There will be eight short films screened for Selection 2 of Singapore Shorts ‘22.

The Rating for Selection 2 is 

A Short Walk (2022)
Original Title: 短途
Directed by: Ervin Han
Runtime: 6 min 25 sec
Country: Singapore
Language: No Dialogue
Rating: PG

Synopsis
On a quiet February morning in 1942, weeks after the Japanese occupied Singapore, a young Chinese boy accompanies his father on a walk from their home to a mass screening centre. Accompanied by a sombre score, the animated film is a melancholic reflection on the systemic purge of local Chinese by the Japanese military known as Sook Ching and meditates on the historical trauma.

Director’s Bio
Ervin Han is an animation producer and director. He has worked on multiple shorts films and production series for clients like Disney, Cartoon Network and MTV. He is the co-founder of local animation studio, Robot Playground Media.

 

Last Call (2021)
SOUTHEAST ASIAN PREMIERE

Original Title: Panggilan Terakhir
Directed by: Eysham Ali
Runtime: 13 min 24 sec
Country: Singapore
Language: English, Malay
Rating: PG

Synopsis
Nadia, in her 40s, is a new airport ground staff. In her first week on the job, she must deal with a stubborn elderly passenger who arrives late for check-in and insists on being boarded to attend his daughter’s wedding.

Director’s Bio
Eysham Ali’s short film Rumahku Syurgaku (My Home, My Heaven) won the Special Achievement Award at Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) 2008. He also directed Kattumaanar (Builders; SGIFF 2016) and Curian (Thieves; Busan International Film Festival 2011).

 

Holding Space (2022)
Directed by: Ye Thu
Runtime: 4 min 20 sec
Country: Singapore
Language: English, Burmese
Rating: PG

Synopsis
Holding Space explores the lived experiences of Burmese immigrants in Singapore under the gaze of neighbours in public flats. With a focus on spatial arrangements and housing exteriors, the experimental film challenges the ways architects visualise and instrumentalise their ways of seeing, seeking to hold space for subjective experiences and the subtle yet persistent influences on our domestic interiors.

Director’s Bio
Ye Thu is a Masters of Architecture candidate at the National University of Singapore. His works take an interdisciplinary approach, bridging gaps between objective modes of architectural representation and the subjectivity of his experience as a Burmese immigrant in Singapore.

 

state. (2022)
WORLD PREMIERE

Directed by: Bernadette Toh, Sherrie See
Runtime: 10 min 2 sec
Country: Singapore
Language: English
Rating: PG

Synopsis
state. is an exploration of liminal spaces, physical and emotional, from the perspective of a teenager. Unravelling through a desktop screen, the film navigates between different states: physical and digital, reality and whimsicality, and childhood and adulthood.

Director’s Bio
Sherrie See and Bernadette Toh are Singaporean-based filmmakers from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Their work explores the intricacies of humanity.

 

Traffic Light (2021)
Directed by: Ang Qing Sheng
Runtime: 5 min 52 sec
Country: Singapore
Language: English, Mandarin, Hokkien
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)

Synopsis
At a busy traffic junction in Singapore, various types of pedestrians register their annoyance when the green man refuses to appear – from the law abiders and impatient jaywalkers, to the government critics and playful children. Brought to life in animation, Traffic Light offers a cross-section of society when daily routines are momentarily interrupted.

Director’s Bio
Ang Qing Sheng is a lecturer at the Puttnam School of Film & Animation, LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore. He has made independent short films like Lak Boh Ki and Kua Bo.

 

Back to One (2021)
Directed by: Tang Kang Sheng
Runtime: 15 min 1 sec
Country: USA
Language: English
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)

Synopsis
At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, Kang Wei struggles to prepare for his graduation film abroad. Blending elements of documentary with fiction, the film is a meditation on filmmaking and the sacrifices made in pursuit of the craft, punctuating deadpan humour with glimpses of hope amidst tumultuous uncertainty.

Director’s Bio
Kang Sheng has directed multiple short films, of which Passenger won the Special Jury and Best Performance at the 6th Singapore Short Film Awards. He recently graduated with an MFA in Directing from UCLA.

 

The sea between us (2021)
ASIAN PREMIERE

Directed by: Yuga J Vardhan
Runtime: 12 min 53 sec
Country: Singapore
Language: English, Mandarin
Rating: PG

Synopsis
When a pandemic forces the lockdown of one of the world’s busiest land crossings between Malaysia and Singapore, two young sisters are taken in and homed by a neighbouring family. As the girls struggle to come to terms with their separation from their family across the sea, they find strength in the unlikeliest of places.

Director’s Bio
A scholar and cinephile, Yuga J Vardhan’s films have received numerous awards and have been screened at regional and international festivals, including the Thai Short Film and Video Festival.

 

The Last Stop (2021)
SOUTHEAST ASIAN PREMIERE

Directed by: Bervyn Chua
Runtime: 2 min 54 sec
Country: Singapore
Language: English
Rating: PG (Some Intense Sequences)

Synopsis
Rendered in 3D, this post-apocalyptic animation follows the gripping ordeal of a lone commuter trapped in a speeding MRT train, rushing against time to escape before the train crashes.

Director’s Bio
After spending half his life in China, Bervyn has a new appreciation for Singapore’s culture and is craving to make local themed shorts that appeal globally.

 

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