Film making has been my passion because films brings flavours to stories and can easily touch your hearts within a split second. I chanced upon CiNE65 through a workshop I have attended with fellow actor/blogger Tiffany Yong; an initiative to tell stories from Singapore through the eyes and minds of Singaporeans through films.
This year’s theme is “Believing Home” and the shortlisted entries were pretty impressive, in my opinion. In under 3 minutes, storytellers had to tell their stories on their reflection on our past, present and future as a nation.
In case you have not much of time watching through all the nominated films, let me tell you which ones I liked and why.
Student Category: FF05 – Home-made 家味
Why:
This reminds me of my grandma and my mother. I lived with my grandma for the first 12 years of my life and my memories of those years was grandma in the kitchen cooking away and often giving me that chicken drumstick or the best foods whenever she had. My mother also had the same philosophy whenever everyone else tried to cook her signature mee siam.
“It’s never about the recipe,” I remembered my mum said, “it’s about love and effort you put in it. If you don’t take the effort and love to prepare your food, everything would taste horrible.”
Quote from the film:
“Love the food you cook, put your heart into the dishes, and it will always taste good.”
Open Category: FF03 – Family Heirloom
Why:
Food is unique to every country and place and it is a living, continuous link between the present and the past. The food we are eating now maybe a recipe that was past down step by step, without a tangible document from forefathers to children. The blueprint is in the action, in the steps and in the taste. How we choose to preserve it or innovate it further is entirely up to us.
It is a priceless treasure we have, because assets, properties, jewels, money can fade (I have seen it first hand the ugly fight between relatives for my great great grandfather’s inheritance) and diminish as it pass hands, but knowledge grows stronger each time it is being pass down. Then that is truly a heirloom.
Open Category: FF07 – SEEING
Why:
This film made me cry. It was a very simple tale actually. A story of the life of a blind man. But in our daily lives, many of us are blind and lost to the world around us. We chose to hide behind the veil of anonymity on the internet lashing negativity and ignored the beauty of our human hearts and soul. But for this man, everything is indeed dark, yet he sees the beauty of humanity.
Quote from the film:
“…beautiful hearts… is the only thing I am capable of seeing.”
Open Category: FF09 – Unwavering
Why:
This particular film tugged my heartstrings the most! If you can see it, the film itself spoke volumes with many underlying tales and messages interweaved into this simple storyline. We can easily be judgemental to others, but you never know what kind of lives they are living and what decisions or sacrifices they have made, to be in that position where they are today, be it for the better or for the worse.”
Quote from the film:
“These memories, they keep me happy. The things we do, the decisions we made, whatever they are, we must be brave and have pride. Perhaps, our past can be the strength for the present, maybe even courage for the future.”
Find out more about the Cine65 project here: http://cine65.sg
More stories soon!
