1st Toronto-Singapore Short Film Festival

Second Toronto Sinapore Film Festival Is Coming!

2007-03-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

The Second Toronto Singapore Film Festival is fast approaching! Event info is as follows:

Date: Saturday, March 17, 2007
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 9:20 p.m.
Venue: Innis Town Hall (University of Toronto St. George Campus)
Ticket Price: $5

For more event information and where to purchase tickets, go to our new website!
www.tsff.org

See you there!

Event Pics

2006-02-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

Here are the pics from the event! Have a look at the volunteers, the turn-out, and, of course, the food! Enjoy!

The Votes Are In!

2006-02-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

The audience has spoken, and here are the Audience Choice Award winners:

Best Drama: Strings
Best Documentary: Singapore Rebel

Congratulations for acknowledging these films, for to be voted the best by the viewers is the best award any film can receive.

We would like to apologize for not being able to play Singapore GaGa due to technical difficulties, but we are trying to book a venue for a special screening of this documentary. Keep tuning in for updates on that.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

2006-02-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

The film festival was a great success! First and foremost, we would like to thank everyone who came out to support this event. Your attendance made this memorable and fun. Thank you for all your generous donations which we will put towards future film festivals. Hope to see you out there next time!

Here is a list of all the people and organizations to whom we would like to extend our deepest gratitude:

Sponsors
Asian Institute
Cinema Studies Student Union
Rempah Catering
(If you would like Rempah to cater your next big event, click on the image below for contact information, the menu, and more photos of their delicious food!)

Special Thanks to:
Eileen Lam
Colin Geddes
Professor Harold Troper
Innis Town Hall
Reel Asian Film Festival
Amnesty International
Singapore Film Commission
Singapore Raffles Club, UBC
Substation, Singapore
Ethnic Channels
NOW Magazine
Kampong Ku Radio
OMNI-2
Comparative, International and Development Education Centre, OISE/UT
All the volunteers who helped us
UT MSSA, York MSSA, and AFS

Festival Coordinator: Yeow-Tong Chia
Festival Advisor: Brandon Wee
Marketing Coordinator: Katie Cooper
Poster Design: Shuxia Tai
Videographer: Nicki Chioh
Photographer: Wai Min Lee
Feedback form design: Julia Zhu

Keep checking back for photos from the event as well as updates for next year's film festival!

Map to Innis Town Hall

2006-02-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

The film festival is only two days away!

For those of you who are interested in coming but are not sure how to get to Innis Town Hall, please click on the link below. It will take you to the Innis Town Hall site, which includes a map, calendar of events (we're listed for the 18th!), photos and contact information.

http://www.utoronto.ca/townhall/ith%20map.htm

Here are the lastest news updates:

- The film festival is mentioned in this week's edition of NOW magazine on newsstands TODAY. To access the info, click on the link below and scroll down to "Other Films"
http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2006-02-16/movie_replistings.php
- Ethnic Channels group is currently airing an advertisement for our film festival on all their channels! There are about 20 multi-cultural/multi-language channels broadcast throughout the Toronto area.

Remember to bring your friends because this is a FREE event (though donations are welcomed), and refreshments will be served compliments of Rempah Catering.

Tentative Schedule

2006-02-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

With the film festival quickly approaching, here is the schedule of events for that day:

12:45 p.m. - Opening remarks by the emcee, York MSSA, AFS, UT MSSA, and the rOCKERpOET team

12:55 p.m. - Screening of the Dramas begins
Cafe
Parcel
Strings
More than Words

2:15 p.m. - Intermission. Free reception where Singaporean delights will be served, compliments of Rempah Catering.
Menu: Toasted Muffins with Chicken Curry, Sambal Belachan Fried Rice, Nonya-style Jelly

2:40 p.m. - Screening of the Documentaries begins
Past Tense
Singapore Rebel
Singapore GaGa

4:30 - Closing remarks and acknowledgements

Look for information regarding the festival in this week's issue of NOW magazine (Feb. 16-22) in the Beyond First Run film listings!

Thanks again to everyone who is helping out in the festival, and we look forward to a great turnout that day!

Television Interview Update

2006-02-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here are the details regarding the television interview with the film festival's organizer, Yeow Tong Chia:

DATE: Saturday, February 11, 2006
TIME: Between 6 p.m. - 7 p.m and again at 11:00 p.m. - 12 a.m. (The interview is approximately 6 min. in length)
CHANNEL: OMNI-2 (Channel 14 on Rogers Cable)

Stay tuned for more details on the interview and other news updates. Thanks to everyone for their continued support!

News Update

2006-02-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

A short radio interview regarding the film festival will take place live on Kampong Ku (AM 1430 in Toronto) around 7:40 a.m. EST on Sunday, February 5, 2006. It will be conducted by one of the members of York University's Malaysian Singaporean Students Association. This interview will help us to spread the word around the Malaysian/Singapore community. Questions such as who, what, why, and when will be answered. Do stay tuned and support the event!

In addition, OMNI TV will telecast an interview with the film festival's organizer and coordinator, Chia Yeow Tong, on Saturday, February 11, 2006 (A week before the event). Time T.B.A. Keep tuning in for updates!

The Dramas

2006-02-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

Café
World Premiere
A Film by Kelvin Sng
22 minutes
Japanese, Mandarin, English, Filipino

“What is love?” asks Yutaka, a disillusioned Japanese man. He sits in a café night after night watching others’ stories unfold before his eyes, trying to find his answer. One night, the tales from three of the surrounding tables respond to him: Candy and May May, two childhood friends, discuss the man who is beginning to come between them; Gabriel and Sophia, long-time lovers, are rushing towards a precipice in their relationship; and a high-school reunion takes an interesting turn. All the while, a beautiful young woman searches for something. Four tables, five stories – Café reflects the cosmopolitan society of modern Singapore while contemplating upon universal ideas of self-deception and hypocrisy.
Visit the website at http://cafe.felimon.com/

Director's Bio
Kelvin Sng is busy promoting his lastest film, Kichiro, a homage to ultra-violent Japanese cult films, which will premiere at the 19th Singapore International Film Festival. In addition, he is working on the feature length version of his short film, More than Words, which has already been screened at the 4th Euganea Movie Movement in Italy and the 3rd Berlin Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Germany.

Parcel
North American Premiere
A Film by Lu Lu Yang
13 minutes
Cantonese

Ahshin lives the tedious life of a postman, biking along the same route to deliver letters to the same people and establishments. Until one day, he receives a package with his estranged father’s handwriting on it. Ahshin is thrown into mental disarray as he is forced to relive his abusive childhood. What lies within the parcel is a reflective and touching tale of a young man coming to terms with his past.

Director's Bio
Lu Lu Yang was born in Taiwan in 1979. She studied political science at Su-Zhou University in Taiwan for one year before pursuing her real interest in art and film. She went aboard and graduated from The London College of Communication with a Bachelor Degree in Film and Video. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters of History of Film and Visual Media at Birkbeck University in London. The Parcel is her first short film, written, produced, and directed by her with a group of Singaporean filmmaking talents and with the support of the Singapore Film Commission.

Strings
Canadian Premiere
A Film by Jon Lim
28 min
Mandarin

A husband having an affair. A mentally unstable wife. A red string to tie a mother and son together even in death. Months after his wife takes a suicidal plunge from the tenth storey of their apartment building, Kim has his mistress, Kah Min, move in. Kah Min tries her best to care for Kim’s son, Jing Jie, but she quickly realizes something from beyond the grave doesn’t want her to. A horror movie in the same vein as The Ring and The Grudge, Strings will keep you on the edge of your seat until the twisted end.
Visit the website at http://stringsfilm.blogspot.com/

Director's Bio
With a Media Education Grant awarded by the Singapore Media Development Authority, Jon attained his advanced diploma in film production at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He has since produced and directed a body of quality works which includes the much-acclaimed Strings (Hong Xian), which has won several awards including Best Direction and Best Film at the Canon DV Fest 2004. This film has been screened internationally in other overseas festivals as well. As a filmmaker, Jon believes in making films for the audience's entertainment and also to evoke emotions that inspire the viewer's imagination.

More Than Words
North American Premiere
A Film by Kelvin Sng
Time: 18 mins
Mandarin, Hokkien

The year is 1973, and Hao Nan is a loan shark with one of the most powerful gangs in Singapore. Entrenched in the underworld, Hao Nan’s life is plagued by violence and hardship. That all changes, however, when he meets Yu Tong in a record store. More Than Words is the tale of two star-crossed lovers whose lives are united by the music of 70s Asian icon and diva, Teresa Teng (1953-1995) to whom this film is dedicated and whose music acts as the soundtrack to this romantic tragedy.
Visit the website at http://www.morethanwords.adinfinitumfilms.com/

The Documentaries

2006-02-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

Past Tense
A Film by Mirabelle Ang
30 min
English, Mandarin, Teochew, Malay

Mirabelle Ang’s documentary is a panoramic journey for the eyes as she interrogates her feelings about Singapore after living in America. Introspective and visually stunning, this film share Ang’s views on learning and unlearning while raising questions of cultural identity.

Director's Bio
Mirabelle Ang is presently pursuing her graduate degree in the Film & Video program at the California Institute of the Arts. "I wanted to make a film that the Singaporean audience would enjoy, just as the international audience would by looking at ourselves and making sense of our direct environment." says Ang,"It is an invitation to the audience to enter a thought process with me."

Singapore Rebel
Canadian Premiere
A Film by Martyn See
26 min
English

One of the most notorious films to date, Singapore Rebel has been banned in its home country by the government the film has set out to criticize and deconstruct. This film tells the story of Dr. Chee Soon Juan, a political activist who is trying to break the one-party domination in the present Singaporean government by starting an opposition. Screened at numerous human rights festivals, Singapore Rebel forces the viewer to consider the problems in the democracy as we know it.
Visit the website at http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/

Singapore Gaga
North American Premiere
A Film by Pin Pin Tan
55 min
English, Mandarin, Hokkien, Malay

Singapore GaGa is a charming portrait of the diverse Singaporean population. Original and refreshing, this documentary focuses on the sounds which define the people yet are often taken for granted. You hear the stories of Melvyn, a busker; Juanita, the voice on trains and elevators; a newsgroup speaking in six different Chinese dialects; and many more. Prepare for an ear-opening journey across the beautiful aural landscape of Singapore. Visit the website at http://www.singaporegaga.com/

Director's Bio
Tan Pin Pin, born 1969 in Singapore, is a writer and director of films and videos. She completed her film studies at Northwestern University with an MFA. In 2004, she was an Artist in Residence at the University of Technology in Sydney. Her works have won more than twenty awards and nominations include a Student Academy Award and the USA-ASEAN Film Award for Moving House .

2006-01-29T23:08:00.000-08:00

The 1st Toronto-Singapore Short Film Festival is the first film festival of its kind in Toronto. Our objective is to introduce Singapore to the audiences of Toronto through short films made by Singaporean filmmakers. Film is an incredible combination of sound and images, which could well be the most realistic depiction of life as compared to other art forms. To be able to see Singapore on celluloid is a unique experience, since audiences in Toronto know little about the country, not to mention the films it produces.

During this festival, new friendships and networking opportunities between the two regions are created. It is our hope that through this inaugural film festival, that people will get to catch a glimpse of life on this unique island called Singapore.

Happy viewing!

Yeow-Tong Chia
Festival Organizer and Coordinator
1st Toronto-Singapore Short Film Festival