Forget the Hollywood blockbusters that have been bombing in cinemas lately. Give it up for local films this weekend, with one making its big screen debut and two returning for reruns.
First up, My Love Sinema, a nostalgia-ridden tale set in the 1950s about a decades-long love affair. Tosh Zhang plays Kheong, a naive 20-year-old who moves to Singapore from a kampung in Malaysia to chase his passion for movies and train as a film projectionist. Lee (Jeff Wang) takes Kheong under his wing, and they slowly but hilariously form a brotherly bond, which comes in handy when Kheong falls for Wei (Cheryl Wee), a rich Chinese teacher way out of his league.
So the star-crossed lovers end up having to make a heart-wrenching, life-changing decision that will pave the way to their future. Think of this somewhat as a local version of the sentimental Taiwanese romance, You are the Apple of My Eye.
Opens in cinemas on Sept 8.
Next up, The Songs We Sang, a musical chronicle of the xinyao movement in the ’80s by director Eva Tang. The documentary offers a flashback to the generation of artists that sparked the Mandarin folk music movement, with big contemporary names like JJ Lin and Stefanie Sun making appearances.
Sept 10, 6.10pm at The Projector. $11-$13.
Finally, 1987: Untracing the Conspiracy is a fascinating look at how 22 people were arrested by Singapore’s Internal Security Department in 1987 as part of a security exercise called Operation Spectrum. They were then reportedly accused of their alleged involvement in a Marxist conspiracy to overthrow the government and forced to make public confessions. Years later, these ex-detainees are sharing their version of events to set the record straight.
Sept 11, 2pm at The Projector. $11-$13.
