First Take – April 2010

Mon 5 Apr, 8pm
The Substation Theatre
Free Admission, Donations Welcome

April’s First Take is all about loneliness and the innate human desire to make a meaningful connection with another person. Come and join us for a quietly emotional and sweetly moving ride this month at The Substation.  

1. LOVE, DIFFERENCE/ ALVIN CHIA/ 10 MIN/ 2009/ PG

A love story, between a Malay madrasah student, Ahmad, and a convent girl, Rebecca.

Alvin Chia represented Singapore Polytechnic in a local video showcase on TV Mobile, with his film Deck 6. Written, directed and produced by Alvin, It also took part in the Canon DV festival in 2006. Love, Differences is the second short film Alvin directed.

2. LOVE IS A CHAIR/ GLADYS NG/ 4 MIN/ 2009/ PG

Sophie is a reserved and reflective young individual who ponders about her place in life. During these awkward coming-of-age years, she feels left out from her family. In particular, she feels that she is no longer close to her sister, Alicia, who has a boyfriend now and is dealing with the complex issues of adulthood. Soon, however, Sophie realizes that she is not so distant from her family and that she, too, belongs.

Gladys Ng believes that a story should not be told in a narrative structure, where there’s a fixed beginning and ending. Instead, it should be held like a conversation that consists of thought sharing. She listens by observing the experiences of human emotions and aspires to express them through her films. Gladys is currently studying at the Victorian College of the Arts. 

3. FAITH & MIRACLE/ LIM YEW YEE/ 9 MIN/ 2009/ PG

An emotionally-stricken woman who works in the x-ray department has a chance of finding true love in the most unlikely person – a patient, in the hospital because of an accident, who is also a former colleague.

The director took a year of unpaid leave to pursue a course to satisfy his hunger for filmmaking. He made Faith & Miracle among many other assignments during that time, working joyfully with a class of eight film fanatics.

4. ONE ROOM FLAT/ ZHANG JIA HAO/ 15 MIN/ 2009/ PG

One Room Flat is a 12-minute documentary about 80-year old Sin Yoke Kiew and 55-year old Angie Chan (Cham Long), on how they manage to lead a simple, happy life, despite having to battle the fate of living alone in a one-room flat.

Jia Hao has always been very interested in video and sound production. Having joined a sound production company, The Production People, Jia Hao has not only produced introductory videos for his secondary school – he has also produced several recognized videos for organizations like the National Cancer Society, Singapore Public Utilities Board and TOUCH Community.

5. MY FATHER SAZALI/ SAZALI MASRAJI/ 17 MIN/ 2008/ PG

My Father Sazali depicts a barber’s unfulfilled aspirations and his quest to prevent his son from following in his footsteps. Ironically, the father’s failure in achieving his dream serves as a motivation for his son to pursue his own ambition, much to the dismay of the father.

Sazali Masraji is a freelance cameraman for various production companies. My Father Sazali is the first official short film that he wrote and directed.