to the organizers – Please start charging for the films.

For the purpose of this discussion, we shall overlook local born-and-bred MediaCorp TV artistes, who generally film local drama serials without any real opportunities to break into the overseas market. These artistes naturally appeal to the mainstream masses, as watching television forms one of the most popular pastimes in the country. This is especially so for the local evening drama serials filling both the 7pm and 9pm slots. Of course, there are instances when local drama serials are marketed overseas (for instance, The Return of the Condor Heroes in 1997, which ignited regional fan bases for local stars such as Fann Wong and Christopher Lee), but that is another story. As such, it is hardly surprising that most of them make their mark and are popular among locals alike.

On the contrary, for other Singaporeans pursuing other fields, reception from fellow countrymen, as mentioned within the editorial, is generally lukewarm.

It certainly takes more than sheer luck for Singaporeans to make it big overseas as compared to making it big within the country itself. For once, on the international arena, these artistes will have to compete with the global talent cohort for a chance to make their mark in their respective fields. It is no longer about standing out to a crowd of 4 million people, but about leaving a deep impression on the world.

Naturally, there will be both hits and misses. Let us take a look at the Chinese pop scene first, where the number of local artistes seeking breakthroughs is countless.

The likes of Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Tanya Chua, Kit Chan, Mavis Hee and A-Do have all become household names around the region. On the contrary, they all have one thing in common - all of them based themselves in Taiwan first, gaining considerable success there, prior to turning their focus onto the Singaporean market. It remains to be seen how successful would they be if they had based themselves locally first instead. Meanwhile, in 2005 when Tanya Chua clinched the Best Female Vocalist award at the acclaimed Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, she had griped at how she was widely regarded as the shoo-in for the award in Taiwan, but was regarded as a dark horse in local reports.

Singing competition "Project Superstar" produced alums such as Kelvin Tan and Kelly Poon, who are widely popular within the country, having emerged victorious in the competition where audience polls are a decisive factor in the results. However, they have failed to emulate their success on the regional arena as their debut album in Taiwan failed to create ripples.

However, lukewarm reception to singers such as Jones Shi Kangjun and Kaira Gong has resulted in similarly lukewarm reception here.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans seem to be a forgetful bunch as with the case of Joi Chua. Her story is a roller-coaster one with her debut effort based in Taiwan in 2000 falling prey to poor sales. Neither did that effort raise her popularity locally, resulting in her being dropped by her record company then. Venturing into the local music scene again in 2004, her breakout release was a success locally with a number of chart topping hits. However, her popularity seemed to have fallen here as she turned her attention to the regional market instead for her subsequent albums. While she is currently widely popular in China, her latest effort translated into critical acclaim but not sales in Taiwan.

It is worth noting that in the forthcoming 19th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, Singaporeans Stefanie Sun, Tanya Chua and Joi Chua have all been nominated for the Best Female Vocalist, an unprecedented first for the country as locals take up half of the nominations for the category.

In English music, will local songbird Corrinne May shift albums off the shelves in Singapore had she not been successful in the United States? How about Olivia Ong, a jazz singer based in Japan? What about the lukewarm reception which local bands such as Electrico, Ronin and The Great Spy Experiment receive at their gigs?

While young local designers are setting sights on international runways, these ripples are not being felt by Singaporeans who subscribe to tried and tested fashion labels such as Gap and Topshop. As reported in the International Herald Tribune article in the previous link, a new generation of young Singaporean designers is "trying to break away from the cosy domestic market, where it is relatively easy to be a big fish in a small pond". Designers such as Jonathan Seow (head honcho of design label Woods & Woods which has been presented in Paris but remains relatively unknown in Singapore), Andrew Gn and Ashley Isham have their own influences in Europe before venturing back into their home countries.

Similarly, it seems, for movie directors. Eric Khoo is the only Singaporean film-maker to have three movies premiere in Cannes, with the latest offering "My Magic" up for the prestigious Palme D'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, but how many Singaporeans have seen them? It appears that the more "arthouse" or critically-acclaimed the film is, the more turned away the local crowd is towards actually supporting them. The key, it appears, lies in mass appeal. Jack Neo is certainly mainstream in his films which depict the everyday lives of Singaporeans in an everyday manner. On the other hand, his films have yet to make much of a critical impact. Royston Tan had debilitating box office results with his earlier releases such as "24" and "4:30", but earned a box office hit with the mainstream "881".

In the meantime, Kelvin Tong and the Pang brothers hit big time with box office hits in their respective horror movies, "The Maid" and "The Eye", with the latter even going on to their directorial debut in Tinseltown. However, does it seem strange that they were not promoted as local directors in the first place?

This article also highlights the success of local comics artist Foo Swee Chin whose works are being published in a monthly manga magazine in Japan, but alas, she is not a household name in Singapore.

It remains to be seen when, as our auteurs and artistes find their voices and identities and live their mark in their respective fields, the rest of us learn to be willing to discern and advocate their works, instead of following the crowd in supporting tried and tested formulae. Or when, the rest of us will discard our skepticism and bias towards performances which may break the mould, and readily accept local art ventures and local bands as well. All this will definitely go a long way in promoting a unique Singapore.

J'adore cette période de l'année qui commence: on quitte enfin l'hiver et on se sent plus léger, plus ensoleillé ... Pas grand chose à dire mais juste une citation que j'ai envie de partager tirée du film Be with me de Eric Khoo (2005); et par la même occasion, un petit clin d'œil à Maintikely ;-)

" Sadly sometimes even true love can be broken ...

Yet it does not mean the world is ending "

Et la chanson qui va avec, histoire d'accueillir ce mois de mai avec douceur et chaleur ...

PS: J'ai failli oublier, j'ai promis aux copains qui organisent cet évènement de diffuser l'info, alors si vous passez par Lyon pendant ce mois de Mai n'hésitez pas à passer sur la Croix-Rousse, il y a une révolution qui s'y passe paraît-il :mrgreen:

(cliquer sur l'image pour aggrandir)

And I'm so obviously just using this space to conveniently plug +push the Singaporean arts scene! But yea man I'm looking forward to watching this movie... unlike many others I totally did NOT enjoy Royston Tan's 881. It was like an extended MTV, though it's populist/sensationalist and has won many a heartlander's fancy... I still prefer good old STORYLINES. Didn't really like Eric Khoo's Be With Me either (even though I am partial towards homo/les plotlines... ESP Wong Kar Wai's Happy Together omgomgomg <3 ). Anyway the rest of the entry is just cut and paste from Mumbai News. (Just a note to unhappy people looking for jap gossip.... there wasn't any particularly interesting news that CALLED out to me today... just more stuffs about Koizumi Kyoko singing some theme song and GLAY's new single being used for some soccer thing. o_O)

(Mumbai News) The 61st Cannes International Film Festival, being held from May 14 to 25, 2008, announced its complete line-up on April 23. Alas, and even more so, a lack, there is not one single new film selected from India, not even the short or documentary, which usually finds a place in Cannes' Cinefondation or its Shorts Competition. The saving grace selected some time back is the late Vijay Anand's Guide which will play in Cannes' Classics section, with Dev Anand attending the event.

India is beginning to appear in festivals in other avatars, and in Cannes this time, with its lifestyle, languages and its immigrant population capturing creative minds working in cinema and in literature.  Singapore's charismatic filmmaker Eric Khoo demonstrates this cross-cultural interest in his entry, My Magic, which is competing in Cannes alongside 18 other films.   

Mein Wochenende war Sonntag/Montag und ich bin am Sonntag aufgewacht, und wollte unbedingt „Be with me“ nochmals ansehen. Das ist ein Film aus Singapur, inspiriert von der wahren Lebensgeschichte einer tauben und blinden Frau, „vermischt“ mit 3 fiktiven Liebesgeschichten. Den Film habe ich kurz vor meiner Abreise nach Malaysia während meinen unglaublich speziellen Neujahr-Tagen gesehen (DU weisst was ich meine ;)). Und jetzt wollte ich einfach diesen Film mir nochmals ansehen. Auch da ich jetzt ja in Asien, und sogar in Singapur selbst war.

Also gleich mal den Film herunterladen. Das dauert ja so um die 10 Stunden. Und auf irgendetwas anderes hatte ich gar keine Lust. Also drehte sich mein ganzer Tag nur auf das warten auf den Film, ein bisschen aufräumen, Kleider waschen, und träumen.

Dann war der Film fertig heruntergeladen! Kurz kontrolliert ob er auch wirklich funktioniert, sah gut aus, dann noch Blätterteig gebacken, Ingwertee bereitgestellt und dann noch sich mit Fazer-Schokolade gemütlich vor den Laptop kuscheln. Aber es kam natürlich wie es kommen musste… die Datei war doch nicht in Ordnung und der Ton kam mit 3 Minuten Verspätung zum Bild. Super… Man kann sich ja vorstellen, wie dumm ich da sass.

Nach dem ersten grössten Frust entschied ich mich einen anderen Film zu sehen, aber im Kino, da ich jetzt zu sehr nur Zuhause herumgegammelt bin. Und zwar „Auf der anderen Seite“. Als zu einer Website, welche die Filme und Kinos in Frankfurt anzeigt. In der Auswahlleiste klicke ich also auf „Auf der anderen Seite“… und dann…“huch????“ was steht darunter???? JA wirklich… „Be with me“!!!!! Der Film ist von 2005 also nicht wirklich ein aktueller Film für das Kino! Und er wurde auch nur jetzt für eine Woche gezeigt! Ist das nicht ein toller Zufall???

Also fuhr ich am Abend nach Frankfurt. Das Kino war total toll, ganz klein, mit gemütlicher Bar. Aber alleine kam ich mir da natürlich etwas verloren vor. Im Film selbst waren wir dann auch nur 5 Leute!

Es war berührend. Genau wie beim ersten Mal. Außerdem gab es jetzt auch noch so ein paar persönliche „Aua-Momente“…

In diesem Laden am Anfang vom Film steht ein Regal voller Milo-Dosen.
Immer wenn ich bei Mr Hantu zuhause auf ihn gewartet habe, während er noch am beten war, hat mir seine Mutter eine Tasse Milo gemacht. Und dann sass ich da, ebenfalls etwas verloren mit meinem Milo, und schaute mit seinen Eltern komische Filme in einer Sprache von der ich kein Wort verstand. Hach…
Milo ist eine Art „Ovomaltine“ von Nestle die es in Malaysia überall gibt. Laut Wikipedia gibt es Milo sonst noch in Australien, Neuseeland, Singapur, Thailand, Indonesien, Philippinen, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indien, Japan, Süd Afrika, Jamaika, Trinidad & Tobago, Chile, Kolumbien, Nigeria, Kenia, Ghana und Syrien. Aber ganz lustig und auch aus Wikipedia: Malaysia consumes 90% of worldwide consumption of Milo. Irgendwie krass haha!

Die Leute im Film essen mit Stäbchen oder dann nur mit Gabel und Löffel. Das Plastikgeschirr ist immer orange oder ein komisches hellblau. Es gibt die Schälchen mit dem Chili und der Sojasauce.
Mein erster Tag auf Pangkor Laut. Mein erstes Essen mit unserer Personalchefin in unserer Kantine. Ich hatte so gar keine Ahnung und einfach alles genau ihr nachgemacht z.B. Eis zuerst einfach auf das Tablett und dann später vom Tablett in das Glass (hä?). Jedenfalls wollte ich dann vom Tisch nochmals weg weil ich ein Messer holen wollte. Tja… es gibt hier gar keine Messer zum Essen! Dann war das schon sehr ungewöhnlich den Reis so zu essen. Und die Personalchefin meinte dann auch noch so: „Esst ihr immer mit so kleinen Portionen auf dem Löffel?“. Und als ob ich nicht schon genug fertig war, biss ich auch noch auf irgendein ekliges Meerestier in meinem Gemüse. Dieses Essen war wirklich Kulturshock und Peinlichkeiten pur...

Die Wohnungen! Alles wirkte so vertraut. Mit diesen Gitterfenstern, bei Chinesen natürlich immer ein riesiges Tor, die Schreine für die chinesischen Götter… Einfach alles sieht nochmals anders aus. Und so schön vertraut. Gar nicht mehr so exotisch und anders sondern so ganz natürlich.

Hach, und am Ende des Filmes war ich natürlich wieder ganz nahe am heulen. Ich kann den Film sehr empfehlen, wenn jemand diese Art von Film mag und nicht andauernd Dialoge braucht ;).

Vielleicht hätte ich mir aber auch besser „Auf der andern Seite“ angesehen? Irgendwie typisch für meine Laune im Moment. Anstatt etwas neues zu sehen, hänge ich lieber dem „Alten & Bekannten“ hinterher.