Delve into the wacky world of surrealism at this year’s Perspectives Film Festival: Breakthroughs in Cinema, where you’ll be immersed into idiosyncratic worlds filled with illogical juxtapositions, fantastical metaphors and quirky characters.
Returning for its ninth edition, the line-up offers seven international titles, four of which are Singapore premieres, while the rest include a digitally restored work, a director’s cut, and a screening with the director in attendance.
Have a look at the films below.
Fantastic Planet
Oct 27, 8pm at National Museum of Singapore
Let your imagination take off in this sci-fi animated flick that introduces you to the planet Ygam, where humans (known as ‘Oms’) live under the oppressive reign of blue giants (known as ‘Draags’) until a technical malfunction opens the eyes of an orphaned Om to the reality of the outside world.
Eraserhead
Oct 28, 8pm at National Museum of Singapore
Turn back the clock to 1977, the year director David Lynch’s feature debut-turned-cult film Eraserhead was released. Before he made critically acclaimed titles like The Elephant Man and Blue Velvet, there was this horror tale about Henry Spencer — a man left to care for his grossly deformed child in a derelict industrial landscape — and his frequent hallucinations and dreams.
Daisies
Oct 29, 2pm at The Projector
Two teenage girls take on strange pranks when they decide to “go bad”, in this 1966 film that’s since been hailed as an exploration into gender identity within then-restrictive communist Czechoslovakia and a pioneer of the Czech New Wave.
The Dance of Reality
Oct 29, 4pm at The Projector
Inspired by director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s growing up years in Tocopilla, Chile, this story dives into the reality of love, loss and growth through his youthful struggles.
Endless Poetry
Oct 29, 7.30pm at The Projector
Another work by Jodorowsky, Endless Poetry follows the events of The Dance of Reality, chronicling the journey of an older Alejandro who escapes from the restraints of his family life and integrates himself into the Chilean art scene.
The Taste of Tea
Oct 30, 2pm at National Museum of Singapore
This eclectic, charming family portrait of a Japanese household in the quaint Tochigi prefecture focuses on Hajime, who’s feeling the heartbreak of an unrequited love, and his sister Sachiko, who’s unsettled by visions of her giant self skulking in the distance.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Oct 30, 7pm at National Museum of Singapore
An extraterrestrial being (played by David Bowie in his first starring film role) crash lands onto Earth in an attempt to find water and save his home planet, but ends up falling in love with a hotel maid.
Perspectives Film Festival: Breakthroughs in Cinema is from Oct 27-30 at National Museum of Singapore and The Projector. $9-$11/ticket; $30-$65/festival pass.
