First Take – January 2010

Monday, 4 January, 8 pm
The Substation Theatre
Free admission, donations welcome
Sponsored by KODAK

To kickstart the new year, January’s First Take brings you more new shorts from Singapore! Featuring a documentary on Singapore’s satirical scene, a writer’s relentless search for a finish and a tale that bridges the gap between stalking and following. We are even including some of our favourites from Fly-By-Night 2009! Join us for another exciting screening, as well as a Q & A session with the filmmakers at The Substation this month. You can also vote for your favourite short, all of which will lead to our Best of First Take at the end of the year!

1. SINGAPORE SATIRE/ JOSHUA NG & FARIDAH SAAD/ 18 MIN/ 2009/ RATING TBA

In the land oft called the “soft authoritarian state”, and which is most famous for silencing direct opponents and banning the Far Eastern Economic Review, do people have a voice? Enter Singapore Satire, the documentary that analyses this critique-mechanism, which existed alongside Greco-Roman democracy, in Renaissance Singapore. It is a seminal collection and analysis of the various brands of satire, which Singaporeans so identify themselves with so much.

Joshua Ng is a Temasek Polytechnic graduate of Communications & Media Management His six month internship at
MTV Asia and Nickelodeon Asia saw him experienced in video production,
acting and presenting in the wicked world of spotlights and upside down hours.
Singapore Satire is the culmination of his mass communications training and his
liberal arts education at NUS.

2. FIGHTING FIT/ SULAIMAN SALAMON/ 4 MIN/ 2009/ RATING TBA

FIGHTING FIT is a story of a young mans’ goal to inflict personal injury onto himself in order to avoid being assigned to infantry unit for his 2 years of National Service. He convinces a friend to assist him in his plot to get reassigned through an almost desperate attempt at resolution. However, both of them get into a verbal fight over the issue and he faces a moment of truth before the act is committed. FIGHTING FIT touches upon the psychology of wanting something so badly that one is willing to inflict pain upon oneself to achieve his goal.

Sulaiman Salamon graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 2004 with a diploma in Film, Sound and Video. After serving his National Service,
he started working as a video editor with various companies, doing mostly
programs for Suria Channel. He is currently pursuing a degree at Chapman
University, Singapore.

3. THE SEARCH FOR AN END/ SHING MING/ 14 MIN/ 2009/ G

This short film is about a writer wishing to find the perfect ending to his story. A story collector then helps him along to this magical pond in the mountains to reveal the end. This film questions the nature of endings and how best to end.

Recently graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from the School of Visual Arts in New York, Shing is a designer, photographer artist and director. He enjoys collaborating, traveling, motorcycling and eating. THE SEARCH FOR AN END is his first foray into directing films, after having done music videos.

4. MUMMY/ TEH ZHIYUAN/ 2 MIN/ 2009/ RATING TBA

Ripping apart the traditional notion of mother-son relationships, MUMMY threatens our perception of motherly love and shows how easily love can mutate into pain.

Darren Tan is a first-time director. His first short, MUMMY, was screened during Objectifs’ Fly-By-Night 2009 competition, where it won the Judge’s Choice award.

5. THE FOLLOW/ LIONEL CHOK/ 18 MIN/ 2009/ PG

Curiosity got the better of PAUL, while he was sitting by an open-glassed café and looking out to the streets and the people walking by… Following what seems to be a harmless MAN – PAUL soon found that things are really not what it seems… and his life wouldn’t be such a story now – if he didn’t started – the follow….

Firmly believing in pursuing what matters most in life, Lionel turned his back on his Economics Degree to pursue his passion for the moving visuals. And that was 14 years ago…
Amassing credits since then – from TV, commercials – documentaries – web project – short films – theatre plays –
feature length films – and even curating a film festival.
Lionel is also an Associate Artist (Film) of The Substation –
Home of the Arts.