Singapore Cinema: 10 Local films to watch in 2015

Singapore Cinema: 5 Local films to watch in 2015

Tarandip Kaur

15 Jan 2015

updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:34

1/5
1965
By transporting you back to the colourful 1960s, '1965' will tell the stories of immigrants and natives during a time where riots were rife and racial harmony was shaky. All of this culminates to when Singapore gains independence and how some of the nation's people decided to call this small island their home.

Director: Randy Ang
Cast: Joanne Peh, Qi Yuwu, Lim Kay Tong, Nicole Seah, Deanna Yusoff, James Seah, Sezairi Sezali, Mike Kasem
Date: August 2015

Photo credit: 1965 Facebook page
2/5
3688
A musical comedy about a parking warden who has dreams of becoming a singer but gives it up to care for her father who has dementia. This is Roystan Tan's first feature film after taking a break for seven years.
Director: Roystan Tan
Cast: Rahimah Rahim, Liu Ling Ling, Joi Chua, Michael Tan, Shigga Shay
Date: June 2015
3/5
Unlucky Plaza
The dark comedic drama tells the tale of a Filipino father whose spirals downwards he ends up losing all of his savings and his restaurant at Lucky Plaza - a shopping centre in Singapore - has to close down. Throughout the process, he meets with a materialistic motivational speaker, his adulterous wife, her tent-making spiritual shepherd and a mainland Chinese gangster.
Director: Ken Kwek
Cast: Jeffrey Quizon, Adrian Pang, Judee Tan, Shane Mardjuki, Guo Liang, Janice Koh
Date: April 16 2015
4/5
A Yellow Bird
In this drama, a man returns home after spending eight years in prison, but continues to haunted by his past as contraband smuggler. Not welcomed home by his mother, the story then follows his journey to meet his ex wife and daughter who do not want to be found.
Rajagopal won acclaim when his short films won the Singapore International Film Festival's Short Film Awards Special Jury Prize in three consecutive years - Can't Sleep Tonight (1995), The Glare (1996) and Absence (1997)

Director: K Rajagopal
Cast: Sivakumar Palakrishnan
Date: Late 2015
5/5
In the Room
Marked as Singapore's first erotic film, the story is set in 1942, when the British surrendered to the Japanese troops in Singapore. The story will then revolve around six different couples in a single room brothel, spread across several decades. Despite the genre, Eric Khoo claims that the movie will be PG.
Director: Eric Khoo
Cast: Josie Ho, George Young, Daniel Jenkins, Shou Nishino, Lawrence Wong, Nadia Ar, Ian Tan
Date: End of 2015

If you’re looking for something different in the cinemas then keep these Singaporean movies in mind as they roll out this year.

Blame it on the constant bombardment of movies from Hollywood – filled with hot A-list actors and billion dollar graphics – that we never truly give enough attention or credit to our homegrown films.

Since 2015 is the year Singapore celebrates its 50th anniversary as an independent nation, it’s time to devote more of our time appreciating the local culture – from cuisines to art to design and of course cinema. Now, if you can’t fathom the thought that our tiny island has impressive talent then don’t forget that a Singaporean film, namely Ilo Ilo, did make it big by winning the prestigious Camera d’Or award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival – is that talent enough for you?

So get your notebooks out and jot down these names because they’re the ones you’re going to spend your weekend watching at the cinema.

Tarandip Kaur

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Singapore Cinema: 5 Local films to watch in 2015

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