Night Festival

Friday 16 July to Saturday 17 July
National Museum of Singapore, Peranakan Museum, Singapore Art Museum, SAM at 8Q, Singapore Management University Campus Green, The Substation
The Substation will be open until 2am.
For more information on The Substation’s events for Night Festival, please visit www.substation.org
Presented by National Museum of Singapore

Explore and have fun at the reinvented magical playground in the pulsating avenue of Singapore’s arts and heritage district at this year’s Night Festival!

At The Substation, experience a wholly unique night experience – participate in our interactive public mural project, where pedestrians and onlookers alike can join graffiti artists ZERO and ANTZ in creating a big-scale art mural; walk into our dance studio and join a special theatre workshop conducted by physical theatre group Theatrestrays, or catch an exciting line-up of local bands and acts on the balcony, such as Analog Girl, B-Quartet, Lunarin, Typewriter and Westside. Wander around The Substation and discover films screenings in different parts of the building, including a programme of local short films on The Substation’s façade! Look out for roving performing artists who will be blending into the crowd and catching the audience by surprise!

Come join us at The Substation to rediscover the arts under the night sky at Night Festival!

Click here to learn more about the events happening at The Substation during Night Festival!

Night Festival Programme at The Substation (all free!)

Film Screening – Outdoor
Time: 7.30pm – 10pm
Venue: The Substation Facade
Admission: Free!

As part of Night Festival, The Substation will be screening an eclectic mix of old and new films by ten different local filmmakers, including Royston Tan, Wesley Leon Aroozoo and Jacen Tan. Feel free to stop and watch the films projected on an outdoor screen and experience watching films under a starry night sky – just like the good old days!

Session 1 – 7.30pm to 8.30pm

1) Pulcinello/ Gabriella Mesenas / 2009 / 6min / PG
Pulcinello always had a smile on his face. However, a hollow smile was all it was. He lived as a puppet, chained onto his master’s hands, emotionlessly dancing to its master’s rhythm. Pulcinello’s only wish was to show his true emotions, even so being unable, Columbine, the beautiful puppet that descended from the sky, accepted him for what he was. Yet, when everything was at its peak, Columbine’s time was up and she departed against her will.

2) A Lion’s Pride / Wesley Leon Aroozoo / 2008 / 8min / PG
During Chinese New Year, the lion dance lion is appreciated for ushering in prosperity. But for the rest of the year, it is left abandoned, alone and angry in the forest.

3) Crocodile Journals / Yeo Lee Nah / 2004 / 6min / PG
A crocodile disguises himself as a human being to live in the human world. Although no one knows about his true identity, they sense that he is different. One day, he gets an invitation to a masquerade party…

4) Moveable Feast / Jasmine Ng, Sandi Tan, Kelvin Tong / 1996 / 14min / PG
Moveable Feast follows a young man’s gastronomic journey as he experiences the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of a variety of local food. The audience is given a glimpse of the culinary processes and the hustle and bustle of local eating places. The feasting ends at a wedding dinner and showcases a spectrum of Singaporeans enjoying the banquet.

5) Rudra – Hymns from the Blazing Chariot / Jacen Tan/ 2009 / 5min / PG
Hymns from the he Blazing Chariot is a heavy metal re-imagination of the ancient Sanskrit text, The Bhagavad Gita. Before the start of the Kurukshetra war, Prince Arjuna is reluctant to go into battle as he has to fight his relatives, beloved friends and revered teachers. He turns to his charioteer and mentor, Krishna for advice. Shot entirely in front of a green screen, the video interweaves brutal band performances with storyline battle scenes, created with visual effects compositing and computed animation.

6) Lim Poh Huat / Lee Wong / 2004 / 22min / PG
Lim Poh Huat lives alone. He has no car, no washing machine, no refrigerator and no girlfriend. Yet, he is able to show contentment in minimal essentials, humour in unpredictable instances of comic timing and strength in subdued optimism.

7) Hock Hiap Leong/ Royston Tan/ 2001 / 7min / PG
A guy’s reverie at his kopitiam (local coffee shop) takes us back to the 60s with a flamboyant musical number performed in platforms, beehives and flares.

Session 2 – 9pm to 10pm

1) Share: A Tale of Two Humpty Dumpties & A Bird / Zhu Chuan / 2008 / 4min / G
Adapted from the classic household fable of Humpty Dumpty, Share: A Tale of Two Humpty Dumpties & A Bird revolves around a naughty Humpty Dumpty who refuses to share his food with others, and his arrogance and selfishness to those around him bring about disastrous yet hilarious consequences.

2) Pulcinello / Gabriella Mesenas / 2009 / 6min / PG
Pulcinello always had a smile on his face. However, a hollow smile was all it was. He lived as a puppet, chained onto his master’s hands, emotionlessly dancing to its master’s rhythm. Pulcinello’s only wish was to show his true emotions, even so being unable, Columbine, the beautiful puppet that descended from the sky, accepted him for what he was. Yet, when everything was at its peak, Columbine’s time was up and she departed against her will.

3) A Lion’s Pride / Wesley Leon Aroozoo / 2008 / 8min / PG
During Chinese New Year, the lion dance lion is appreciated for ushering in prosperity. But for the rest of the year, it is left abandoned, alone and angry in the forest.

4) Synchronicity Series / Eileen Anastasia Reynolds / 2008 / 2min / PG
Synchronicity Series is an animated pixilation shot and performed in Little India and The School of Art, Media and Design in Singapore. The 2-minute video is the result of 12 consecutive weekends choreographing and performing group formations within the urban space. Partly inspired by passages in Matt Ridley’s The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation, the formations draw reference to flight patterns of birds and schools of fish.

5) Hock Hiap Leong/ Royston Tan/ 2001 / 7min / PG
A guy’s reverie at his kopitiam (local coffee shop) takes us back to the 60s with a flamboyant musical number performed in platforms, beehives and flares.

6) Moving / Jeremy Sing/ 2009 / 13min / PG
Sharmini, a female Indian lawyer, engages Ah Hock, a Chinese driver, to ferry her furniture to her new flat. He breaks her possessions with his reckless driving. Guilt-ridden, he helps her as much as he can with moving her furniture. Over boxes and chairs, he takes a peek into her world.

7) A Perfect Harmony / Christopher Broe/ 2009 / 10min / PG
A story of how a whimsical boy, living in his imagination, meets a girl who believes she can fly. What can go wrong?

8 ) The Karma of The Tree Sentinel Who Awakes / Ler/ 2009 / 6min / PG
The Karma of The Tree Sentinel Who Awakes is an experimental short film inspired by the music from influential Singaporean band, The Observatory’s latest album, Dark Folke. Using a combination of stop motion photography, special effects make-up, hi-definition video and 3D animation, Karma follows the mythical journey of Sentinel 5, played by prominent local actress, Pamelyn Chee. She awakes from a deep slumber in the woods and begins a journey through several landscapes in search of The Triangle, a monolith of unknown origins.

Film Screening – Indoor
Venue: The Substation Classrooms
Time: 7pm – 10pm
Admission: Free!

Wander into The Substation’s classrooms and fall into the cinematic worlds of filmmakers Ho Tzu Nyen and Jeremy Sing! Be entranced by Tzu Nyen’s Here and Sing’s The Water Cycle, as they are screened on an endless loop.

Classroom 1 – 7pm to 10pm (on loop)

Water Cycle / Jeremy Sing / 40min / TBA
Located just 1 degree north of the equator, Singapore experiences a uniform climate that is hot, humid and occasionally wet. So what can be more boring than Singapore weather? A film about it. Water Cycle challenges this notion by collecting a year of footages in 2007 that capture the weather experience in Singapore. This experience refers to human behaviour and response…picture 25 teenagers cramming into a car under the scorching heat at a competition… From the way people relate to the environment here, their habits, their behavioural oddities, a picture of its social climate surfaces alongside its physical climate.

Classroom 2: 7pm to 10pm (on loop)

Here / Ho Tzu Nyen / 2009 / 86min / PG
Here follows the journey of He Zhiyuan, a middle-aged man who struggles to make sense of his reality. Reeling from the sudden death of his wife, he loses the will to speak and is interned at Island Hospital. There, he meets strident kleptomaniac Beatrice with whom he forms an inexplicable bond. As He adjusts to life within, he is selected for an experimental treatment, which forces him to confront the devastating truth behind his past, present, and future.

Roving Artists
Venue: The Substation Premises
Time: 7pm – 2am
Admission: Free!

Look forward to a unique experience of performance art, as roving artists such as Marla Bendini, Jeremy Hiah, Ezzam Rahman and Chua Chin Chin attempt to blend into the crowd at The Substation. Be surprised by their random acts of performance art, be it through unpredictable interactions with audience members or the sudden creation of a performance space anywhere on The Substation’s premises.

Friday 16 July
7.30pm – Jeremy Hiah (Durational – till 2am)
8.00pm – Andree Weshler (30 – 40 mins)
8.30pm – Marla Bendini (Durational – till 2am)
9.00pm – Jacklyn Soo ( 30 – 40 mins)
9.15pm – Chua Chin Chin (Durational – till 2am)
10.00pm – Namiko Chan (30 – 40 mins)
10.40pm – Kelvin Atmadibrata ( 30 – 40 mins)
11.20pm – Ezzam Rahman (30 – 40 mins)
12.00am – Malvina Tan (30 – 40 mins)

Saturday 17 July
7.00pm – Yue Han and Urich Lau (Durational – till 2am)
7.30pm – Jeremy Hiah (Durational – till 2am)
8.00pm – Andree Weshler (30 – 40 mins)
8.30pm – Marla Bendini (Durational – till 2am)
9.00pm – Jacklyn Soo ( 30 – 40 mins)
9.15pm – Chua Chin Chin (Durational – till 2am)
10.00pm – Namiko Chan (30 – 40 mins)
10.40pm – Kelvin Atmadibrata ( 30 – 40 mins)
11.20pm – Ezzam Rahman (30 – 40 mins)
12.00am – Malvina Tan (30 – 40 mins)

Foundations: Theatre Workshop by TheatreStrays
Venue: The Substation Dance Studio
Time: 7pm – 8pm / 8pm – 9pm / 9pm – 10pm (1 hour per session)
Attire: Participants are to be dressed in loose or non-restrictive attire
Admission: Free! (All workshops feature the same content)

Foundations is the second public workshop conducted by Theatrestrays. As the workshop title suggests, participants will be introduced to the two core foundation training methodologies practised by Theatrestrays – Kalaripayat (Indian Martial Art) and Contact Improvisation (Organic Movement). These two disciplines vary in both origin and structure. Kalaripayat is a strict form of martial arts that is disciplined in its form whilst Contact Improvisation is an exploration of organic and fluid movements. Participants will have the opportunity to experience these two different structures of movement in a one hour workshop. Explore how a combination of two different training disciplines can open up new sensations, rythms and pathways of movement in the body.

About TheatreStrays

TheatreStrays is a performance and research physical theatre group that works as an ensemble that practises continual and progressive training throughout the year. TheatreStrays focuses on Asian Theatre methodologies in combination with Contemporary Theatre training for actors.

Community Mural Project
Venue: The Substation Alley
Time: 7pm – 2am
Admission: Free!

Let your inner artist run wild and join local graffiti artists, ZERO and ANTZ, on our community mural project, where pedestrians and on-lookers alike can join the artists in creating a large-scale art mural!

With friendly guidance from ZERO and ANTZ, participants can join in the enjoyable process of making street art with emulsion paint and aerosol spray. All participants will be credited in the creation of the mural, which will eventually be auctioned off in December to raise funds for The Substation. Come and create art with us in this creative charity project!

Music Gigs
Venue: The Substation Balcony
Time: 10pm – 2am
Admission: Free!

Partake in two nights of merry music-making at The Substation! Catch some of our favourite local indie bands and acts such as Bani Haykal, Lunarin, Mux, The Analog Girl, Ugly In The Morning and Westside in action as they drive the heat away with their music!

Friday 16 July

10.30pm – Analog Girl
The Analog Girl first sprung into the international spotlight when American sportswear giant Nike featured a track from her debut album The TV Is On on their Europe ad campaign Changing The Game in 2005. Since then her wicked catchy brand of electro pop has caught the ears of many a pop culture royalty. The Analog Girl is fast becoming one of tomorrow’s brightest stars to rock a different sound. Wait for it.

11.30pm – Mux
Mux is a collective formed by bani haykal, luqman hakim and siraaj anwar, out to experiment and devise new performances weaving sound design, music and text.

Mux’s approach to performance deals greatly with the coexistence of lateral storytelling and layered, yet minimal, sound and music compositions. Their interest in discovering new methods to deliver the crux of a given piece has resulted the trio to explore further into film soundtrack, sound design and live foley. The collective works extensively with guitar pedals, phrase recorders, microphones and various appliances and props to generate live sound samples. Aside from sound ambient, their music works are written and arranged to allow the trio room to intensify the songs, complimenting the nature of the text and its delivery.

12.30am – Ugly In The Morning
Ugly In The Morning is arguably Singapore’s naughtiest badass fuunk rock band. Merging wordplay innuendos with tight rhythm jabs backed by searing guitars, Ugly In The Morning are veterans at making geeks feel sexy. The band’s sound can be best described as an eclectic mix of Funk, Blues and Rock with liberal does of R&B/Soul with emphasis on vocal harmonies and kicking funk rhythms.

Saturday 17 July

10.30pm – Westside
Westside has been a forerunner in the Singapore music scene since 1991 and although the core of their music is rock ‘n’ roll, influences include other musical genres like folk, blues, pop, techno and trip-hop. This eclectic concoction amalgamated into their signature psychedelic progressive rock style.

In 1998, they received the ‘MTV Breakthrough Award’ and were the grand prize winners at the MTV/Yamaha Band Alert’ competition. Two of the members, Akie and Sab, were also awarded the accolades of ‘Best Guitarist’ and ‘Best Vocalist’, respectively.

11.30pm – Lunarin
Lunarin consists of an Unholy Trinity of Linda Ong, Ho Kah Wye and Loo Eng Teck. They have been playing together for more than 15 years.

Initially inspired by grunge bands such as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, the Unholy Trinity has since expanded their musical horizons to create a soundscape reminiscent of the progressive art-rock / heavy metal stylings of Tool, A Perfect Circle and Mastodon coupled with the lyrical sensitivities of PJ Harvey and Tori Amos.

When not busy banging out heavy art rock riffs in a hope to shock people, the trio holds professional day jobs, in line with their ongoing roles as double-agents for the underground.

12.30am – Bani Haykal & Friends
Bani Haykal writes and experiments with prose, monologues, poetry, screenplays, sound and music compositions, often exploring the bleak nature of existence intertwined with fictitious backstories and characters. He has published one book of poetry (Sit Quietly In The Flood) and, as a writer, has read and presented his works in several festivals including The Kuala Lumpur International Literary Festival, Singapore Writers Festival, Singapore Arts Festival and The M1 Fringe Festival. His involvement with music and sound includes being the vocalist and principle songwriter for alternative Singaporean rock band, B-Quartet, and a contributor to sound and music collective, Mux. With B-Quartet, he has written and performed on two records (tomorrow is our permanent address / conformity has replaced consciousness) and under mux, has written and performed and directed solo performances at The Esplanade (What Day Is It Today?) and The Substation (The Unpressionist / People Without People). He is an Associate Artist with The Substation since 2009.