Singapore Film Festival returns to capital after 2 years

It is good news for world cinema lovers as the much-loved Singapore Film Festival will be making its return to the capital after a gap of two years, starting February 21.

The three-day

festival, now in its fourth edition, will take place here at the Siri Fort auditorium. It will screen feature and short films -- three each -- followed by discussions and talks between filmmakers and film critics.

Organised by the Singapore High Commission, it will open with Singaporean filmmaker Abbas Akbar's "Chennai 2 Singapore". The film is about an Indian filmmaker who travels all the way to Singapore in search for investors who would finance his movie.

 

Second day of the festival will have screening of three short films -- "Melodi", "BTO" and "Life As It Is".

While "Melodi" is an award winning film talking about a lonely boy infatuated with his new neighbour, "BTO", which is named after Singapore's Build-To-Order public housing scheme, is about a young couple breaking off their wedding and giving up their new apartment.

"'Life As It Is' is set during the gathering of the family on the occasion of the grandmother's funeral. The short films will be followed by a feature film -- 'Ramen Teh' directed by Eric Khoo, an award winning film maker often credited with reviving the Singapore film industry in the 1990s. It is about a chef in Japan who travels to Singapore to learn about his deceased mother's past," informed the organisers.

For the closing day, the festival will show "3688" directed by Royston Tan. It is about a parking attendant dreaming of becoming a singer like her idol and namesake -- famous Taiwanese singer Fong FeiFei.

"In the spirit of cultural exchange, we wanted to share with our friends in India these films that are meaningful to Singaporeans. It is a matter of great pride for us to have seen these home-grown works screened at international festivals. It shows that Singapore has stories to tell that can resonate beyond our shores to international audiences. We hope that Delhi will enjoy the films too," said Ong Chong Hui, First Secretary at the Singapore High Commission.

It will come to a close on February 23.