Nadirah Zakariya
Founded in Australia about 20 years ago, Tropfest has evolved to be the world’s largest short film festival. With global screening locations in USA, New Zealand, UAE, and South East Asia for the very first time this year, Whiteboard Journal had the chance to be invited to Penang, Malaysia where this prestigious event was hosted.
Penang's rich historical background and stunning Peranakan architecture provides a picturesque backdrop for the festival. The event opens up to a small, intimate networking night and a Roughcut symposium the next day. With guests like Oscar-winning director Adam Elliott (Harvie Krumpet), Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, The Ugly Truth), Glen Goei (That's The Way I Like It, The Blue Mansion), Gurmit Singh (MediaCorp Artiste), this signature spin-off program saw to plenty of movie industry luminaries discussing and dissecting different aspects of entertainment field. Curators Panel was one particularly interesting program in which it discusses experiences of curating film festivals in different regions of Southeast Asia including Indonesia, represented by Lulu Ratna, a prolific film festival organizer.
The main event happened on Saturday afternoon in the open air of Esplanade with music by local bands, Paperplane Pursuit and Paladin, and a special appearance by the retro Indonesian band, White Shoes & The Couples Company. There were plenty of local businesses setting up stalls in the vicinity, ranging from artisanal food and beverages, clothes, to vintage, antique items. There was also 'Black Carpet' to greet and interview the evening's distinguished participants.
The screening of the 12 finalist films started right around dusk, not long after all the bands finished performing. With contenders from Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia, the film's main theme 'Rice' is explored in various constructive ways. Among few standout shorts were Chicken, The Strange Detective, We Need to Break Up, all from Malaysia, and Moth in Twilight from Philippines. Screened to over 4000 audience and judged live by Adam Elliot, Robert Luketic, Glen Goei, Malaysian actress Sharifah Amani, and the director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Roger Garcia, the grand prize was awarded to Sothea Ines, a Cambodian filmmaker with her black and white, silent film on the 'Golden Harvest' period during Khmer Rouge occupation. Second prize went to her fellow Cambodian, Polen Ly, with his film 'Duetto' and Ezequial Paolinelli took home the third spot with his film entry for Malaysia, 'The Last Flight'. The festival ended with awards presentation for each winner and a pre-recorded announcement clip from John Polson, the founder and director of Tropfest, that the theme for Tropfest SEA 2015 is ‘Wheel’.
View the 3 winning films by scrolling through the photography above. For more details on the event and to watch all the films, you can visit http://tropfest.com/sea/
caca-niqueis should mention that Karen Mok and Athena Chu are looking mighty fine in this film and if that"s not an incentive, perhaps you"d go for Ng Man Tat as Pigsy (of course!) or the classic mortal romance. There"s something for everyone in this comedy gem.
Buzzing with controversy, getting to watch this documentary has been fulfilling in many ways. With the era of reformation, democracy along with freedom of speech has opened many cans of worms. In the past, it would be unthinkable for this country to be able to watch films on this topic. Following the documentary of 40 Years of Silence – An Indonesian Tragedy, offers a different point of view on the tragedy albeit hauntingly similar reenactment of the killings.
The film opens with a musical number of a score of women in cabaret outfit dancing next to the giant fish tunnel, along with a rotund man in a matching pink gown and head piece. With that, we knew we’d be in for some kind of a trip. The main star of this documentary, who self admitted to bearing a resemblance to Sidney Poitier, is that likeable bad guy we’d love to hate. As one of the many executioners appointed by the military to carry out the killings and tortures of hundreds, if not thousands, suspected member of PKI, Anwar’s demeanor could easily fool you into thinking he’s an eccentric artist. The filmmaker mostly follows Anwar whom almost always trailed by Herman, a chubby man with questionable sensibilities. What’s interesting is also the access that the filmmaker manages to gain, having captured some of the most candid moments of the country’s top politicians and leaders. . With that, this film offers an unprecedented, rare view of a certain legendary leader.
Going back to Anwar whom character we could completely root for if not for his past crime. He’s a complex character and as well as uncertain about what he has done. In the beginning, he seems to be this care-free person who still relishes in his past along with his cohorts. Toward the end, while re-enacting some of the killing scene, he started to develop a mix feeling that seems indescribable to him but can only be felt. His physical reaction was undeniably an admission of guilt while his mind is still teetering on the brink of it. All that culminating towards a very heart-wrenching ending which was difficult to watch.
. We get the phrase of ‘relax and rolex’ from one of the killers describing how they enjoy their life. The word ‘preman’ comes from the word ‘free man’ and was aptly supplemented with the song Born Free. One man’s blunt disclosure of remorselessness by declaring that ‘war crimes are being defined by the winner. And I’m the winner so I can make my own definition’.
Based on a manga, this Hongkong film has. Altogether, these make which is the status quo of this piece of work. The director has lots of guts (pun intended) to make this film works in an unconventional way (not necessarily a good thing). Reminisce of Prison on Fire, the movie is set in a not-so-distant future where prison has become a privatized business and anything goes inside the facility. By anything, I mean ANYTHING. Inmates getting tortured for not rolling out red carpet properly or asking for more food, growing poppy fields, killing innocent bystanders (dog included). No one’s spared, everyone’s get a can of ass-whooping in the end, except of course Riki-Oh. With all these insanities, one thing for sure, you can’t kill Ricky. Though lacking in emotions, short of super power this guy is not.
It’s an adaptation which stays very close to the actual illustrated version. Hence, plot comes across as wacky and has many seemingly random characters. .
is about a football-obsessed altar boy who has a second-chance to atone after knocking over the priest during mass. What unravels is every moment of subtle and not-so-subtle comedy. Carrying a name like Damien Lynch only heightens the boy’s predicament. That flash where Father O’Toole passes Quinn and the moment when pre-mass encouragement was comparable to a football pep talk were examples of this film’s sheer brilliance. No wonder it was this year.
