First ciNE65 Festival features short films about everyday Singaporeans
SINGAPORE — A day in a life of a local taxi driver. A retiring hawker passing a family recipe for popiah to a neighbour. A young Singaporean returning home to capture one last photo for his terminally-ill grandfather’s photography project.
These vignettes are part of over 70 ciNE65 short films making their big-screen debut at the inaugural ciNE65 Festival from 5 to 9 June.
The free screenings will be held in five locations: The Cathay, National Archives of Singapore, Punggol SAFRA Atrium, Fort Canning Centre and *SCAPE.
14 other films, including “Parting” by Boo Junfeng, “Bunga Sayang” by Royston Tan, “Homesick” by Anthony Chen and “The Flame” by K Rajagopal, will also be screened during the festival.
Also making its debut at the festival is “1299” by Ervin Han, the director’s first animated short film of his Singapore Bicentennial Trilogy.
Launched in 2011 as a short film competition by Nexus, the Ministry of Defence department responsible for Total Defence and National Education, the biennial ciNE65 encourages aspiring young film-makers to share what Singapore means to them.
In line with Singapore’s bicentennial, this year’s theme “Singapura” calls on film-makers to create three-minute shorts reflecting on Singaporean stories of past generations.
Apart from the film festival and the short-film competition, this year’s edition also features four commissioned films, including “36 Ways to Say Good Morning” by Tan, film-making seminars as well as workshops.
To date, ciNE65 has more than 500 competing entries and commissioned films under its belt. Its films are part of the records in the National Archives of Singapore, alongside other works that contribute to Singapore's cultural heritage and national identity.
These films are mainly accessible by members of the public on ciNE65’s YouTube channel or other online platforms, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel (SLTC) Psalm Lew, director of community engagement at Nexus, during a media session at the Cathay on Tuesday (28 May).
The ciNE65 festival, curated in conjunction with film and photography space Objectifs, allows viewers to experience them on a “bigger platform” and thematically, he added.
“We want to make them accessible to the public and to experience it. Because watching them on a laptop is very different from watching them on the big screen,” SLTC Lew noted, adding that the festival allows the public to engage and interact with film-makers.
When asked by reporters if there will be a second edition of the festival in 2021, he did not rule out the possibility.
“We want to take this opportunity to find ways to build the platform. Every year, we look at how we can continuously improve the way we engage Singaporeans. This festival is our attempt at doing that...we will evolve as it goes along,” said SLTC Lew.
Capturing the Singaporean identity
This year’s ciNE65 Movie Makers Award short-film competition also marks Nexus’ first collaboration with mm2 Entertainment.
Shortlisted entries from 113 submissions in both student and open categories will compete for a chance to produce a feature film with the entertainment company, as well as across the competition’s eight technical awards.
These will be judged by a Nexus representative and a panel of industry players, including Rajagopal, local actor Edmund Chen, director-writer Heiward Mak and mm2’s general manager Gary Goh.
Members of the public can also vote for a selection of films under the Audience Choice category: Favourite Film, Favourite Actor and Favourite Actress. The winners will be unveiled on 13 June.
Andrea Fababeir, 15, scriptwriter for “Echoes of 1965”, hopes her team’s film will allow viewers to reflect on societal changes in Singapore and think more positively about Singapore’s past.
“One of my favourite things that was (constantly) brought up was that race and backgrounds didn’t matter - something I feel is different nowadays,” said Fababeir.
The short documentary-style film focuses on challenges faced by older Singaporeans who lived through the separation of Singapore from Malaysia. It is shortlisted in categories including Best Film, Best Direction and Best Editing and Favourite Film.
The “kampung spirit” of sharing during the separation period touched the Canberra Secondary School student. “They would allowed random strangers into the house to come together to watch TV, and it was normal,” said Fababeiv.
“$ingapura”, which is competing in the Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Favourite Film categories, follows a day in the life of Ah Hock, a taxi driver.
“Singaporeans talk about their day (while in taxis)...you forget about your taxi driver and you tell all your secrets to your friends, it’s like a comfort zone,” said Danial Razak, 28, the film’s editor.
“We wanted to portray Singaporeans as who they truly are.”
Entry to all film screenings (5 to 9 June) at the ciNE65 Festival are free but online registration is required.
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