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Singapore 2015: The world of entertainment

Ask the average movie fan what the biggest moment on next year’s film calendar is and chances are they’ll say it’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is set for release on Dec 18. However, thanks in part to the SG50 hype that has started gaining ground, Singapore’s movie focus will also be firmly on this little red dot of ours, with 24 homegrown features currently scheduled for release next year (and this doesn’t include short films).

Ask the average movie fan what the biggest moment on next year’s film calendar is and chances are they’ll say it’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is set for release on Dec 18. However, thanks in part to the SG50 hype that has started gaining ground, Singapore’s movie focus will also be firmly on this little red dot of ours, with 24 homegrown features currently scheduled for release next year (and this doesn’t include short films).

Two highly anticipated Singapore movies immediately spring to mind. The first, of course, is the Randy Ang-helmed 1965, which the film’s executive producer Daniel Yun said is about “how fragile racial harmony can be and how we can take it for granted”. It features a plethora of well-known names, including celebrity couple Joanne Peh and Qi Yu Wu, veteran actor Lim Kay Tong, Class 95FM DJ Mike Kasem, singer Sezairi Sezali, Malaysian star Deanna Yusoff and Nicole Seah, who is making her debut acting appearance and first came to public consciousness as a candidate for the National Solidarity Party in the previous General Election.

And then there’s 7 Letters, a film omnibus that comprises seven short films from seven of Singapore’s noted film-makers, including Tan Pin Pin, K Rajagopal, Jack Neo, Eric Khoo and Royston Tan, who is curating this work. Royston himself has a feature offering for next year. Called 3688, it continues the director’s penchant for music-led films, which include his big hits 881 and 12 Lotus. To that end, this new work features a selection of Singapore musicians of past and present, including iconic Malay singer Rahimah Rahim, Chinese pop singer Joi Chua, getai veteran Liu Ling Ling and rapper Shigga Shay.

Another feature that boasts some interesting names in its cast is Khoo’s In The Room. It stars Josie Ho (daughter of Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho), Singapore-based actors George Young, Daniel Jenkins and Koh Boon Pin, as well as Korea’s Choi Woo-shik and Kim Kkobbi, Thailand’s Aeaw, Japanese adult-film actress Shou Nishino and Malaysia’s Lawrence Wong. However, in true Khoo style of using unknown or untapped actors, the ones to watch may actually be new faces Nadia Ar and Ian Tan. Ar was spotted by Khoo in a play by multi-media artist and film-maker Brian Gothong Tan, while Tan is more of a “technical person” who has done theatre. “The guy is a really good actor,” said Khoo. “I’ve always wanted to collaborate with him.”

(In another Eric coup, he secured French superstar Juliette Binoche to star in his segment for 7 Letters.)

In The Room comprises six stories that are set in the same hotel room, spread over several decades, beginning with the 1940s, but it’s not an SG50 film per se, insisted Khoo, although he added: “It’s my Singapore 50 film.”

Singapore’s most recognisable film-maker Jack Neo is probably the busiest of the lot: Apart from his 7 Letters contribution, he has not one, but two features slated for release next year — the Navy-themed Ah Boys To Frogmen (along the vein of his blockbuster Ah Boys To Men about army recruits) and a two-parter called Long Long Time Ago, a more “personal” film about life in the ’60s and ’70s. Like Khoo, Neo is looking for new faces to cast in this movie, and like his recent outings, this will be in two parts: The first will be screened at the end of next year and the concluding instalment in 2016.

 

LOOKING BACK AND FORTH

 

Over in the arts scene, we expect things to be turned up a notch and one can expect an explosion of musicals on next year’s arts calendar. We’re not talking only about international productions such as Beauty And The Beast. In keeping with the “go local” trend, musicals that are expected to hit the stage also include Nanyang The Musical, which will be featured as part of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) and Lee Kuan Yew The Musical, with music composed by Dick Lee who, incidentally, will also be directing another version of Michael Chiang’s Beauty World (he also wrote the music for that). And cross-border collaborations bow in with Singapura: The Musical, which is produced by Manila-based The 4th Wall Theatre Company.

The uplifting mood is reflected in many arts programmes next year. The Substation, for example, will be commemorating its 25th anniversary with a new artistic director at the helm, while the reopening of the National Museum and Asian Civilisations Museum galleries — as well as the launch of the Indian Heritage Centre and the National Gallery Singapore — are more than enough reason to celebrate.

SIFA is obviously the jewel in the crown for the year’s arts festival calendar, which will kick off with the big Singapore Art Week series of arts events, numbering around 100, to complement Art Stage Singapore. SIFA’s 2015 edition will also celebrate the local arts scene with productions featuring the likes of pioneers such as Goh Lay Kuan and Santha Bhaskar, along with performances by comedian Kumar and theatre companies such as W!ld Rice and Cake.

Unlike those prepping for “mega-events” for SG50, the Esplanade will roll out a series of SG50-themed events throughout the year under its usual performance banners. It will focus on visual and performing arts, including a celebration of 50 works from Singapore’s English-language theatre, comprising five full productions and 45 dramatised readings, with works from the likes of Stella Kon (Emily Of Emerald Hill), Tan Tarn How (The Lady Of Soul And Her Ultimate “S” Machine) and Huzir Sulaiman (The Weight Of Silk On Skin), among others.

 

NEW VOICES

 

Meanwhile, musicians in Singapore are getting into the groove of things, with younger players being the ones to catch next year. The first high-profile pop music festival on the calendar, St Jerome’s Laneway Music Festival, will have music collective Hanging Up The Moon (led by former Concave Scream frontman Sean Lam) and synth duo .gif flying the Republic’s colours in the line-up. Less than two months later, one of Singapore’s new jazz bands to hit the scene, Steve McQueens, will take the stage at the Singapore International Jazz Festival (Sing Jazz). Despite being a fairly new band, they have been getting rave reviews wherever they perform.

The same can be said for rapper Shigga Shay, who has a big year coming up. Apart from an acting role in Royston’s 3688, the rapper will capitalise on the one-two punch of 2013’s Lim Peh (featuring his Grizzle Grind Crew mates Tosh Rock and Wang Weiliang) and this year’s Lion City Kia (featuring GGC members LINEATH and Akeem), with the release of his new album, which he said would not sound the same as his previous offerings.

“My second and third singles after Lion City Kia are really different from my usual style,” said Shigga. “Expect new collaborations in my coming singles too.”

Another young singer to keep an eye on is Cherie Ko. Best known as the guitarist for fuzz-pop outfit Obedient Wives Club and rock trio Bored Spies, Ko has a new as-yet untitled album that will be under her Pastelpower moniker. Like Shigga, she will be tweaking her usual Pastelpower synth-led sound.

“For the album, I’d like to have a bigger sound, with more organic instruments,” she said. “Right now, the instrumentation is all-electronic. I would like to add instruments on top of the electronic sounds, with live musicians playing.”

And then there’s Gift Of Song, the songwriting competition that’s meant to uncover new talent from our shores. The call for submissions earlier this year drew close to 1,000 entries from people from all walks of life, but in the end, three were shortlisted: A music duo named Ciao Turtle, chef Lee Chin Sin and graphic designer Andrew Lee.

 

 

 

The three songs will hit the airwaves next month on MediaCorp radio stations and their music videos will be broadcast on MediaCorp TV channels, Out-Of-Home Screens and online at the Toggle website. The public can then vote on which of the three will win the competition. Their votes will contribute 60 per cent of the scores, with the remaining 40 coming from judges Monteiro, Dick Lee and Sydney Tan. The winner gets a cash prize of S$10,000 as well as a music video that will be released in the lead-up to next year’s National Day.

That doesn’t mean the established musicians will slack off, even if two of the biggest names have said they would like to take things slow next year. Chinese pop singer JJ Lin has said he would like to find “more balance in my life and work” and perhaps go back to school to get a music degree. But his scheduled appearance in the Chingay Festival in February is only the tip of the iceberg — his calendar is packed until September, and that includes promotional tours to support Genesis, the new album he’s releasing.

Similarly, jazz veteran Monteiro has a whole series of projects and performances lined up for at least the first half of next year, including a Chinese New Year jazz album, which will comprise traditional Chinese New Year songs as well as several Mandopop classics; a slot at the Sing Jazz festival and the publication of his book, Random Thoughts, a collection of his essays and anecdotes about his life and work. (That’s his version of “slowing down”.)

 

SMALL–SCREEN SPECIALS

 

But perhaps the biggest showing of local highlights will come from MediaCorp’s Channel 5. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock these past weeks, you’ll have seen Bernard Lim, MediaCorp managing director for television, in entertaining (if sometimes cheesy) ads talking about how the channel will be “upsizing” its Singapore-made content.

He said that by July next year, more than half of the channel’s programmes will be local. These programmes include variety and infotainment shows as well as dramas, telemovies and a made-in-Singapore animated show.

And it kicks off on New Year’s Day, with The 5 Show hitting our screens. If you still don’t know, it’s a new live nightly magazine programme hosted by Chua Enlai and Class 95FM DJ Yasminne Cheng who will discuss current hot topics.

There’s also the talent quest, The 5 Search (hosted by Cheng’s fellow radio DJ, Jean Danker), and a long-running local drama series, currently slated to have 199 episodes and set to debut in June. But our eyes will be on the animated series Heartland Hubby, revolving around the family of an ex-army warrant officer who starts a minimart business. It’s Channel 5’s first animated series and will feature the voices of Lim Yu Beng, Petrina Kow, Denise Tan and George Young, among others.

Will this series have as much impact as heartland/family sitcoms Under One Roof and Phua Chu Kang? Well, there is really only one way to find out, right?

 

 

 

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