Mental Health Film Festival

With seven international films in its line-up, the third edition of the Mental Health Film Festival aims to highlight mental health issues and encourage those in need to seek help through the medium of film.

Check out films such as Full Time (2021, PG13, 87 minutes, Saturday, 2.30pm), a French movie about a single mother who receives an offer to interview for the position of a marketing manager. A panel discussion on mental health in the workplace will follow after the film. 

There is also Aloners (2021, PG, 91 minutes, Sunday, 7pm) – a South Korean movie that revolves around Jina, a top employee at a call centre. She lives on her own, is withdrawn from society and avoids close relationships until her neighbour dies suddenly alone at home. There is a panel discussion on isolation after the film.

Paired with another panel discussion on accessing mental healthcare in Singapore is the Japanese documentary Mental (2008, PG13, 135 minutes, Sunday, 2.30pm), about an outpatient mental health clinic in Japan, where the topic is often considered taboo.

Where: Filmgarde @ Leisure Park Kallang, Level 3 Kallang Leisure Park, 5 Stadium Walk
MRT: Stadium
When: Friday to Nov 13, various timings
Admission: $15 a film from Filmgarde Cineplexes
Info: www.mentalhealthfilmfest.sg

Ajoomma (NC16)

90 minutes, now showing

Ajoomma, the directorial debut of Singaporean director He Shuming and starring long-time television actress Hong Huifang, is now screening in cinemas here.

The movie has several nominations at the upcoming Golden Horse Awards ceremony in Taipei – including Best Leading Actress for Hong, Best Supporting Actor for her Korean co-star Jung Dong-hwan, Best New Director for He and Best Original Screenplay.

It is also one of the top-performing movies in Singapore since it opened in theatres on Oct 27.

Hong plays a Singaporean widow who is obsessed with K-dramas and takes a guided tour to South Korea to see famous filming spots. But unforeseen circumstances leave her accidentally stranded and lost in Seoul. Her solo adventure leads her to form a connection with an elderly widowed security guard (Jung) and rediscover her own identity. 

Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities

Netflix

Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, 2006) has curated a new horror anthology series, which is among the top 10 most viewed series on Netflix Singapore.

It comprises eight episodes of self-contained stories, each delving into the supernatural and macabre – from a man who buys over an abandoned storage unit and unintentionally summons a demon to a sheriff who investigates a dead body in the woods.

Every episode is helmed by a different director handpicked by del Toro, whose own short stories were adapted into two episodes. Film-makers tapped include Iranian-American Ana Lily Amirpour, who directed the vampire western A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014), and Australian Jennifer Kent, known for the unsettling horror movie The Babadook (2014).

Actors who appear in various episodes of the series include Ben Barnes, Rupert Grint and Andrew Lincoln.