21st Singapore International Film Festival
28 Mar-14 Apr.

This year’s two-week event will screen about 300 films from 45 countries, pay tribute to Indonesian filmmaker Sjuman Djaya (1934-1985), honour 55 years of Vietnam cinema (1953-2008), explore ‘The Secret Life of Arabia’ and culminate with the Silver Screen Awards. The festival opens withthe critically acclaimed Tuya’s Marriage (winner of the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Award) accompanied by The Olive Depression and Dreams from the Third World by local directors Joshua Lim and Kan Lumé, respectively. ‘The Secret Life of Arabia’ gives audiences a peek into the grittiness of life in the Middle East with films from Iraq, Palestine and Yemen. Highlights include Mai Masri’s 33 Days, which reveals the raw emotion of Lebanese who suffered during the 2006 Israeli bombing and invasion; and Amina, a documentary on the plight of women in rural Yemen– often treated like slaves and denied the right to health and educational facilities – made by the country’s first female director, Khadija al-Salami. ‘Tribute to Sjuman Djaya’ (1934-1985) showcases Djaya’s work during the upheaval of the Indonesian film industry in 1975, when films were mostly nationalistic or anti-Western propaganda. His greatest contribution, Si Mamad (1973), portrays a poor clerk living in Jakarta’s slums, working in the city centre’s archives.

‘55 Years of Vietnam Cinema’ (1953-2008) will feature twodocumentaries – Mrs Nam and The Path of Justice, both directed by Lai Van Sinh, who is also the head of the state-run Vietnam Cinema Department. Charlie Nguyen’s historical thriller, The Rebel, will represent the Vietnamese diaspora in America. The ever-growing ‘Seeing Music Hearing Film’ – which showcases films with a strong emphasis on music – will open with I’m Not There,Todd Haynes’s experimental biopic of Bob Dylan starring Cate Blanchett in her gender-bending role as the prolific singer/songwriter. Other films include Garin Nugroho’s Teak Leaves at the Temple, which fuses traditional Indonesian folk music with European free jazz, and Surabhi Sharma’s Jahaji Music, which traces the Indian influence on Caribbean music.

If you’re more of an artistic nomad, the ‘World Cinema’ series will take you on a journey with Pascale Ferran in Lady Chatterley, and hold you hostage in Cargo 200 by Russian iconoclast Alexei Balabanov. And if there’s any room left to the imagination, then ‘IMAGINE’ a world without landmines in The Enemy Within; a world marred by sexual prejudice in A Jihad for Love; a world without greed (Beyond the Call) and adults (Children Self-Government). On a lighter note, the Silver Screen Awards ceremony is back to present the best of the fest in directing, acting and editing.Twelve full-length features from countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan will vie for these honours. Most ofthe films will be premiering, with some by first-time directors. The new Outreach programme at the Republic Polytechnic (7-11 Apr) will hold free daytime screenings (starting at 2pm), including short films from the Korean Academy of Film Arts and new films out of South-East Asia (highlight: Lav Diaz’s 2007 nine-hour epic, Death in the Land of Encantos).

Go to www.filmfest.org.sg for full festival details.

32nd Hong Kong International Film Festival
Until 6 Apr.
Back for its 32nd run, the HKIFF – one of Asia’s most reputable platforms for filmmakers and film professionals from all over the world – features close to 300 films from 46 countries. It opened on 18 March with Japanese auteur extraordinaire Yamada Yôji’s Kabei– Our Mother (a family drama set in Tokyo in 1940-41) and Chang Tso-Chi’s Soul of a Demon (a Taiwanese Aboriginal tale). Yamada also received the Asian Film Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in recognitionof his contribution to Asian cinema. AFA-nominated films screeningat the HKIFF this year include Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame, Frozen, God Man Dog, Help Me Eros and The Home Song Stories, among many. Other highlights include the world premiere of Ann Hui’s The Way We Are, Vincent Chui’s Love Is Elsewhere and Coffee Or Tea (one of the two closing films screening on 6 April), co-directed by Shu Keiand Mandrew Kwan Man-hin. One particular film that has us stirring in our seats is Shine A Light, the highly anticipated Rolling Stones documentary by Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese depicting the legendary band over a two-day period at the Beacon Theatre in NewYork City; it’s set to screen on 6 April as the second closing film. The 32ndHKIFF holds gala premieres, hosts acclaimed Hollywood productions and popular international celebrities and, most importantly, screens filmsby the industry’s kings, queens and shining knights. 

Go to www.hkiff.org.hk for full festival details.