Jewel in the Slum (Permata Di Perlimbahan) (1952)

  • February 29, 2020 | 4:00 PM - 5:50 PM | Saturday
  • Oldham Theatre

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*BUNDLE PACKAGE*
3 tickets: $20 || 5 tickets: $30
(U.P. $10 per ticket)

The bundle ticket packages are available for purchase only at Oldham Theatre’s Box Office. The box office will be open one hour before the earliest showtime of the day on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

WORLD PREMIERE
Original Title: Permata Di Perlimbahan
Directed by: Haji Mahadi
Runtime: 107 min
Country: Singapore
Language: Malay with English subtitles
Rating: PG
Restored Version

Fatima lives with her mother, working with her as a seamstress. Disappointed by her mother’s gambling addiction, she decides to work as a singer at a nightclub. There, Fatima meets Abdullah, a businessman whose wife, Endon, constantly mocks and humiliates him. Abdullah soon falls in love with Fatima and they begin an affair. However, Abdullah’s colleague is also smitten with her, and when Endon finds out about her husband’s relationship, she plots with his colleague to expose the affair.

 

Archivist Notes

Permata Di Perlimbahan is the first Singaporean film to be directed by a Malay director. Prior to this, Malay films were directed by Chinese and Indian filmmakers. This film is the only known Singaporean film that survives in a cellulose nitrate-based print, which is highly flammable and chemically unstable. Made at the beginning of the studio era, the film also features one of the earliest film performances of Maria Menado and Nordin Ahmad for Shaw’s Malay Film Productions, before they moved to Cathay-Keris in the mid-1950s.

Restoration Info

The restoration of Permata Di Perlimbahan was made possible using the sole surviving 35mm release print. Due to previous dismal storage conditions, the print was already in an advanced state of chemical decay and shrinkage, affected by mould, halos and numerous stains. Months of various chemical and rehydration treatments were carried out to help alleviate the issues of nitrate decay on the image and sound. Continuous scratches and tears were present on every reel, which required intensive manual reconstruction for parts of many frames.

To digitally restore the film, 3,500 hours were spent on restoration work that included scratch removal, stabilising, deflickering, and colour correction.

The film was scanned and restored in 4K resolution by L’Immagine Ritrovata in 2018 and completed in 2019.

If you have any trouble purchasing your tickets, please contact us at info@asianfilmarchive.org 

*Concession tickets apply to Students (Local & Overseas), Full-time National Servicemen (NSF), Senior Citizens (55 years and above) only.
*Please check film ratings before purchase of tickets. Please note that you may be asked to present your ID at the door (this applies to concession tickets as well).