SIFF’s alive!

The old spirit returns with renewed life: For the 22^nd time Singapore International Film Festival will open its doors and screens April 14 – 25 to bring a sightly selection of films from Asia and the world at large to the festival faithful and cinema enthusiasts. There is a lot to look forward to in this edition and the effort as such is noble as can be. I sense quite a bit of defiance and will power at work in the event. Stubbornness can be a virtue, too (in times like these)!
Apart from the international feature competition and the defining Silver Screen Awards (and for the first time this year) there are the Singapore Film Awards for local (i.e. Singaporean) feature films to acknowledge excellence in the categories of: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Performance (actors/actresses, all in one, sic!) and Best Cinematography. That in itself I reckon to be a good choice. For the rest, you should have a look at the nominees: here.

The full programme and schedule you will find on the official webby: here.

(pic©Singapore International Film Festival 2009)

Berlinale 2009 wraps (soon)

Sadly, there is never enough time and work waits for no one. So I had to cut short my Berlinale pilgrimage this year and wait for critical reports to come my way instead of adding my voice to the cacophony of verdicts. – But wait, on listening to the buzz already out there (and while giving my congrats to all the winners of the evening!) I notice something quite unusual: general opinion seems to be rather positive, friendly even, with respect to this year’s event and programme, including a record number of tickets sold. Now, that certainly comes as a surprise. Especially since I cannot help but feel somebody is deliberately lowering the bar here in preparation for next year’s big celebration when Berlin International Film Festival turns 60. But maybe I got it all wrong and there was indeed more to discover than just your staple films of festival fare and mediocrity (and one of my personal highlights being the artwork of 2009 designated Palme d’Or winner “Face/Visages” by Tsai Ming-liang at EFM, currently in post-production). Without a doubt the best (new) film by far that I’ve seen was “Meotjin haru/My Dear Enemy” by Lee Yoon-ki from South Korea.
Will be back again next year anyway. So long, Berlinale!

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 8

(The heck with it!)

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 7

39^th Forum
“Yanaka boshuku/Deep in the Valley”, Funahashi Atsushi (Japan)
Feeble docufiction on a pagoda lost to memory. Not convincing.

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 6

My own selection process and criteria are a well kept secret and so it shall be. But here I admit it freely: I had to catch this Pusan winner!

39^th Forum
“Mubobi/Naked of Defenses”, Masahide Ichii (Japan)
Minimalist isolation piece about human deficiency. Good, but slightly overarticulate.

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 5

Intermission
(“Oh, this is so pretentious! – Give me a break, okay.”)

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 4

39^th Forum
“Eoddeon gaien nal/The Day After”, Lee Suk-Gyung (South Korea)
After divorce, life continues – a single episode everyday drama, humble.

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 3

39^th Forum
“Meotjin haru/My Dear Enemy”, Lee Yoon-ki (South Korea)
Close cinema: ambiguous emotional fugue of crumbling defences, brilliantly composed.

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 2

24^th Panorama
“Tanjong Rhu/The Casuarina Cove”, Boo Junfeng (Singapore)
Well acted and private investigation into a sensitively public issue.
“End of Love”, Simon Chun (Hong Kong)
A languid tale of reform, kind of, call it watchable.

Ya, looks like some themes are quite persistent and worthy of ever more scrutiny, certainly of support. The gay life subject matter as such is fascinating precisely because it is a margin that the majority of people have a share in, one way or another. And whether it yields assent has less to do with what is being portrayed, than how the light’s been cast, I think. It is also the only valid reason I see, why a filmic statement on lesbian and gay issues remains a special filmic challenge and potentially rewarding.

(pic©berlinale.de)

10/1 – Berlinale Day 1

Off to a rather hectic start into a Berlin International 2009 which, admittedly, on paper at least, doesn’t look too promising. But let’s watch first – and jump to conclusions later…

Panorama Dokumente
“Queer Sarajevo Festival 2008”, Masa Hilcisin, Cazim Dervisevic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
LGBT film issues of relevance and tensions. A straight-forward campaign.
“Gevald”, Netalie Braun (Israel)
A sentimental and kitsch-nostalgic short against compromising freedom: quite queer.
“City of Borders”, Yun Suh (USA)
Differences in being different powerfully, politically, explored – in real life.

24^th Panorama “Laskar Pelangi/The Rainbow Troops”, Riri Riza (Indonesia)
Children warmly reflect (parts of) the world, educating national identity.

59^th Berlinale Retrospective
“Ben-Hur”, William Wyler (USA)
A wide gauge film epic that is and portrays history.

(pic©berlinale.de)

Berlinale resume: 10 per 1

Short’s good and flexibility and spontaneity won’t suffer the long-winded anyway – so, this year again I’ll try to sum it all up for you in 10 words per film and leaving something open for discovery or discussion, as you like it! But the essential verdict will come out the stronger for it, I hope.
Here goes!

(pic©berlinale.de)