Cinema Reclaimed: DREAM PALACES

Saint Jack (1979), 115 mins, M18
+ Architectural Talk by Lai Chee Kien, 45 mins

Sunday, 5 May | 4pm
Venue: The Projector, Golden Mile Tower
Registration: shf24saintjack.peatix.com

Peter Bogdanovich’s film, based on a novel by Paul Theroux (father of Louis, uncle of Justin), was filmed entirely on location in Singapore in 1978, and would later be banned here for nearly three decades for its “negative” portrayal of the city-state. Today, the film – about an American pimp (Ben Gazzara) struggling to make an ‘honest’ living among gangsters and spies – is a remarkable document of Singapore in the 1970s, stuffed with authentic performances, locations, accents, dialogue, clothes and haircuts. This is the first time it’s screened at The Projector and is a homage to the cinema’s latter-day history as the adults-only Golden Theatre.

We’ll follow the screening with a talk from architectural and urban historian Lai Chee Kien, about the places and spaces featured in the film and their historical and cultural significance.

Chee Kien researches histories of art, architecture, settlements, urbanism and landscapes in Southeast Asia. He’s authored many publications, including recently Early Hawkers of Singapore: 1920s and 1930s (2020). He is presently the Vice-President of the Society of Architectural and Urban Historians of Asia.

Royston at Capitol!

Friday, 10 May | 7.30pm
Venue: Capitol Theatre, 17 Stamford Road, Singapore
Registration: shf24roystonatcapitol.peatix.com

Bunga Sayang, 2015, 13 mins, PG

The Blind Trilogy, 2004, 11 mins, PG

Ghost of Capitol Theatre, 2013, 11 mins

Old Places, 2010, 77 mins, PG

You Light My Way, 2017, 3 mins

Singaporean filmmaker Royston Tan shares a unique bond with Capitol Theatre, stemming from his youth as a cinephile. In 2004, he gained exclusive access to shoot a short film there when it was still closed to the public. Years later, he collected rows of the original seats to craft a poignant installation for the dance-film 'Ghosts of Capitol Theatre'. Additionally, Capitol Theatre became a significant memory site in the documentary 'Old Places', co-created with Eva Tan and Victric Thng. In 2015, when the theatre reopened its doors, Tan's short film 'Bunga Sayang' was featured in the anthology '7 Letters', premiering at the newly restored cinema.

Tonight, marks Tan's long-awaited return to Capitol Theatre to screen these films for the first time, coinciding with the cinema's 94th anniversary this month. This special event serves as a singular opportunity to honor Capitol Theatre, one of Singapore's few remaining standalone cinema spaces. After the films Tan will discuss the building's significance, the enchantment of cinema-going, and sharing space with the ghosts of nearly a century's worth of cinematic dreams.

Presented in collaboration with Chuan Pictures and Capitol Singapore.

Ring of Fury (1973)

Sunday, 19 May | 5pm
Venue: Kreta Ayer People's Theatre, 20A Kreta Ayer Rd, Singapore
Registration: shf24ringoffury.peatix.com

Ring of Fury, 1973, 78 mins, PG, In Mandarin with English subtitles.

Inspired by Bruce Lee’s Fists of Fury (1972) producer/director team Tony Yeow and James Sebastian embarked on an ambitious plan to make Singapore’s first martial arts action movie. They were fortunate to find Karate master Peter Chong to play their hero – a humble hawker wronged by local gangsters who enacts his bone-crushing revenge and attempts to unmask the ultimate criminal mastermind. Shot on a low-budget with tons of energy and invention, Ring of Fury is a tour through many great locations, some lost forever, including: Esplanade Satay Club, Labrador Park, Tampines Quarry, Jurong Bird Park, and many more.

Ring of Fury was never released in local cinemas after it was made because it was banned by the censors at that time for its depiction of gangsterism (now it’s a PG!), but this afternoon we can imagine an alternate history in which it premiered triumphantly at the People’s Park Theatre in Kreta Ayer, which opened in 1969.

Ring of Fury is courtesy of the Asian Film Archive who restored the film in 2017. Thanks to Kreta Ayer People's Theatre.

Cinema Paradiso - the Lost World of Singapore's Picture Palaces

Sunday, 26 May | 12pm
Venue: Oldham Theatre, 1 Canning Rise, Singapore
Registration: shf24cinemaparadiso.peatix.com

Singapore once had a vibrant and popular film-going culture that was serviced by a proliferation of theatres and screening spaces all over the city: from grand halls in the central districts such as Capitol or Lido, through to neighbourhood cinemas like The Metropole, The Galaxy, The Majestic, The Liberty and more. In recent decades, the larger ‘Halls’ were divided up or closed down, and multiplexes in shopping malls have become the norm. While new cinemas offered convenience and air-conditioning, the charm and atmosphere of the older ‘stand-alone’ cinemas was over. Today, in the post-Pandemic era, all cinemas are under threat as films are increasingly being released directly to our homes. In this talk entitled ‘Cinema Paradiso – the Lost World of Singapore's Picture Palaces’, film historian and memorabilia collector Wong Han Min will present a history of old cinemas in Singapore from 1896 to 2000, drawing on his extensive collection of visual materials related to this sadly vanishing era.

The talk duration will be 60 mins.

Organised in partnership with Asian Film Archive.

Sumpitan Rachun (1961)

Sunday, 26 May | 2pm
Venue: Oldham Theatre, 1 Canning Rise, Singapore
Registration: shf24sumpitanrachun.peatix.com

Sumpitan Rachun (1961), 97 mins, PG, In Malay with English Subtitles

A year after Singapore’s master-detective Inspector Latiff (S. Roomai Noor) was introduced solving three mysteries in Hantu Rimau, he’s back for Sumpitan Rachun, trying to unravel one long and deliriously convoluted criminal conspiracy which involves a murdered policeman, a glamorous night-club singer (Latiffah Omar), an orientalist magician, and an attempted diamond robbery at Tanjong Pagar Station. As per the first film the charming and flirtatious Latiff is accompanied by his forensic doctor sidekick (Mary Lim). The Cathay Building is a key location - named after the company who produced the film during the latter days of the Malay film boom in Singapore. It’s the perfect setting for uncovering dastardly deeds among Singapore’s wealthy elite. Sadly, this was the final film outing for Pelham Groom’s creation, but it’s highly entertaining, with lots of wonderful locations, contemporary details and stylish noir-influenced cinematography.

Organised in partnership with Asian Film Archive.