State of the Arts: Oct 3 to 10

SINGAPORE — The film anthology 7 Letters was again in the spotlight — it was selected as Singapore’s entry for consideration to the Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Film category. It was also screened at the Busan International Film Festival together with 3688, the latest film from one of 7 Letters’ directors, Royston Tan. The festival had also listed Ilo Ilo as one of the 100 best Asian films at No 66. Back home, the Singapore Writers Festival dropped Indonesian poet Sitok Srengenge after an online uproar by the Indonesian arts community for his alleged sexual abuse case. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth launched its Culture Academy, an expanded version of the National Heritage Board’s NHB Academy. NHB also launched a self-guided walking trail along the Singapore River, which features 14 heritage sites. And speaking of the Singapore River, the Asian Civilisations Museum announced it will be opening its waterfront entrance — including F&B options and a new gallery — as well as a new museum wing on Nov 14 as part of the first phase of its revamp. MAYO MARTIN