Southeast Asian Film Festival 2015: Our top 5 movies to watch

Tarandip Kaur

06 Apr 2015

updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:15

1/5
The Look of Silence (2014)
Stemming from JoshuaOppenheimer's 2012 documentary The Act of Killing, this film shows the perspective of the victims rather than the victors of history. Village optometrist Adi’s older brother was one of these victims, and as he quizzes his patients about their memories of this violent era, he discovers the story of how his brother was murdered, and that some of his killers are still in positions of great power.
Country: Denmark /Finland/ Indonesia
/ Norway/ UK
2/5
K’na the Dreamweaver (2014)
Based on the T’boli indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao in Philippines, the film outlines a tragic love story between K’na, the village’s dreamweaver and her childhood friend Silaw.
The budding romance ends when K'na's father arranges a marriage between her and the heir to the throne of the North so as to end the century-old clan war that separated the community into two villages on the North and South banks of Lake Sebu.
Country: Philippines
3/5
Riddles of my Homecoming (2013)
This one is particularly intriguing as the entire film features no dialogue. Experimental in nature, the narrative presents the conditions of exploitation and poverty in southern Philippines with the use of evocative symbols, landscapes and choreography.
Country: Philippines
4/5
The Last Executioner (2014)
Directed by Tom Waller, this film tells the true story of Chavoret Jaruboon, the last person in Thailand whose job was to execute by machine gun. Essentially, the story portrays how Jaruboon has to come to terms with conflicting notions of morality and duty.

Country: Thailand
5/5
Wukan: The Flame of Democracy (2013)
The documentary is set in Wukan, a village in southern China, that finds itself in a political strife when demonstrators rebeled against the corrupt rule. Now, grappling with the ins and outs of a new political system, the film essentially highlights the challenges that fledgling democracies face.
Country: 2013

Featuring cinematic talent from across the region, we selected our pick of films to catch at the festival when it opens in Singapore this week.

Returning for the 5th time, the Southeast Asian Film Festival (SEAFF) is gearing up to present audiences a riveting lineup of cinematic works from around the region. Featuring films from Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, amongst other countries, the plots largely cover a plethora of socio-political and cultural issues that stem from this relatively diverse part of the world. Additionally, you’ll even be treated to interactions with emerging and veteran directors courtesy of post-screening discussions for viewers to better understand the motivations behind the films.

Consistently held at the Singapore Art Museum, the festival has seen a slew of thought-provoking independent filmmaking – the most notable being Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing that was screened last year. While The Act of Killing focused on shedding light on mass executions of alleged communists in Indonesia, this year, Oppenheimer is back with another film, The Look of Silence that focuses on the perspective of the victims rather than the victors of history.

So whether it’s in the form of a documentary, comedy, action or drama, the entirety of the festival is one grand celebration of impeccable talent. Hence to get you started, here are our top 5 picks to catch at the event.

The Southeast Asian Film Festival will be running from 10 April – 3 May at Moving Image Gallery, Singapore Art Museum. Each film screening will cost SGD10.

Tarandip Kaur

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Southeast Asian Film Festival 2015: Our top 5 movies to watch

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