Tuesday, April 01, 2008
cinemacities
(Something I'm involved in...)
CINEMACITIES: URBAN SPACES ON FILM IN THE UK AND SINGAPORE
Sunday, 6th April, LASALLE College of the Arts, 2.00
pm – 5.00 pm
Film has always been linked to urban space. Cinema was
born in the major capitals of the world, and cities
continue to be the only places where film industries
are sustained. Cities are also locations and subject
matter, and cinema changes the way we perceive our
cities, transforming landmarks into icons or clichés,
re-imagining streets and suburbs and the communities
that inhabit them.
CinemaCities is an informal mini-symposium that will
discuss and explore this rich territory in the company
of leading film-makers, programmers, producers,
writers and educators from the UK and Singapore.
Chaired by journalist Ben Slater.
Guests:
Alfian Sa’at, playwright
Sun Koh, producer, Lucky 7
Wee Li Lin, director, Gone Shopping
Tan Pin Pin, director, Invisible City, Singapore Gaga
Herman Van Eyken, Head of The Puttnam School of Film
Mark Cosgrove, programmer of Encounters Short Film
Festival, UK
Joe Magee, director (UK), Hypnomart and Gearhead
Carrie Comerford, producer (UK), Red Road
Lenny Crooks, Head of the New Cinema Fund, UK Film
Council
Lynda Myles, producer and Head of Directing Course,
National Film and Television School
Programme
1. Imagining
A joint presentation by Mark Cosgrove, programmer of
Encounters Film Festival (UK) and film-maker Joe
Magee. Mark and Joe will discuss the ways in which
British short films have captured and imagined urban
space and communities in the UK in recent years.
Preceded by a screening of a selection of the best in
UK short films, Inner City in the UK (11.00 am – 1.00
pm).
2. Shooting
A discussion with producers Lenny Crooks, Carrie
Comerford and Lynda Myles about the logistics of
shooting such city-based films as Shallow Grave, The
Commitments and Red Road. This session will be
chaired by Herman Van Eyken.
3. Representing
In Heartland, Hinterland, Home: Affective Topography
in Singapore Cinema, Alfian Sa’at, poet and playwright
will address the issue of representation of urban
spaces and communities in Singaporean film, exploring
the conflicting ways in which the city-state has been
depicted during both the ‘Golden Age’ of Malay movies
(pre-1970) and in the current Singaporean film revival
(Post-1990).
4. Capturing
A dialogue with Tan Pin Pin, Wee Li Lin and Sun Koh
about the issues involved in writing and directing
films which attempt to capture and evoke aspects of
urban space and life.
5. Panel discussion
Entry is free.
To register for the morning screening of Inner City in
the UK (11.00 am to 1.00 pm), please send an email to
ker.layhong@britishcouncil.org.sg, quoting FILM in the
subject line. Numbers are very limited.
To register for the symposium CINEMACITIES (2.00 pm to 5.00 pm), please send an email to
ker.layhong@britishcouncil.org.sg, quoting CITY in the
subject line. Numbers are limited.
CINEMACITIES: URBAN SPACES ON FILM IN THE UK AND SINGAPORE
Sunday, 6th April, LASALLE College of the Arts, 2.00
pm – 5.00 pm
Film has always been linked to urban space. Cinema was
born in the major capitals of the world, and cities
continue to be the only places where film industries
are sustained. Cities are also locations and subject
matter, and cinema changes the way we perceive our
cities, transforming landmarks into icons or clichés,
re-imagining streets and suburbs and the communities
that inhabit them.
CinemaCities is an informal mini-symposium that will
discuss and explore this rich territory in the company
of leading film-makers, programmers, producers,
writers and educators from the UK and Singapore.
Chaired by journalist Ben Slater.
Guests:
Alfian Sa’at, playwright
Sun Koh, producer, Lucky 7
Wee Li Lin, director, Gone Shopping
Tan Pin Pin, director, Invisible City, Singapore Gaga
Herman Van Eyken, Head of The Puttnam School of Film
Mark Cosgrove, programmer of Encounters Short Film
Festival, UK
Joe Magee, director (UK), Hypnomart and Gearhead
Carrie Comerford, producer (UK), Red Road
Lenny Crooks, Head of the New Cinema Fund, UK Film
Council
Lynda Myles, producer and Head of Directing Course,
National Film and Television School
Programme
1. Imagining
A joint presentation by Mark Cosgrove, programmer of
Encounters Film Festival (UK) and film-maker Joe
Magee. Mark and Joe will discuss the ways in which
British short films have captured and imagined urban
space and communities in the UK in recent years.
Preceded by a screening of a selection of the best in
UK short films, Inner City in the UK (11.00 am – 1.00
pm).
2. Shooting
A discussion with producers Lenny Crooks, Carrie
Comerford and Lynda Myles about the logistics of
shooting such city-based films as Shallow Grave, The
Commitments and Red Road. This session will be
chaired by Herman Van Eyken.
3. Representing
In Heartland, Hinterland, Home: Affective Topography
in Singapore Cinema, Alfian Sa’at, poet and playwright
will address the issue of representation of urban
spaces and communities in Singaporean film, exploring
the conflicting ways in which the city-state has been
depicted during both the ‘Golden Age’ of Malay movies
(pre-1970) and in the current Singaporean film revival
(Post-1990).
4. Capturing
A dialogue with Tan Pin Pin, Wee Li Lin and Sun Koh
about the issues involved in writing and directing
films which attempt to capture and evoke aspects of
urban space and life.
5. Panel discussion
Entry is free.
To register for the morning screening of Inner City in
the UK (11.00 am to 1.00 pm), please send an email to
ker.layhong@britishcouncil.org.sg, quoting FILM in the
subject line. Numbers are very limited.
To register for the symposium CINEMACITIES (2.00 pm to 5.00 pm), please send an email to
ker.layhong@britishcouncil.org.sg, quoting CITY in the
subject line. Numbers are limited.
# posted by ben : 6:18 PM
Sunday, March 23, 2008
HERE is coming
Went up to the film set of Ho Tzu Nyen's debut feature HERE to be an extra this weekend. People there kept asking me 'do you do this often?' which forced me to admit that I hadn't stood in the back/foreground of a shot for many, many years. Tzu Nyen is shooting in an abandoned mental hospital and the script is about a real event that took place in a working mental hospital, so the vibes and atmosphere of this place are seriously appropos. We shot from about 3.30pm to 7pm and got two short single-take sequences. The crew had been at it for about 8 days but the atmosphere was very calm and relaxed, exactly what you need. Click through into Flickr for a few more pics.
# posted by ben : 6:14 PM
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Vista 8
I haven't won anything in a competition since I was seven years old when I scored second prize for a school painting contest. Well, today I discovered to my surprise and delight that I have won the Ballardian Home Movies contest that was run by the excellent Ballardian website along with HarperCollins to mark the publication of JG's autobiog Miracles Of Life.
The competition challenged us to make a film, of no more than 60 seconds using our mobile phone cameras with absolutely no editing or post-production whatsoever. And of course it had to be Ballardian.
I wanted to enter, and had a few half-formed ideas, but procrastinated for a fortnight, finally getting up and shooting it the afternoon of the closing day.
Living in Singapore gave me an immediate advantage to grab some Ballardian High Rise imagery, and I've always thought that the faux-art-deco sign for Vista 8, a modern apartment complex round the corner from my 25 year old block of flats could have featured in a Ballard short story. I tried to fuse my own experience of living in Singapore while thinking about Ballard, and a narrative about suicide did begin to emerge as I improvised the film.
All details of the competition entries (with really thoughtful citations from the judges Simon Sellars and John Rivers) and the runner-up winner Pablo Sgarbi are here. My personal favourite is Russell Miller's haunting (also black and white) Journey Through A Distant Land.
# posted by ben : 12:55 AM
