Short Films
Definition (2009)
Definition
Directed by: Darrell Wee
Produced by: Sabrina Wee, See Yishu
Synopsis:
Like the most of us, ALVIN is constantly searching for the ever-so-elusive meaning of life. However, unlike the most of us, he has his eccentric and worldly-wise (also easily mistaken to be as loopy as a rollercoaster ride) best friend SIMON to help him in his quest to find the true value of the things most coveted by everyone – power, money and love. Join ALVIN as he unwittingly embarks on a wacky journey of self-discovery (where he learns of things he would rather not know), experiences mixed emotions (of sadness and guilt), and ultimately unravels the mystery that surrounds the answer which he seeks, SIMON’s bizarre behaviour, and…good oral hygiene.
In Our Own Words, 2008
In Our Own Words, 2008
Directed by: Melinda Tan
Produced by: Melinda Tan
Synopsis:
What is the definition of normality?
Two young kidney patients go on a quest to challenge society’s perception of them. In the process, they discover their own ability to redefine what being normal is all about.
Awards:
- Selected for screening at The Best of First Takes 2008
- Voted as audience favourite at First Takes for the month of October
- Selected for screening as part of First Takes at The Substation
Paint Me a Colourless Rainbow, 2007
Paint Me a Colourless Rainbow, 2007
Directed by: Audrey Ng
Produced by: Chuang Xuejin
Synopsis:
Inspiration that was once lost from ourselves, in others, can be found back. This is the story of the serendipitous meeting of Samuel and Valarie.
A fleeting encounter, a lasting moment. Samuel, a half-hearted photographer, is intrigued by Valarie, who is blind but still sees the world as it is. What follows could be a genuine change of heart!
minute, 2007
minute, 2007
Directed by: Derek Tan & Mike Lim
Produced by: Derek Tan
Synopsis:
They say Time is God’s way of preventing everything from happening at once. Alwyn wakes up one morning to find his wife, Caryl missing. Four film buffs’ poignant take on the intangible and metaphysical nature of time.
Awards:
- The 7th Young Guns International Student Film Festival in 2007
- Selected for screening at Celebrate Drama Festival 2008
Pardon Me, 2007
Pardon Me, 2007
Directed by: Darrell Wee
Produced by: Melinda Tan
Synopsis:
A life lost. A brotherhood betrayed. KIERAN struggles to accept the return of his brother KENNETH from prison. The night before KENNETH’s release, KIERAN goes on a joyride in his father’s car – only to pick up a mysterious passenger who helps him remember the symbiotic kinship he once treasured with his brother. Forgiveness is difficult, but worth it.
Awards:
- Selected for screening as part of First Take at the Substation
Waiting, 2007
Waiting, 2007
Directed by: Maybelline Teo
Produced by: Seah Aik Hoe
Synopsis:
Anything can happen in the unpredictably fickle game of love. You can be as snug as puppies one day and cold as ice the next. LING falls for JAMES whom she thinks is the perfect guy for her. But when this fairytale romance takes a turn for the worse, Ling falls into an abyss of sleepless nights and finds herself playing the tormenting game of waiting. Will she continue to get trapped in the lost relationship, clinging onto lost hope, waiting for the call that will never come, pining for the Prince Charming who will never return?
Last Stranger Under the Heavens, 2006
Last Stranger Under the Heavens, 2006
Directed by: Elizabeth Wijaya, Lai Weijie
Synopsis:
Two strangers are in similar hotel rooms. One pleasures himself in the bathroom after a failed tryst while the other lies in bed and touches himself while he thinks of his ex-lover. While leaving, they meet in the elevator and as the doors slide to a close, they exchange glances…
Awards:
- 30th Asian American International Film Festival (Selection) – July 2007
Goldfish, 2005
Goldfish, 2005
Directed by: Lai Weijie
Synopsis:
Singapore, an unspecified time. John, an introverted young man, wakes up the day after his breakup with his girlfriend May. He struggles with a sense of detachment, grappling with this new reality he faces. His battle to come to terms with his loss leads him to recall the times shared with May, and appreciate their newfound significance.
Slipper Story, 2005
Slipper Story, 2005
Directed by: Low Beng Kheng
Produced by: Shaun Oon
Synopsis:
Just how attached are we to our material possessions? How much of our lives are spent worrying over material things and how much is spent living in the present? Follow one fellow hostel tenant through a day in his life, his encounters with his fellow friends and family. A day in the life of a student living in Singapore, from a different perspective.
Friday Morning, 2005
Friday Morning, 2005
Directed by: Gillian Lim
Produced by: Gillian Lim
Synopsis:
An entertainer-wannabe is possessed by her conscience-spirit one comfy, quiet Friday morning. She revives her long lost dream and dances to Rosemary Clooney’s Mambo Italiano in a kopitiam.
Do what you like. Be what you dream. Have fun. It’s a Friday morning.
Hedgehog’s Complex, 2005
Hedgehog's Complex, 2005
Directed by: Song Yizhuang
Produced by: Zhang Liuhang
Synopsis:
A darkly comical look at the lives of a group of neighbours in a university dormitory. The relationship between the four residents of Block 8 is polite, and despite being proximally close is somewhat superficial – yet highly functional. Meanwhile, behind those doors which shut each other out, each resident faces a turning point in their relationship with someone else who is emotionally close to them – with painful results.
Awards:
- 3rd Toronto Singapore Film Festival (Consideration)
- Art House Celebrate Drama Festival 2007 (Selection) – July 2007
- 2007 Portable Film Festival Showcase Series (Selection) – Dec 2007
SOULS, 2005
SOULS, 2005
Directed by: Shaun Oon
Produced by: Low Beng Kheng
Synopsis:
In the near future, a young man, with a deep baritone, sets forth to make an investigative documentary in order to ascertain the Truth behind a ‘mysterious’ disease affecting his countrymen. Finding out the first victim to be a university student named Zhao Ma Ge, he becomes determined to find the man who has curiously disappeared. In the course of his investigation, he encounters two of Ma Ge’s friends, Everitt John Goh and Suzi Chew. He then decides to abandon his pursuit of the all-encompassing truth to join Everitt and Suzi in their personal search for Zhao Ma Ge.
Dangerously Close, 2004
Dangerously Close, 2004
A music video about first love.
Awards:
- 8th Thai Short Film and Video Festival – May 2004
Jazz for the Aspiring, 2004
Jazz for the Aspiring, 2004
A look into Jazz.
Jazz up your life.
Jazz.
Immobilised, 2004
Immobilised, 2004
Directed by: Tang Kin Ching
Synopsis:
A love story.
From attraction to love. From love to saying goodbye.
Are you immobilised?
The Devil’s Playground, 2004
The Devil’s Playground, 2004
Directed by: Robert Tan
Produced by: Robert Tan
Synopsis:
Waiting and waiting. Bored of waiting? Come enter the devil’s playground.
Awards:
- Art House Celebrate Drama Festival 2007 (Selection) – July 2007
Scylla, 2002
Scylla, 2002
Directed by: Song Yizhuang
Synopsis:
Six people talk to a counsellor about their various quirky problems individually, in an undisclosed room. They complain about seemingly petty and mundane fears that slowly reveal more about their real problems. In addition, the dialogue slowly reveals links between the different patients.
Awards:
- 8th Thai Short Film and Video Festival – May 2004
Otaku, 2002
Otaku, 2002
Directed by: Tang Cheemun
Synopsis:
Living his life around his gaming and anime hobby, Ah De suddenly finds himself forced to re-examine that same life as he is fired from his job. Wandering around town, he begins to seek out answers about the meaning of his life. The only problem is that he doesn’t get the answers quite the way he expects…
Love@Orchard, 2002
Love@Orchard, 2002
Directed by: Phua Chai Chow
Produced by: Phua Chai Chow
Synopsis:
Falling in love, being in love and falling out of love. Gary is in love with someone he has yet to meet; Siow Ling awaits the arrival of her boyfriend; Dwight and Sher Ping’s routine relationship has a strain; Jenny and Michael’s insecure relationship takes a toll; and Qiyi has to deal with terrible news from her ex, Jorlene.
Awards:
- Bangkok International Film Festival – January 2004, Bangkok
- 8th Thai Short Film and Video Festival – May 2004
- 25th Durban International Film Festival – June 2004
Letters Beyond the Trees, 2002
Letters Beyond the Trees, 2002
Directed by: Lesley Tan
Synopsis:
Sim Wai Keong, a not so successful advertising executive in his mid 20s, cannot bring himself to remember and pen his birth date down. Flooded with beautiful memories of his childhood, he is perplexed by his problem and on one given day, layers of the past and untruths will be peeled off, and then – he remembers.
Lizard in the Loo, 2002
Lizard in the Loo, 2002
Directed by: Eugene Ng
Synopsis:
An adaptation of lawyer/playwright Bryan Tan’s award-winning play, this film lends a humorous twist to the problems faced by a young unmarried couple, Simon and Tutu, when they realize that Tutu is pregnant. In a most unlikely scenario, Simon and Tutu takes turns to lock themselves in the toilet while carrying out conversations with the other about meeting Tutu’s parents, their future as parents, and their insecurities.
Shelter, 2002
Shelter, 2002
Directed by: Tan Bee Thiam
Executive Producer: Kelvin Tong
Producer: Agnes Ng
Synopsis:
Shelter is a story about little deaths that occur unnoticed amidst the grind of city life. A screen adaptation of the short story by Dr. Gopal Baratham, it pieces together fragments of the lives of an old lady, an inter-racial couple and two gangsters. Shielding them in its shade is the shelter but it too cannot escape change.
Awards:
- Starhub’s MySpace/Spectrum (Participation)
- Singapore International Film Festival 2003 (Participation)
- The .MOV International Digital Film Festival 2005 (Opening Film and In Competition for Best Southeast Asia Short Film)
- First Take 2004, the Substation
- Emirates Film Competition, 6th Ed. (Official Selection) – Mar 2007, Abu Dhabi
Waiting for Goh…, 2002
Waiting for Goh…, 2002
Directed by: Alex Tham
Synopsis:
Kim Ho is late for an appointment with his girlfriend. He then gets lost while looking for her block, and encounters various persons who represent certain aspects of Singapore culture or institutions.
Insomnia, 2002
Insomnia, 2002
Directed by: Ho Supei
Synopsis:
Inspired by the transforming powers of the night, ‘Insomnia’ explores the night scene in Singapore, with a special emphasis on the alternative dance music culture. Follow Jade, a creature of the night, in her night escapades.
Awards:
- Starhub’s MySpace/Spectrum (Participation)
Cyrus, 2001
Cyrus, 2001
Produced by: Tan Bee Thiam, Hoong Sze Wei
Synopsis:
A short film about a Filipino friend who was fighting against cancer. This film is used to tell his story and raised funds for his operation.
A Room with a View, 2001
A Room with a View, 2001
Directed by: Lim Yang Cherng
Synopsis:
The audience is taken along this voyeuristic journey as they are given a glimpse of events happening within a cheap hotel room. The chambermaid acts as the buffer between the different occupants and features as a twist at the end of the movie as she unwittingly unravels a murder.
Awards:
- Singapore Shorts Film Festival 2003 (Participation)
- Singapore International Film Festival – April 2002
Danny, 2001
Danny, 2001
Directed by: Kristin Saw
Produced by: Serene Lim
Synopsis:
A single child often left alone at home, Weijie is a lonely boy who finds a friend in Danny through email, and one day decides to meet him.
Awards:
- Tel Aviv 9th International Student Film Festival (Participation)
- Singapore Shorts Film Festival 2003 (Participation)
- Singapore International Film Festival – April 2002
- Singapore Shorts Film Festival – December 2002
Eye to I, 2001
Eye to I, 2001
Directed by: Tan Bee Thiam
Synopsis:
Caught in a rigid, oppressive, circuitous and yet static milieu, “I” desires liberation. Ultimately, she finds release from a universal affliction.
Awards:
- Singapore Shorts Film Festival 2002 (Official selection)
- Singapore International Film Festival – April 2001
- Singapore Shorts Film Festival – December 2001
