A night with Royston Tan - via youTube

I have to admit to spending too much time on youTube tonight - chasing links and checking out everything that has been uploaded related to Royston Tan. A Singaporean filmaker who has gained prominence internationally and who Time magazine described as being an Asian "iconoclast". Check out this essay written by Kenneth Tan, chair of the Asian Film Archive.

Royston's showreel above highlights his eye for beautiful composed pictures in his films. And that's what films are - stories captured in a sequence of pictures moving at 35fps. I haven't yet watched all of Royston's works, but his upcoming flim "881" looks like something that I really want to watch when we travel back to Singapore. Check out the trailers below:





Some background for non-Singaporeans. The film revolves around the "ge tai", or literally translated the "song stage", which takes place annually during the Seventh Month (or the Hungry Ghost month) of the Chinese calendar. Traditionally, Chinese opera performances would be held on the Seventh Month of each year - the only month in the year when the Gates of Hades are thrown open, and ghosts, spirits and all departed souls make their annual pilgrimage back into the land of the living.

As a way of placating these spirits, temples and clan associations would host performances that take place on temporary stages like the one seen in Royston's clip above. The performances tend to be loud, boisterous, noisy, and sometimes seen as annoyances when performed close to residential areas. But these performances are highly popular amongst the older folks back home, primarily because the night's proceedings would usually take place in Chinese dialect, Hokkien being the most popular.

However, there's been a fair degree of romanticization of ge tai performances, especially amongst arts practitioners. It's a theme that has emerged in a variety of plays, books and films in the recent past. I personally feel that it's a way for Singapore artistes to grasp onto an "authentic" local art form in a country that is made up of immigrants from all over. Additionally, the ge tai is an art form that makes sense to the Chinese in Singapore, but its frequent appearance in popular culture speaks to need to hear about the nostalgia held by the other ethnic groups in the country as well. Anyway, enough with my views... Royston's film looks like it's going to be huge and fun to watch and we are definitely looking forward to catching it on the big screen in Singapore.

** Update:
I found yet another clip. This time of the director and his two lead actors performing in a traditional ge tai style ... and in, of all places, Central Park in NYC!!! This was part of the Singapore Day festivities that was held earlier this year in Manhattan.