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Social integration through film: Why not feature real-life stories?

In the past few years, Government agencies have worked hard to connect old and new communities in an increasingly diverse Singapore.

Acclaimed Singaporean film-makers Sanif Olek, Kelvin Tong, K Rajagopal and Eric Khoo were involved in the Republic’s first crowd-sourced competition for short film ideas about cultural diversity. Photo: MCI

Acclaimed Singaporean film-makers Sanif Olek, Kelvin Tong, K Rajagopal and Eric Khoo were involved in the Republic’s first crowd-sourced competition for short film ideas about cultural diversity. Photo: MCI

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In the past few years, Government agencies have worked hard to connect old and new communities in an increasingly diverse Singapore.

There is the National Integration Council’s Community Integration Fund, which subsidises events to urge locals and foreigners to mingle, and the People’s Association’s Integration and Naturalisation Champions, where community leaders welcome new citizens and residents through house visits, parties and festive celebrations.

There has also been an attempt to inspire social integration through film. Last year, the Ministry of Communications and Information launched the Lapis Sagu Film Contest, a crowd-sourced competition for short film ideas about cultural diversity and local-foreigner relations in Singapore, in collaboration with four well-known Singapore film directors — Eric Khoo, K Rajagopal, Kelvin Tong and Sanif Olek.

Named after the popular multi-coloured and multi-layered dessert, the Lapis Sagu Film Contest “celebrates the colourful tapestry of our social fabric, which makes Singapore a rich and vibrant place to live and work”. The film story ideas were to uphold tolerance, understanding and acceptance among the layers of Singaporeans, new immigrants and foreigners.

The winning entries include a zombie tale, and stories set in space, the workplace and the Basic Military Training phase of Singapore’s National Service.

One of the winners said he joined the contest to “capture the kampung spirit between neighbours — how we look out for one another and live together harmoniously”, and another because of her “passion for multiculturalism and multilingualism”.

Yet, powerful as they are, the winning film stories are still fictional and they might not have the same degree of resonance as true-to-life films on human relationships.

A project featuring films on non-fictional multicultural relationships could be more effective in illustrating that, despite the challenges brought by newcomers and an increasingly multi-layered society, real-life stories of integration already exist, if we would only look for them.

As a medium able to disseminate information through entertainment, films can be highly instrumental in depicting and fostering multicultural relationships in Singapore.

In particular, biographical films can be eye-opening and inspiring as they can be more relatable and thus can allow for more audience introspection.

The participation of the four acclaimed directors mentioned earlier demonstrates the willingness of Singaporean filmmakers to utilise their skills and expertise in a project that not only promotes the arts, but also social integration.

It is a cause that has always been and will always be relevant to the multi-layered social fabric of Singapore.

Hopefully, other local filmmakers, especially those whose forte is biographical films or documentaries, will be equally eager to contribute their knowledge for a social integration initiative.

A film project telling biographical stories of meaningful relationships of people from various races and nationalities in Singapore could be more effective in emphasising social integration for three reasons.

First, it will highlight that such relationships actually do exist and persist, and help fight the negativity of websites that have a penchant for publishing stories that portray foreigners in Singapore in a bad light.

Second, it could encourage newcomers to be appreciative of the customs of Singapore society, which has received and — as would be shown by biographical stories — embraced people of diverse backgrounds.

Third, such biographical stories show that integration can and does go deeper, from respecting and accepting to appreciating and valuing a person regardless of their background.

If the social integration of locals, new immigrants and foreigners is to be advocated through film, featuring real people with real relationships that transcend race, culture, and nationality would allow for a deeper insight into the workings of such relationships and encourage viewers to relate and appreciate their own equivalent or similar-type friendships.

As one of the four filmmaker judges, Mr Olek said, “When we talk about integration, we are looking at human stories.”

Real-life human stories can build another layer of understanding that living together is more than everyday greetings and sharing of social spaces, that it can lead to life-changing relationships that transcend racial and cultural differences.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Priscilla Cabuyao is a Senior Analyst at the Centre of Excellence for National Security, a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.

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