Nói Albinói
“ Winner of golden opinions and all sorts of awards .. this debut from writer-director Dagur Kari is a treat ..”
- The Guardian , November 2003
A maverick 17 year old kid who sends a tape recorder to school instead of attending himself. His good for nothing father. The girl he loves.
This 2003 off-beat, bitter-sweet debut film by Icelandic director Dagur Kári took major prizes in festivals in Europe and heralded the arrival of a major new talent. The film is gentle with deadpan humour that lightens dramatic and unexpected moments of a youth's passage to adulthood. The stunning cinematography contrasts “nature's stunning but dangerous whitness to the dark green-gray interiors of human spaces.”
TWILIGHT SAMURAI (PG)
A quiet film about a quiet warrior which won 12 awards at the Japan Academy Awards. A nominee for the best foreign film at this year's Oscar's. Yoji Yamada's dignified elegy of duty, life and death reawakened interest in the samurai genre and drew rave reviews from critics around the world.
THE COMPANY (NC 16)
The movie that makes you wish you were a dancer. Robert Altman's gorgeous film of dancers and dance starring Neve Campbell and dancers of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago features some of the most breathtaking dance sequences ever captured on screen. Watch out for the cameo appearances by acclaimed choreographers Lars Lubovitch and Robert Desrosiers.
"One can only hope for more discoveries like Eric Khoo"
- Howard Feinstein, Timeout Magazine
MEE POK MAN (Limited Screenings!) R(A)
A film a whole generation was probably too young to watch when it was first released R(A) in the mid 90s. Mee Pok Man . A story about a touching yet bizarre relationship between a lonely and misunderstood fish-ball noodle ( mee pok ) stall owner and Bunny, a disillusioned prostitute, this seminal work brought Singapore filmmaking once again to international attention.
ERIC KHOO's SHORT FILMS – PAIN / SYMPHONY 92.4 (Limited Screenings!)
(Rating to be advised)
Pain tells a story about a sado-masochistic young man who tortures and then kills another, won both the Best Director and Special Achievement awards at the 1994 Singapore International Film Festival. Symphony 92.4 is a sympathetic documentary style self-portrait of an old Chinese man living alone. This almost silent study of loss and isolation is both iconographic and very warm. It is delicate and memorable – difficult to believe it was shot on Super 8 film in 3 days.
Don't miss the ‘Eric Khoo's Special' on Saturday, 27 th March!
A film discussion will follow after the screening of Eric Khoo's Short Films. To have a full experience of Eric Khoo's creation, stay back and join us in the screening of Mee Pok Man.
(Tickets for the 2 screenings are sold separately)
SINGAPORE SHORT FILMS (FREE!)
Short films are often the starting point for emerging filmmakers around the world. Made with little resources and tight budgets, filmmakers are challenged to create cinematic gems that remind us of the most important aspect of filmmaking – telling a compelling visual story. Here we celebrate the works of emerging filmmakers based in Singapore – filmmakers who are pushing beyond the confines of our film landscape to create independent pieces of voices of art.
Take a good break during your lunch and let us bring you into the cinematic world.
The Singapore Short Films is curated by Objectifs – Centre for Photography and Filmmaking.
Also catch The Arts House's regular short film screenings by aspiring film-makers from 10.00 am - 12.00 pm . For the Opening Festival, we highlight works by graduates from Ngee Ann Polytechnic's film-making courses. These little gems range from vignettes on vanishing trades of Singapore to moving stories of generational relationships.
GOLDEN CLASSICS
Two films from the heyday of the Malay film industry in Singapore from the 1950s - 1960s.
Ibu, that tells the relationship between an aspiring trumpter, his blind mother and his teacher, is a P Ramlee classic. The well-known theme song of the same name was written by Singaporean composer Ahmad Jaafar whose son Muliadi Ahmad Jaafar performs as part of The Arts House's opening festival.
The Arts House is said to stand in the vicinity of the building, in which according folklore, Hang Nadim, the boy who saved Singapore from the swordfish attack, was briefly imprisoned. This story is recounted in Singapura dilanggar Todak .
(Films are in Malay with no subtitles)
NOT SO STRICTLY BALLROOM
Strictly Ballroom , Baz Luhrmann's classic film about a young man who follows his heart by dancing to a different beat forms the basis of this extraordinarily special event.
Watch ANTONIO VARGAS, Spanish flamenco master and assistant choreographer as he sets the stage afire with flamenco just before the screening. Over the past four decades Antonio has choreographed and directed some of the most innovative and dramatic dance productions seen to date, utilizing Flamenco's imposing and elusive language. Antonio's works are designed to be clearly understood while providing a night's entertainment.
Catch the movie screened under the stars. Strictly Ballroom is funny, energetic, and enjoyable -- the perfect film for a night out, regardless of what mood you're in. Strictly Ballroom is filled with energy and color. The dance numbers are splendidly choreographed and the soundtrack is vibrant and varied.
Inspired? The challenge is thrown to both men and women to take tips from Antonio Vargas himself at our special workshops.
Performance and Screening:
The Promenade by The Arts House
27 th Mar, 04, Saturday – 7.30pm
Akan Datang! Coming Soon!
A ‘CheeKy Weekend in April' on 10 and 11 April
– Catch the fun, talented and award winning CheeK as we bring him in to tell you more about how he sees filmmaking and other things ….
- Featuring the premiere of his latest Short Film, 576
More great films that you might have missed and more great art films that you have yet to watch!
All free screenings are on a first come first serve basis. Limited seats available.