Spot the TAK GIU dvd? For his latest exhibition, artist Kent Chan watched all the 700 films shown under The Substation’s Moving Images programme in the last 15 years. Glad he survived! =)

Sindie says: Almost every film submission to that came to the Substation over the last 10 years arrived in humble copy DVDs with handwritten labels. Here are 9 local titles that came in the same humble packaging but shone brighter than the gleam on the silver or bronze finishing of the DVDs. In another 10 years, we may see them in the museum.

Read here for an interview about the exhibition ‘Temporary Repositories’. Tak Giu (Kick Ball) can be watched online, or buy the Hosaywood DVD to support us.

Here’s a teaser poster of the new mini film, Lions All The Way. Finalising edit and will be posted online soon!

Singapore are the champions of the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup! It’s been a while since the 2007 victory where Kwa Giu (Watch Football), a tribute to the old National Stadium was filmed.

Since then, a new breed of fans have emerged: Young, passionate and energetic. They stand and sing throughout the whole match. They wave their scarves in choreographed movements. They form a giant Singapore flag with their placards (called a ‘tifo’). They have a chant for every player.

Other passive fans might say they are ‘sibeh die hard’ or even complain that they are blocking their view. But to me, this is what being a football fan is about. Cheering for the team regardless of win, lose or draw.

Hence Hosaywood’s new project: a mini short film documenting this new football culture, shot in Kwa Giu style. We hope this level of support will spread bigger and wider in Singapore, reaching the fervent atmosphere of European and South American stadiums. Watch out for this film soon. Majulah!

A writeup on SINdie about local filmmakers’ first films… reviewing Tak Giu:

” The warning sign of a man kicking football at a void deck is interpreted instead as the prohibition of kicking any ball at a certain angle just as the man is drawn. It’s a ludicrous interpretation far from reality, but when this huge gap is bridged towards the ending of the film when the boys find their perfect field with the same sign without its prohibitive red lines, it’s a golden and important moment.

We laugh hard at this final happy end, because we hardly expect things to be such…”

Read the full article here. Tak Giu is now available on the Hosaywood DVD.

The 2nd Singapore Short Film Awards happens this week Feb 28 to March 6 2011 at The Substation, Singapore.

An entire week of short film screenings showcasing all Sg shorts made in 2010. Admission by donation, see here for details.
There will also be Singapore’s first film poster exhibition held at the ground floor of Substation!

You may also view the posters online and vote for your fav, including our TAK GIU and KWA GIU posters here.

“I once told a friend I wanted to put up an exhibition of about 100 posters of Singapore films over the last 5 years perhaps. The first thing she said was Singapore got so many films meh?’’
- Jeremy Sing, organiser and founder of SINdieonly

Stanley Huang tickled funny bones aplenty as the ‘cockster’ in Tak Giu. He also directed, wrote and starred in his own film, Pink Boy. We ask the natural-born comedian about his interests and thoughts on an acting career:

Give us a brief bio of yourself.
I’m currently a Multimedia Video Editor with SPH. I enjoy playing games. But my PC is too sucky to handle any high end games and I don’t own any game consoles. Loser hor?

What are some of your favorite films/ actors / plays?
Hot Fuzz. I think the editing is flawless. It’s fun to watch too!
I watched Lion King the musical when I was in London two years ago. I thought it was gonna be a kiddy show. But noooo…. Its was fantastic! They had life size animal structures with actors controlling their movements in them. Amazing act.

Tell us about your film Pink Boy.
Pink Boy was a group project when I was doing my BA. I dyed my socks, shoes and clothes pink as we didn’t have enough pink props. It was a cost saving measure too!

What are some interesting moments while filming Tak Giu?
I had a hard time doing the grass eating scene. Eat grass leh! The expression of mine during that scene was real. No needa act :S

What did you think of your role in Tak Giu?
The character is slightly like a cockster. I think I have no problem playing a cockster as I’m already one in real life. That must be the reason why Jacen wanted me in the film -_-

What do your friends think about your performance in Pink Boy? Any fans?
They were all excited to see me in Tak Giu and Pink Boy as they didn’t know I could act. My friends kept asking me to join Mediacorp -_-
When I won the Fresh Face award at the Canon DVfest, some gals asked if they could have a picture with me. I guess I had a few fans back then, haha.

What about a career in front of the screen (as an actor)?
I just like to have fun in front of the screen. I don’t think i wanna make a living out of it.

You seem to be equally comfortable onscreen and behind the screen. Any preference?
Being on screen is physically tiring. Being behind the screen is both physically and mentally tiring. I’m kinda lazy. So maybe I will just go with being just physically tiring onscreen. There’s no needa think so much heh.

Lastly, any projects of your own in the pipeline?
Maybe? Still at the ‘conceptualizing stage’.

Interviewed by Cyan. Watch Stanley get bullied in Tak Giu and Pink Boy.

Tak Giu & Zo Gang will be screened at Sinema Old School, with other light-hearted films. Free Admission!
25 Nov 08 – 7:30 pm
09 Dec 08- 7:30 pm
16 Dec 08- 9:00 pm

Tak Giu will be screened at Festival of Ideas: Toa Payoh HDB Hub on 8 Nov, 7.30pm – 8.30pm.

What were Hosaywood films doing at a literature seminar? I initially had no idea too. Turns out, it’s really interesting what students are learning in their curriculum these days. Maybe one day, ‘Wah lau eh!’ instead of ‘Thou art something something’ will be in the textbooks =)

The students (from different schools) responded well to Zo Gang & Tak Giu, great to see them ask enthusiastic questions.
Thanks, if you were there and enjoyed the films.

The Singapore football team will soon play the most important matches in the history of local football. Having reached the third round of the World Cup qualifiers for the first time, they stand a good chance of achieving Goal 2010 (The country’s plan to reach the World Cup 2010, which nobody believed in and it was even scrapped).

Because of the upcoming group games in June 2008, FAS/SSC has decided to keep the National Stadium open for another few months/years, anticipating huge crowds to come support the Lions. But during last week’s friendly against Bahrain, only 5,000 fans turned up (it was 500 at time of kickoff, cos people have to rush down after Zo Gang). Maybe they can start the games later at 8pm to enable office crowd to get to the stadium in time.

How many times have I seen a ‘SOS for Kallang to roar’ article in the papers? I have resigned to the fact that fair-weather non-fans won’t turn up unless there’s a chance of winning something (Tiger AFC Cup finals, full house in Jan 2005 and Jan 2007). I estimate there are only 5,000 die hard Lions fans left in Singapore.

There was a closing ceremony match vs Australia in June 2007, and it wasn’t the last ever match in Kallang. Now speaking of last ever match, I’ve been hearing this for almost 4 years now. When will they decide to FINALLY have the last ever match? Many Singaporeans go ‘huh?’ when they hear there are games at Kallang again, ‘hasn’t it already closed?’

Kwa Giu (Watch Football) was filmed in Jan 2007 during the full-house Cup Final. I believe I managed to capture the last-ever full house crowd in Kallang. Believe me, when the stadium is filled, the atmosphere is intense. I will release the film when National Stadium finally closes. Otherwise I may bring a hammer.

But meanwhile, come support the Lions! Click here for details of Singapore vs Uzbekistan (2 Jun), Singapore vs Saudi Arabia (14 Jun).