New Line-Up!!

Hey guys, thanks for coming for Perth last night! :)

We've concluded the first half of our series with films that explored different aspects of Singapore's commerical sex industry. With Saint Jack, we tasted a seedy but colourful world of casual sex in the 1970s through the eyes of an American pimp. Pleasure Factory provided a contrast with its more 'up-to-date' portrayal of the sanitary and orderly flesh trade in contemporary Singapore. Finally, we ended off with Perth, and its depiction of an alienated man who seeks a sense of personal redemption through his efforts to "save" a Vietnamese prostitute.

Once the mid-semester break is over, we'll be resuming the film series with a selection that moves gracefully away from Singapore's flashy red light district, and into less obvious locales including dingy HDB flats in suburban Singapore where 15 year olds exchange lip piercings; and a secluded Catholic monastery where nuns tot machine guns (?!) Yet issues related to sex are still implicated in these unlikely places. One of the unifying themes in the second half of our series will be how these films construct and treat notions of gender and sexuality.

So all that said, we're pleased to announce our upcoming programme!

15 (R21) - 2nd Oct

Directed by Royston Tan

Synopsis: Combining gritty realism with edgy style, 15 is a fast, frenetic and strangely beautiful portrait of disaffected youth in Singapore.

Trivia: The uncut film stirred up controversy with its various 'music videos' featuring gang chants. Fearing that these scenes would incite "social unrest," the authorities famously placed pressure on Tan to make 27 cuts to the cinematic version.




They Call her Cleopatra Wong (NC16) - 16th Oct

Directed by Bobby A. Suarez

Synopsis: "She purrs like a kitten and makes love like a siren!" Featuring the sexiest secret agent on this side of the Pacific, Cleopatra Wong is an unabashedly campy ride across Asia with Singapore's female answer to James Bond.

Trivia: Quentin Tarantino reportedly listed this film as one of his early inspirations. References to Cleopatra Wong can be glimpsed in Tarantino's Kill Bill.



Tanjong Rhu and other short films (R21) - 30th Oct
Complete line-up to be confirmed at a later date
Directed by Boo Jun Feng

Synopsis: A line up of short films made by young, up-and-coming film-makers, depicting issues related to homosexuality in Singapore

Invited Guest: Boo Jun Feng (more details to be announced later)


We hope to see you at our future screenings! Stay tuned and watch this space :)