Liao Jiekai

Red Dragonflies

Liao Jiekai

Rachel and her two friends explore an abandoned railway track that runs through a dense forest, but an unforeseen incident brings their little adventure to an abrupt end. Elsewhere, 26-year-old Rachel rekindles an old friendship with a high school friend. When a little boy from her past reappears, Rachel finds herself retracing a trail of iron and wood. Wistful and mysterious, the film depicts a world littered with incongruity, absences and traces of childhood dreams.

关于记忆

Liao Jiekai

Liu Xiaoyi, Chen Tianxiang

Lost while visiting the graves of his ancestors, the protagonist finds his future self. Together, they embark on a journey of retracing the places their family would visit during the Qing Ming festival of tomb-sweeping. Inspired by the poetry and in memory of Yeng Pway Ngon (1947–2021).

Faraway My Shadow Wandered

Liao Jiekai, Sudhee Liao

When he was a child, Junya promised his maternal grandfather that as the eldest grandson, he would take over the family Shinto shrine. However, this did not come to pass as Junya did not share the same family name and he grew estranged from his family over time. To escape this tension, Junya ventured overseas to pursue other dreams and distanced himself from the hometown where he grew up. One day, while working in an izakaya, he meets a foreigner with the same birthday researching a new dance piece for a film. His fateful encounter leads him to confront a family history that he has left behind and gives the dancer inspiration for her work. Together in the midst of winter, they revisit Junya's hometown to reconnect with his childhood and let go of a promise he cannot fulfil.

As You Were

Liao Jiekai

Cheryl Chitty Tan

Guohui and Peiling were childhood sweethearts who met again after years of being apart and became a couple. On an idyllic island south of Singapore, they spend their last moments together as their relationship falls apart. The film is about the impossibility to know what has made people change. Through the ever-changing landscape, Guohui and Peiling realise that what is transitory is also eternal.

末。时代

Liao Jiekai

Jason Lim, Syimah Sabtu

The Age of Revelation tells the tale of a mythic figure who wanders through the world and observes the slowly growing disconnection between humanity, nature, and humanity’s innate spirituality. A sound-film collaboration between SAtheCollective and filmmaker Liao Jiekai as part of an artist commission by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, this film features choreography by performance artist Effendy Ibrahim and participation by local performers and dance artists as the cast.

蛾の光

Liao Jiekai

Megan Ha Young Mi

A dancer stops speaking to be a "voice" for silent people. Meeting an old artist, she faces her trauma of her mother's disappearance.

Silent Light

Liao Jiekai

An old female voice narrates memories of growing up in a Singapore that no longer exists, the passing of a generation and her acceptance of death; deep into the night, mechanical fans rotate to the rhythm of passing wind, a mourner accompanied by restless phantoms and a lonely moth perched upon the yellow funeral tent; together they welcome the silent light of daybreak.

夏の脱ぎ方

Liao Jiekai

Momoka Sugimoto, Hikaru Saiki

While Tamaki’s partner Sui was away for the summer, she consumed a watermelon seed and began growing a watermelon in her body. They make a promise to eat the ripe watermelon together.

Singapore Cinema: Between Takes

Koh Chong Wu

Li Lin Wee, Royston Tan

From Crazy Rich Asians (2018) to 12 Storeys (1997) to Sumpah Pontianak (The Curse of Pontianak) (1957), Singapore’s film industry is a diverse one and its evolution is nothing short of colourful. Recollecting Singapore’s famed studios in the 1950s to uncovering new waves of filmmakers in 90s and into today’s digital revolution, Singapore Cinema: Between Takes provides an insight into the rich history, and culture of Singapore films and its industry through candid reflections of filmmakers and content creators.

回程667

Eva Tang, Chong Jun Feng

Featuring five short stories of the reflections, interpretations and perspectives as our Singaporean filmmakers go on a journey in search of their cultural roots and how they make Singapore home, the omnibus seamlessly weaves the past and present as generations seek to understand, appreciate, preserve and pass on our heritage.

Clouds in a Shell

Liao Jiekai

Jin is a soldier who questions why he is serving mandatory military service. Yun is a teenage girl who struggles to get along with her foster mother. Their paths cross.

Bukit Orang Salah

Liao Jiekai

At various points in its history, tiny St. John's Island was where Singapore's colonial founder Sir Stamford Raffles docked his ship upon arrival, a quarantine centre for immigrants and pilgrims returning from Mecca, a penal colony for political detainees and secret society leaders, and a sleepy holiday resort. Unlike its neighbouring islands, however, St. John's was never fully developed. It occupies an in-between space, the vestiges of its history scattered around the land. Its indeterminacy stands in sharp contrast to Singapore, where land use is meticulously planned to fulfil economic and social functions. In this film, St. John's Island - otherwise known as 'Bukit Orang Salah', a nickname coined by the people who were quarantined there - becomes a site of and for reflection, prompting questions about our history, heritage and identity.