Dystopia: 10 Commandments, 10 Film Directors

by Michele, 25 Jan 2008 | 0

Nicholas Chu, Director and Ken Minehan, Director of Photography

The Ten Commandments have proven to be a very durable subject matter in the history of filmmaking. In 1923, Cecil B. De Mille directed a silent movie based on the Biblical story. In 1988, Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski created his amazing ten-part masterpiece, The Decalogue, and just last year, American director, David Wain, released an anthology comedy assembling ten short vignettes, each based on one of the ten commandments.

This year, ten local budding film directors will unleash their creativity on the theme in a 100 minute anthology, titled Dystopia. The film will comprise ten separate ten minute segments, in which each of the directors tackles one of the Biblical commandments, adding their own style variation and personal flavor.

Culturepush nabs an interview with one of the directors, the talented Nicholas Chu.

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Where The Sun Rises, A Journey of Forgiveness

by Ci'en, 10 Sep 2007 | 0

Where The Sun Rises

The story of East Timor’s struggle for independence is inextricably intertwined with the legacy of its first President, Xanana Gusmão, a guerilla that led the 24-year liberation war against Indonesian occupation of East Timor, 7 of those years from a prison in Jakarta. His extraordinary life is one that could easily have been shrouded in feelings of bitterness and hatred, but as the film Where The Sun Rises shows, President Gusmão displays courage and grace under fire, believing in the power of peace and forgiveness to repair his ravaged nation.

Where The Sun Rises is an exploration of the nature and power of forgiveness, and its potential for freeing lives. It is the first film to be fully narrated by a Head of State, a remarkable triumph for director, Grace Phan. I had the opportunity to pick her brains on her working relationship with President Gusmão and the stories of the Timorese that left their indelible mark on her soul. MORE »

Seletar Airbase: Singapore’s Secret Garden

by Ci'en, 25 Jul 2007 | 1

Seletar Airbase: Singapore’s Secret Garden

When it was announced that Clifford Pier would cease operations in March 2006 with plans to develop the landmark into the inevitable mall complex, there was public outcry against Singapore’s rapidly disappearing heritage. In a constant struggle between tradition and progress, iconic buildings such as the National Library and National Theatre have been swiftly torn down to make way for modern conveniences.

In the past, news of a historical building’s impending demolishment have been met with protest, usually through a flurry of letters published in the Straits Times. Li Xiuqi took it a step further. On discovering that Seletar Airbase was to be demolished to make way for a new aerospace park, the 26-year old architecture graduate made a film, Seletar Airbase: Singapore’s Secret Garden, to capture the area’s serenity and historical charm that will soon be lost come 2008. The film will be screened as part of the Substation’s 2nd Indie Documentary Festival on 6th March and at Timbre on 13th March. MORE »

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  • Plainsunset Album Launch
    Indie-pop-punk legends, Plainsunset will be celebrating their album launch on June 13th, 8pm at Zouk. Entry is only allowed for those 18 and above. Every CD purchased comes with a pair of tickets to the launch party (limited to first 500 on entry). Tickets will be sold at the door at S$15. - #
  • Fast & Fresh
    The Fast & Fresh festival is a youth-oriented version of Short & Sweet, Australia's premier ten minute play competition. It will be launched in Singapore by Word Forward Limited. Featuring plays written, directed, produced and enacted by teenagers (18 and under), Fast & Fresh is a competition that showcases and gives the best young talents the exposure and guidance necessary to stage quality productions, while connecting them to the theatre scene. 23 May, 7-9pm, Play Den @ The Arts House. - #
  • My Last Adornment
    Renowned jewelry designer Shing, of cult label argentum, creates her second installation My Last Adornment, using jewelry to reflect on themes of vanity and mortality. Viewers are invited to step into the installation and put on their last adornment inside a photo booth and contemplate the transience of life. This act becomes less about vanity and more a reminder of their mortality and how precious lives are. 1-15 Jun, 11am to 8pm daily at The Substation Gallery - #
  • Furniture Design Showcase
    Be inspired by selected pieces of furniture from the FDA 2008 Students and Young Designers Category finalists and discover how they interpreted the theme 'TENSION'. Also on display are the winning designs of the 4th FL!P Challenge held late last year, where student designers were given two types of wood to work with - American red oak and yellow poplar. 29 May-14 Jun, 10am to 9pm daily at The National Museum of Singapore - The Concourse, Level 1. Admission is free. - #
  • Rock The Sub
    Rock The Sub! presents a total of 12 fantastic Singapore bands and featuring 8 excellent bands who have appeared on the Rock Your World acoustic stage. This time around, all cables will be plugged in for an evening of full on rock music. Gibson Stage (The Substation Theatre): 6.15pm-7.00pm Armchair Critic 7.30pm-8.15pm Allura 8.45pm-9.30pm Fishtank 10.00pm-10.45pm Tiramisu 11.15pm-12.00am Zero Sequence 12.30am-1.15am Vertical Rush Timbre Stage: 7.00pm-7.45pm You and Whose Army? 8.15pm-9.00pm Heritage 9.30pm-10.15pm Kevin Mathews & The Groovy People 10.45pm-11.30pm Lunarin 12.00am-12.45am Giants Must Fall 1.15am-2.00am West Grand Boulevard. 7 June, 6.00pm-2.00am. Tickets: $15 (inclusive of one drink). - #
  • Furniture Design Forum 2008
    The 6th Furniture Design Forum (FDF) will see a panel of distinguished international design gurus as well as local design personalities gathered to share their design experiences and latest trends. Eminent speaker at the forum is renowned Japanese Designer, Naoto Fukasawa who will take you on a journey through the "Core of Awareness". 13 Jun, 2pm-6pm at Gallery Theatre, Basement National Museum of Singapore. Click here for more information and registration. - #
  • Kaylene Tan
    Writer-Performer Kaylene Tan presents a reading of her current work-in-progress - an intimate audio triptych inspired by the Singapore River, Peninsula Plaza and the Armenian Church. Traversing history and memory, myth and biography, the domestic and the poetic, this text emerges from nine months of archival research, listening, walking and lingering. The reading will be followed by a question and answer session. 9 May, 7pm at the Playden (Arts House). - #
  • Body Art
    A performance beyond the walls of the museum, bringing body art into the city. Renowned celebrity Japanese artist Ai Yamaguchi, local artists ZERO and Joanne Lim present their latest creations using bodies as canvases. Be spotted with the body art models by the Polaroid crew, get your pictures taken and stand to win 3 attractive N Series Nokia mobile phones. Take home with you limited edition Fiction@Love collectible! 11 May, 12.00pm – 2.00pm (Outside Caltex House) • 3.00pm – 5.00pm (Outside Plaza Singapura/Atrium); 13 May, 1.00pm – 3.00pm (Outside Ngee Ann City) • 4.00pm – 6.00pm (Outside Shaw House). Limited free Polaroid instant pictures. Announcement of winners and selected entries will be displayed at SAM from 20 May. - #
  • Choking The Chicken
    Aging Youth Productions' first installment of Choking The Chicken will feature musical acts that bravely tread the fine line that divides different genres. Expect a clash of electronic, post rock and ambient in an evening that will entice the audience to redefine their genre pigeon holes. D+A+K+A+I, Bani Haykal, Indus Gendi and Breakbeat Theory. 17 May, 8pm at Earshot - #
  • Singapore 1:1 Island
    URA's exhibition, “Singapore 1:1 Island” highlights the city's architectural and urban design uniqueness through a selection of architectural projects completed island-wide, outside of the city centre, over the past four decades. Untill 11 Apr at the URA Centre. - #

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    • Speaker Head by Gregor Timlin, is a film and installation which addresses the isolation that people experience in large cities. The viewer is invited to insert their head into the tapered structure and watch the film. In doing so they visually complete the piece for others in the space by becoming a caricature of isolation. - #


    •  ‘Art Eggcident’ is Dutch artist Henk Hofstra's new environmental art project on display in the streets of Leeuwarden, The Netherlands - #


    • Designer Nutre Arayavanish creates Postable Jewelry. It is a flat-pack ring, which can be assembled by slotting the components together. - #


    • Swedish designer Hanna Hedman's  jewelry is inspired by grief. - #


    • Job-getting guru, RitaSue Siegel, has just published the revised version of 'Get A Design Job'. The manual offers insights into everything from Resume tips to Research and  includes information on a variety of topics that influence not only the job-seeker, but the Design Industry as a whole. A copy is available for download. - #


    • Graphic artist Stéphane Bucco at String Republic pimps espadrilles. - #


    • Wearable art by Italian Designer Gualti. - #


    • Luc Grateau uses old Metro tickets as a canvas to create miniature portraits of fellow passengers riding the Parisian subway. - #


    • Brilliant photography by Quentin Shih. - #


    • Chrissie White is a 14-year old aspiring photographer. - #