Panel discusses S'pore's future as part of microfilm competition

Mr Royston Tan says his vision of the country's future is one in which different cultures come together. As the country evolves, his goal as a film-maker is to "archive" these changes.
Mr Royston Tan says his vision of the country's future is one in which different cultures come together. As the country evolves, his goal as a film-maker is to "archive" these changes. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

What will tomorrow's Singapore be like? That was one of several questions discussed at a sharing session organised as part of a short film competition themed "My Singapore Future".

Award-winning director Royston Tan said Singapore has been and will continue to be a "migration nation". He was one of five speakers at the session yesterday.

He said his vision of the country's future is one in which different cultures come together. In the meantime, as the country evolves, his goal as a film-maker is to "archive" these changes.

The session was jointly organised by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre and Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.

It was held in the lead-up to the second instalment of their microfilm competition.

The inaugural competition, held in 2014, received almost 120 entries. The registration deadline for the current round is Dec 15.

Participants at yesterday's event, held at the National Museum, also discussed budget constraints, getting clear audio recordings as well as ironing out copyright concerns.

Other speakers on the panel included lawyer Samuel Seow and past award recipients Joyce Lin and Wang Ying Bei, both 17-year- old students from Chung Cheng High School (Main), whose submission took home silver in the most popular microfilm award category in 2014.

The top awards include cash prizes of up to $5,000 and $4,000, respectively, for the open and student categories. There are also awards for best director, best actor or actress and most creative microfilm.

Submissions should not exceed 10 minutes.

The organisers hope participants will look beyond technological progress and explore what the society of tomorrow could be like.

Film enthusiast and budding film- maker Harry Zhang, 35, who works in information technology support, said of the competition: "It's the best platform for an enthusiast like me to showcase my work."

Learn more about the competition by visiting http://microfilm.zaobao.com/

Melody Zaccheus

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 21, 2016, with the headline Panel discusses S'pore's future as part of microfilm competition. Subscribe