Perspectives Film Festival: Breakthroughs in Cinema (PFF), Singapore’s first and longest student-run film festival, is returning for its 16th edition. This year’s edition highlights sound as the backbone of cinema. The festival features nine films (with four making their regional premiere) at Oldham Theatre from 26th to 29th October 2023.

Ms Ong Tze Kym, PFF 2023 Co-Festival Director says, “We’re taking our audience on a sonic journey, bringing the best of cinema from around the world to Singapore.”

“Unique to this year’s festival, instead of a thematic focus like years past, we explore an underrated but vital technical aspect of filmmaking: sound. With an eclectic range of films that covers celebrated auteurs – Wim Wenders, Satyajit Ray and Derek Jarman, 2023 festival darlings, and underrated gems, the festival boasts something for everyone,” said Mr Daryl Cheong, PFF 2023 Co-Festival Director.

PFF 2023 opens with the Southeast Asian premiere of Perfect Days (2023), Wim Wenders’ latest film. The film is a cosmopolitan story about Hirayama, an unassuming toilet cleaner burdened by his past. Against the backdrop of Tokyo’s towering Skytree, Hirayama’s monotonous life is accompanied by meticulously curated soundtracks punctuating his daily commutes. Upon his niece’s unexpected arrival, he faces a pivotal choice: continue his seemingly carefree existence or confront the shadows that haunt him. A man of few words, Hirayama starts as an enigmatic stranger who rarely opens up. This lack of dialogue encourages the audience to feel as Hirayama does, through his choice of music from Nina Simone to Lou Reed, establishing a more intimate connection than words could achieve.

Marking its 30th anniversary, the festival also presents Derek Jarman’s last film Blue. In the film, Jarman takes audiences on an emotional odyssey, inducing feelings of alienation, loneliness, and disassociated fear through its unique visual approach. Serving as a gripping representation of Jarman’s battle with AIDS, the single field of unchanging colour reflects his deteriorating vision, plunged into blueness as a result of his disease. This is a film that urges audiences to listen. Jarman’s poetic introspections blend seamlessly with the atmospheric soundtrack and evocative soundscapes. The film amplifies the voices of Jarman’s community, weaving together a heartfelt audio collage of hope, pain, and recollection.

In Trances (1981), which was the first restoration for Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, Moroccan director Ahmed El-Maanouni lovingly brings to life the groundbreaking passion and music of the band through a series of candid interviews and electrifying performances by Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane. The film acts as an ode to local heritage, as audiences watch the band’s popularity unfold from their modernization of the Moroccan Gnawa trance-ritual music. Known for their political lyrics blended with traditional Moroccan sounds, the band showcases how music possesses the ability to amplify social and political change.

Audiences can also look forward to a late-night screening of the “horror oddity” The Shout (1978), marking its 45th anniversary and Singapore premiere. In the film, an idyllic English village turns eerie when a stranger unexpectedly turns up at the couple’s doorstep, claiming that he possesses the power of the Aboriginals — the ability to unleash a shout that can kill anyone who hears it. In Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski’s take on occult horror, the tale of a cryptic encounter between a musician, his wife and a stranger is told in flashback from the perspective of an asylum patient. The title of the film promises an evocative soundscape and does not disappoint. Particularly notable for its electronic and experimental music score by the band GENESIS, The Shout bestows upon audiences an innovative aural experience like no other.

The Southeast Asian premieres at PFF 2023 include The Klezmer Project (2023), which traces the journey of Argentine cameraman Leandro, whose innocent white lie for love launches him into a transformative odyssey across Eastern Europe and into the intricate layers of his own heritage. Koch and Schachmann’s stunning directorial debut weaves Transcarpathian folk songs and music into a rich tapestry of stories. As Leandro embarks on his fake mission to document the vanishing tradition of Klezmer, a form of Jewish instrumental folk music, his camera lens serves as a transformative portal. Through it, the audience is whisked into a world where cherished folk traditions spring to life. Expect a joyful immersion in merriment and festivities as the film alternates between interviews and enchanting folk music performances.

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood explores the intimate nature of womanhood, as a group of women commune in a traditional sauna tucked away in the lush forests of Estonia. Behind the protective veil of the smoke and within the darkness of the sauna, the women relay to each other their most intimate thoughts. The arcane ritual of the smoke sauna symbolises a safe space where the women are free to seek solace. The dialogue of the women acts as the primary soundtrack to the film, with the focus being placed on visuals that both abstract and venerate their bodies. Smoke Sauna Sisterhood’s lyrical cinematography confronts its audience with a cacophony of voices divulging the painful realities of womanhood. Yet, the film also brings to the big screen an almost revered depiction of how such conversations are a form of mutual empowerment

Paco (2023) will also be making its Asian premiere. In the surrealist comedy, sound recordist Manny embarks on an unpredictable journey after unintentionally leaving a radio on Hebe, a gig actress. Armed with his recording gear, Manny sets out to track the radio signal emitted by Hebe’s device throughout Adelaide. Sound is the heart of this film, as every auditory detail is recorded exclusively through Manny’s equipment. From the fading melodies of on-screen music to the immersive crashing of waves, the audience is enveloped in Manny’s sonic universe.

Released shortly after the 1964 coup d’etat, Black God, White Devil sees Glauber Rocha following a destitute peasant couple fleeing oppressive working conditions, immersing viewers in the raw veracity of their plight. Amid the economic prosperity of 1960s Brazil, the film delves deeply into the country’s sociopolitical reality and stands as a stark embodiment of deprivation. Drawing inspiration from Brazilian cantadores — folk songs, minstrels, and poetry — the film adopts a unique narrative style. This fusion of folklore and music transports audiences to the heart of the country — unfiltered, unadulterated, untouched. The percussive beats of drums and tambourines, and the chanting tones of the people form a synchronic voice of resistance, rekindling the spirit of revolution stifled by the country’s newly-installed military dictatorship.

Finally, The Music Room, by acclaimed director Satyajit Ray, captures the snapshot of a fading era through the form of rhythmic performances. Huzur, a Bengali landowner, grapples with the final days of the zamindar system, a feudal-like arrangement he benefits from. As one of the remaining Bengali landlords, Huzur reminisces about his previously opulent lifestyle, largely characterised by extravagant shows held in his prized music room. Despite depleting funds, Huzur strains to maintain a facade of his wealth, and futilely struggles to compete with the concerts put on by his younger neighbour.With the incorporation of distinct melodies and elaborate dance sequences as accompaniments to Huzur’s rise and fall, the film utilises music as a tool and portrays it as a bridge through time.

“Perspectives Film Festival has been one of the flagship courses of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for a long time. We are always energised by what different batches of students bring to the table and how they imagine and passionately make the festival their own each year,” said Mr Eternality Tan and Ms Nikki Draper, course coordinators.

Perspectives Film Festival 2023 runs from 26th to 29th October 2023 at Oldham Theatre. Tickets and full lineup available here