The documentary Band charts the funny, uplifting journey of a rock band comprised of three women on the cusp of 40.
PHOTO: THE PROJECTOR
Band (NC16)
85 minutes, limited screenings at The Projector
This 2022 portrait of an all-women rock outfit from Iceland who play to “half-empty rooms in front of visibly stunned people”, as trade magazine Variety puts it, is classified as a documentary, though it is arguably more like an art project.
That is because director Alfrun Ornolfsdottir, who is also a band member, deliberately blurs the line between reality and scripted performance.
The band have set a real deadline: If they do not find success within a year, they will hang up their instruments.
Presented as part of the Nordic Film Festival, the Icelandic project has been described by film news site Cineuropa as “silly” and “inspiring”, while also being a bittersweet look at “the nagging sense of running out of time, missing that one moment you need in order to finally make it”.
Where: The Projector, 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach RoadMRT: Nicoll Highway/LavenderWhen: Saturday, 8.30pmAdmission: $15 for standard ticket pricesInfo: theprojector.sg/films-and-events/band/
Short films from Sundance Film Festival Asia
The 2023 edition of the Sundance Film Festival Asia was held in Taipei in August and the short film competition nominees are now free to watch on YouTube with the support of media partner TaiwanPlus, the government-linked English-language media platform.
The YouTube playlist includes competition winner Tuo Tuo.
Taiwanese film-maker An Chu’s debut work is a 14-minute drama built on the character of Hai (Sean Huang), a young adult serving his compulsory military duty.
His family operates a deer farm, raising the animals for their antlers, which are used in traditional medicine. While home on weekend leave, Hai discovers that a beloved member of the herd is no longer there.
Info: Watch the nominated films and film-maker interviews on YouTube at youtube.com/@taiwanplusdocs
Short Circuit 7
The festival of short films that celebrate LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) themes returns in October.
Launched in 2006 and back for its seventh edition, its 2023 slate features 11 short films from Singaporean film-makers.
Among them is Leon Cheo’s The 25th Filial Exemplar, a 15-minute drama described by Variety magazine in June 2022 as a story that touches on Chinese norms about firstborn sons and the desire to be the favoured child.
Cheo says in Variety that “as children, we are trained and encouraged from the time we are born to crave approval and attention and love from our parents”.
“I really like exploring the darker side of why human beings do certain things, and the cages that we put ourselves in just to seek that (favour),” he says.
The 25th Filial Exemplar has been selected for the Tribeca Film Festival and the Asian-American International Film Festival.
Each 106-minute screening at Short Circuit 7 includes all shorts, to be followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session with their film-makers.
Ratings for the films are to be confirmed, but The Projector advises those under 21 not to buy tickets.
All proceeds will benefit transgender social service The T Project and LGBT community organisation Oogachaga.
Where: The Projector, 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach RoadMRT: Nicoll Highway/LavenderWhen: Oct 21, noon and 3pmAdmission: $18 for standard ticket pricesInfo: theprojector.sg/films-and-events/short-circuit-7