Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Opera Singer Leslie Tay

Opera singer and tenor Leslie Tay has been on the local and international scene for years. Leslie has graced stages as prestigious as New York’s Carnegie Hall (with the New York Lyric Opera) in 2009, and even sang with the Boston Lyric Opera and performed with New York companies such as Dicapo Opera and Bronx Opera. Professionally trained at the Boston Conservatory, Leslie is also … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Opera Singer Leslie Tay

Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Sean Ghazi In Kuala Lumpur

Bakchormeeboy in Kuala Lumpur – Sean Ghazi won the hearts of Singaporeans in 1995 when he won the inaugural Singapore Fame Awards. Since then, the Malaysian-Singaporean actor began a long and illustrious career in singing and acting, gracing even the West End and countries as far flung as Dusseldorf only had the chance to perform a single solo concert here, coming back on occasion and … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Sean Ghazi In Kuala Lumpur

Artist Spotlight: A Meeting with SGIFF Silver Screen Award Nominees Ana Urushadze and Tan Seng Kiat (SGIFF 2017)

  As the 28th Singapore International Film Festival draws to a close, we got a word in with directors Ana Urushadze and Tan Seng Kiat, both competitors for the Best Asian Feature Film at the Silver Screen Awards (won by Iranian Ali Asgari’s Disappearance). Both are first time feature directors, with their films Scary Mother and Shuttle Life respectively screened at this year’s SGIFF, and shared their thoughts on … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: A Meeting with SGIFF Silver Screen Award Nominees Ana Urushadze and Tan Seng Kiat (SGIFF 2017)

Artist Spotlight: An Interview with the Cast and Creatives Behind Oh Lucy!

At the 28th Singapore International Film Festival, we got a chance to speak to the director and cast of the final Special Presentation film of the festival: Oh Lucy! At the In Conversation session hosted by moderator Anita Kapoor, who asked some truly brilliant questions, we were privy to some of director Atsuko Hirayanagi and cast members Shinobu Terajima and Shioli Kutsuna’s most personal thoughts and … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: An Interview with the Cast and Creatives Behind Oh Lucy!

Artist Spotlight: Jenny Suen, Co-Director of The White Girl (SGIFF 2017)

Hong Kong filmmaker Jenny Suen has a strange relationship with her home country. Like many artists, she felt stifled growing up in the congested, business-centric city and wanted out. But upon moving to America for her studies, she felt a sudden pang of homesickness, and when she watched Wong Kar Wai’s In The Mood For Love for the first time, she was suddenly struck with how beautiful … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Jenny Suen, Co-Director of The White Girl (SGIFF 2017)

SGIFF 2017: Getting to Know the Youth Jury and Critics

At the 28th Singapore International Film Festival, the Youth Jury and Critics Programme makes a welcome return, with the aim of nurturing a new generation of young critics from the region. Since October, the thirteen participants have been meeting every Saturday to attend lectures from various personalities in the industry, ranging from TV presenters like Genevieve Loh to Vietnamese filmmaker Tran Anh Hung. The participants … Continue reading SGIFF 2017: Getting to Know the Youth Jury and Critics

Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Anup Singh, Director of The Song of Scorpions (SGIFF 2017)

In 2001, Geneva-based, Tanzanian-born director Anup Singh made waves around the film festival circuit with his debut feature film The Name of a River. His exploration of Indian culture and mythology through oneiric cinematography and mythic narratives continued in his sophomore feature Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost in 2013 and marked his first collaboration with Indian film actor Irrfan Khan. Anup’s latest film The Song … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Anup Singh, Director of The Song of Scorpions (SGIFF 2017)

Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Kan Lumé, Co-director of hUSh (SGIFF 2017)

  Kan Lumé is an award-winning director and filmmaker based in Singapore. Over the years, he’s worked on various television programmes for Mediacorp, before making his mark as a rising star in the new generation of filmmakers. Kan’s feature films have picked up multiple awards and accolades, including the Best Newcomer Award at the Torino Film Festival for Solos (2007), the NETPAC Award at the … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Kan Lumé, Co-director of hUSh (SGIFF 2017)

Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Xu Bing, Director of Dragonfly Eyes (SGIFF 2017)

Chinese visual artist Xu Bing is primarily an installation based artist. But in 2017, he made his film directorial debut with Dragonfly Eyes, snagging the FIPRESCI Prize and Special Mention: Ecumenical Jury at the Locarno International Film Festival 2017. Dragonfly Eyes continues Xu’s ongoing exploration of communication and the way we interact, carefully editing down over 11,000 hours of footage obtained from surveillance cameras to create a completely unstaged, … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: An Interview with Xu Bing, Director of Dragonfly Eyes (SGIFF 2017)

Artist Spotlight: Vivian Qu, Director of SGIFF 2017 Opening Film Angels Wear White

Vivian Qu has plenty of producing credits to her name and is a star in the Chinese independent film community, having produced arthouse films such as Knitting (2008), Night Train (2007) and Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014). But besides producing, the Chinese filmmaker also has a firm hand on creating her own works,  having scripted and directed her critically acclaimed debut Trap Street in 2013 and with it, becoming the first Chinese female filmmaker to … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Vivian Qu, Director of SGIFF 2017 Opening Film Angels Wear White