Report on East-Asian Cinema

Abstract

EMERGING TRENDS: A PERSONAL VIEW From Singapore three out of four of its cinematic efforts produced in the last two years were shown in Penang's First East Asian Film and Television Festival held in Pulau Pinang (Malaysia) from 27th August to 3rd September 1997. These were Lim Suat Yen's The Road Less Travelled, Eric Khoo's 12 Storeys and Ong Keng Sen's Army Daze. The film not included was the sensationalistic Dog or God by Hugo Ng. Singapore's film history of only two years makes it still too early to observe any emerging trend in terms of themes or preoccupations, much less trends that are likely to influence other filmmakers. Nevertheless, the island-state, better known for its clean, efficient and scrupulous government, is proud to have produced four features to date. A horrendous attempt at filmmaking was first made by beauty pageant promoter Errol Pang in 1991. Going by the...