Programme

Lion City Dance Film Festival proudly presents its Top 10 selection of homegrown dance films in its second iteration, premiering at Shaw Theatres on the 5th of November 2023.
To fight fear is to be afraid and to overcome. The 2023 edition of the festival marks a significant turning point in the development of Screendance work in Singapore. Local artists have fearlessly embraced new heights of creativity and forged deeper connections between the worlds of movement and motion picture, articulating stories, emotions and ideas in previously unexplored ways.
The juried selection of films this year spans a diverse spectrum of genres; from the abstract to the experimental, the narrative to the comical, each film transcends the limitations of traditional thinking about dance on screen. The festival aims to celebrate the fusion of dance and film, and the potential of its growth here in our island home. Whether you are moved by the narrative that is in “Outbreak”, or stunned by the innovative creativity that is “rough draft”, each film presents a powerful new way of thinking about dance film that challenges our perceptions, aiming to showcase local art in a way that’s never been done before.
We hope that you find this year’s festival not only entertaining but also empowering. Each film has been created exclusively for the festival by local artists and selected by a panel of expert judges both native and international. Through this festival, we challenge the fears of creating and showcasing local work and celebrate the Singaporean spirit of courage through the lens of movement on screen.

2023 FINALISTS

BEGONE

An unexpected intruder whispers fear in human ears, challenging bravery beyond measure. Vast disturbances stirs a rousing courage amidst a twist of fates.

Director & Filmmaker: Cheryl Chua

Cast: LumLum

LAUGHTER IS TRAUMA EXITING THE BODY

An experimental dance film exploring the intricacies of intergenerational trauma, its manifestations and cyclicity.

Director: Felix Galistan

Filmmaker: Rachael Soh

Cast: Tamie & Jaymes

LOLLIPOP

A man finds a way to revisit the past as he struggles to let go.

Directors & Filmmakers:
Tania Neo & Randal Ong

Cast: Amira Azwin & Lutfi Dini

OUTBREAK

Fear is constant. In this short film, we share an experience with the protagonist as a dancer questioning his future paths in life while holding on to his past. Growing up in an environment where obstacles and achievements were done together as a crew, he now has to do it all over again, but for the first time, alone.

Director: Hams Luminiq

Filmmaker: Clemens Chua

Cast: Ahmad Zuhri

ROUGH DRAFT

An artist sits in front of her easel.
She is her own canvas.
In her mind, an image of everything she wants to be; and she pours herself into her art. Don't we all?
But as the charcoal dust settles, she finds her magnum opus lacking, its negative space a silent monument to her inadequacy.
She struggles to stay afloat, drowning in the shadow of her future self - of all she expects to be, all she expects to do - haunted by the apparition of unfulfilled potential.
Time ticks by, the shadows grow longer.
Her soul bleeds into the fibres.
But the mirage of perfection is just that, and don’t we all wish sometimes that our older, wiser self would tell us that its okay to just be a
rough draft

Directors: Anne Wang, Eve Tan & Joseph

Filmmaker: Joseph Lim

Cast: Anne Wang & Eve Tan

THE CHICKEN

Seized by an opportunity to leave her coop, the chicken embarks on a journey in search of greener pasture.

Directors: Melissa Toh & Jason Kang

Filmmaker: Valery Tan

Cast: Sammantha Yue

THREADBARE

We alone bear the burden of our baggage. When the weight of our fears holds us back, we have no choice but to pull ourselves together to carry on. Through the nude shades and light greys, we have to learn to operate within the stretch of our own duality.

Directors, Filmmakers & Cast:
Joan Dwiartanto & Lauren Blair Smith

YOU CAN’T DO A THING

We scrutinise and curate how we move through the world for fear of the undesirable and unpredictable in ourselves surfacing. But when we repeatedly recognise this fear as part of ourselves do we shed the instinct to overpower it. Only then do we begin freeing fear instead of fighting it.

Director & Filmmaker: Taufiq Amaran

Cast: Shawn

YOU, AGAIN?

A man goes through his day-to-day routine in fear of judgement from his toxic company only to realise that the main fear he needs to overcome lies deeper within.

Directors: Cher Charmaine & Erika Goh

Filmmaker: Peter Tan

Cast: Louis Chua

ONE KIND

Kendra possesses a unique ability to form deep bonds with the sea's inhabitants. She now hears their anguished cries. Desperate to rescue them, she grapples with fear of standing against her own people. Can she truly affect any change? How will she overcome her dread of those who revel in her friend’s suffering?

Director: Jeng Chang

Filmmakers: Jeng Chang & Eric Darmadi

Cast: Shanice Elizabeth (Lady Bird)