THE BLUE KITE - A STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM

by Jason Lin, film blogger, SON:sation

Tian Zhuangzhuang is a Fifth Generation Chinese Filmmaker, just like the better-known Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. His works have deviated from previous filmmaking norms, opting for a liberal approach to bold political discussion instead of blind political propaganda.

CATERPILLAR: SEXPLOITATION WITH A DIFFERENCE

by Associate Professor Stephen Teo, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information

Caterpillar is the latest opus of Koji Wakamatsu, a veteran of the exploitation genre in the Japanese cinema who has directed numerous pinku eiga movies (or “pink films”, a term used by the Japanese to describe soft-core porn movies).

SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY: INTRODUCTION TO APITCHAPONG WEERASETHAKUL

by Prof Adam Knee, Head of Broadcast and Cinema Studies, WKWSCI, NTU

Apichatpong Weerasethakul is at the moment probably the most globally known Thai filmmaker, especially in the wake of his 2010 win of the Palme D’Or at Cannes for his feature film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.  This is a bit of a paradox, however, since he is on multiple levels an outsider to the Thai commercial and art filmmaking establishments.  

CZECH DREAM: FILIP REMUNDA

How was the hilarious yet extremely astute Czech Dream born? FILIP REMUNDA, one of the two visionary directors of the film, fills us in about their inspiration, and their take on all the controversy surrounding Czech Dream.

The Czech Republic used to be a Communist country (Czechoslovakia), and ideological propaganda pervaded. However the country is now capitalist and inundated with commercial propaganda. Supermarkets and shopping malls are expanding quickly, and people are spending whole weekends visiting them. Czech Dream was our artistic response to this.

CZECH DREAM: THE GREAT ADVERTISING SWINDLE

by Aishah Abu Bakar, Programming Manager, Moving Images, The Substation

In 2004, two student filmmakers from the Czech Film Academy decided to study their nation’s human behaviour. In an attempt to find out how easily a person can be persuaded through advertising gimmicks, they create a campaign for a hypermarket called Czech Dream.

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS: RECONSTRUCTING HISTORY

by Professor Heitor Capuzzo, School of Art, Design and Media, NTU

The Battle of Algiers is a unique film experience. The director Gillo Pontecorvo presents a vigorous display about the process of independence for Algerians from the occupying French in the 1950s.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: JAN HARLAN

Why did Stanley Kubrick, eminent director of A Clockwork Orange, withdraw his own film from distribution? On the film’s 40^th anniversary, assistant producer JAN HARLAN sheds some light on the controversy.

Great artists, who are critical of their societies, are one of the achievements of a free and democratic society. Stanley Kubrick was one of them. He was a great observer of society. His film, A Clockwork Orange, is still considered a worldwide success, for it stands out within its genre as a work of art.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE: STANLEY KUBRIKC'S MORE CONTROVERSIAL FILM

by David Lee, Singapore Film Society 

A darkly satirical adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s dystopian novel of the same name, A Clockwork Orange is one of Stanley Kubrick’s most iconic films, and certainly his most controversial, with the film being banned in UK for some 27 years.