Shirkers is a monumental attempt to reclaim Singapore’s first indie film in a world that lost and kept it. “When I was 18, the thing I wanted more than anything was to make a movie. I had the idea that you found freedom...
Singapore
Marj Ostani
At the Singapore Writers Festival: time for women to understand other women?
At the recent Singapore Writers Festival (November 2-11, 2018), a panel of three female writers from different parts of the world discussed a woman’s position in society. It ended up a disorienting presentation of...
Melanie Lee
Tsuruko Hanzawa: the Japanese tea ceremony master living like a single flower
It all started with an NHK documentary titled “Tsuruko’s Tea Journey,” a 50-minute program I watched on YouTube one weary evening when I just wanted something frivolous. The documentary followed Tsuruko Hanzawa, a chaji...
Dependence and Disappointment between Mothers and Daughters: Sharlene Teo on her novel Ponti
Sharlene Teo talks about her debut novel Ponti: “I wanted to explore the dependencies and disappointments between mothers and daughters and teenaged best friends.” I almost didn’t read London-based Singaporean author...
A Perfect Day in Singapore for the Genuinely Curious
Singapore for vacation? Yes, here’s why. It’s summertime, the time for vacation. No family duty like in winter holidays, no business trip in a busy season. It’s a leisurely time just for yourself. Sooner or...
Women artists in Singapore: working in and out of the box
Seven Singaporean women from various creative fields tell us what it is like to practice their art in a society that emphasizes efficiency and conformity. While Singapore is better known for its glitzy buildings and...
Review: Margaret Cho in Singapore, ‘This is my sickest show to date’
Cho is hilariously savage and deeply personal in her Asia tour. Margaret Cho enters the stage twerking wildly to a cheering audience. She is decked in black with a spaghetti top that reveals ornate tattoos of peonies...
Women Filmmakers in Singapore: Defiant and Eye-catching
As another blockbuster smashes into the big screen, one might forget that the directors behind it, and every other big-budget studio film, all have indie roots. It’s easy even for an aspiring filmmaker to forget this...
Singapore Writers Festival Talks Sexuality and Desire in Asian Writing
[agg-ad id=”14519″ align=”left”][agg-ad id=”15486″ align=”center”] I wouldn’t have attended a panel on “Sexuality and Desire in Asian Writing” at this year’s Singapore...
Book review: ‘Sarong Party Girls’ by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
“We don’t have any more time to waste! We are not young anymore, you know – Fann just turned twenty-seven, my twenty-seventh birthday is two months away and Imo’s is not far behind. If we don’t get married, engaged or...
Marisa Jue