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What's worth watching
at S'pore Film Fest 2001
February 26, 2001
A kaleidescope of award-winning films all around
the world makes its way to Singapore this April. What lies in store for
the average movie-goer?
By Angelene wong
(Click on pictures for
larger image)
More than 300 internationally-acclaimed films
will be screened from April 11 to 28 at the 14th Singapore
International Film Festival (SIFF).
That's a lot to choose from. If you're the kind who has trouble picking
a movie from an 8-screen cineplex, here's our guide to what to watch.
Hear A Film
 Singapore
film fans will, for the first time, get to 'hear' a film live.
Call it a novelty, gimmick or eye-opener, but the fest will grandly kick
off with Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 classic, Alexander Nevsky, backed by
the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Never mind if most of us are not familiar with the black-and-white classic
greatly admired by film students and directors; this will no doubt be
an eye-opening experience to Singaporeans.
 Accomplished
Singaporean SSO Conductor and Music Director of the Singapore Symphony
Chorus, Lim Yau will be conducting the music written by the prolific Sergei
Prokofiev, while mezzo-soprano Yang Jie will lend his voice to the song,
The Field Of Death, accompanied by the Latvijian Choir from Latvia.
Cool Documentaries
Why should you pay to see a documentary when you can watch it on the
telly for free? Because the ones at the Fest will blow your mind, that's
why.
Lesley Ho, director of Internal Programme for the Fest, says reality is
the new fiction.
"The documentary filmmaker's viewpoint is often passionate and personal,
endeavouring to reach the core of the subject by stripping away the outer
layers of artifice. The result is often an intense and emotional experience."
These films are worth your money:
- British documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto's
Gaea Girls, which looks at female professional wrestlers, and Shinjuku
Boys, a docu film about 3 biological women who live as men and work
as hosts at a Tokyo nightclub, will make for interesting and though-provoking
viewing.
- Australian sisters Sophie and Lyndal Barry's rare
footage of mass killing and violence during East Timor's fight for freedom
is another must-watch.
- For those "who would normally resist the call of
the documentary", says Lesley, Errol Morris' series of real-life bizarre
stories will be your best introduction.
Not Arty-Farty
It's a film buff's paradise. But will the average moviegoer fed on a staple
of commercial Hollywood films be put off by the arty-farty associations?
Mr Philip Cheah, Director for the Asian Programme says, "Watching a film
is an experience and the experience is different for everyone. You just
go and watch a film without expectations and just enjoy the experience.
"I may not understand a lot of stuff in the film there and then
but I may understand it later. Enjoying art is basically about being exposed
to it."
His personal favourite is the opening film, Yi Yi. "It speaks to
us about the future and why we shouldn't be afraid by it.
"Personally, it says a lot about Singapore, especially since we see ourselves
as a kiasu society. The film will pose us questions like 'Why are we so
afraid to lose?', 'What have we got to lose?'"
And youths, there is definitely something for you in this year's film
fest. Phillip reckons that films infused with music will appeal to the
younger generation.
He recommends Filth and Fury, 101 Reykjavik and We Sold Our Souls To Rock
'N' Roll.
Singapore International Film Festival's Official Website
Log on from March 1, 2001 as the site is under construction.
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