This week, don’t miss out on the opening of Da:ns festival, the Esplanade’s annual event dedicated to celebrating dance and movement in all its various forms.
Then, there’s also the popular Japanese Film Festival, which will be showcasing a mix of contemporary and classic Japanese films, while design lovers should not miss out on ArtScience on Screen: Textures Of The City, a series of films that complements the ongoing Archifest 2021 and examines the fraught, beautiful and tenuous relationships people have with their cities.
The Japanese Film Festival is one of Singapore’s longest-running festivals that dates back to 1999 and one of the most popular on the crowded film festival calendar.
This year’s edition features 33 works curated over seven sections, with several films available for online viewing. It’s also an extra-special edition as this year marks the 55th anniversary of Singapore-Japan relations – SJ55 – and well, what better way to celebrate this friendship than with a well-curated line-up of contemporary and classic Japanese films?
For arthouse fans, there’s the PIA Film Festival Retrospective – six indie works selected from Japan’s annual PIA Film Festival which spotlights budding filmmakers as well as a special focus on auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s films, both screening at Oldham Theatre. And advocates for women in film should definitely check out Female Perspectives, where works by four of Japan’s most respected female filmmakers will be screened at The Projector.
Check out the full line-up here.
On now till October 31
Archifest 2021 is currently ongoing and to complement it, ArtScience Museum is putting on series of films titled ArtScience on Screen: Textures Of The City. Held in conjunction with the Singapore Pavilion at the 17 International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, the event can be described as love letters to cities – or as the press release puts it, “celebrating their urban spirit, textures, its people, and how we can all build a more inclusive world”.
There are a total of seven features and three short films, all of which tackle topics such as inequality in cities, marginalised communities that are left out during the urban planning of a city, such as migrant workers and low-income families. At the same time, the films also remind us of the beauty of human relationships and how they can be harnessed in urban design to shape a more inclusive society.
Many of the films are premiering in Singapore and even Asia for the first time and tickets are moving fast – check out the full line-up here.
On now till November 19, at ArtScience Museum
FEMALE‘s July 2021 issue was focused around dance as an art form, its benefits for the body and mental-well being as well as its relationship with fashion. If that has piqued your interest in this kinetic art form, be sure to check out the Esplanade’s signature Da:ns festival, one of the most prominent annual showcase of dance and movement in all its various forms.
With the pandemic still presenting many restrictions, art forms which depend on live performances have been among some of the worst hit niches within the creative scene, and that obviously includes dance. Working with that in mind, this year’s festival, now in its 16th year, explores finding new ways to dance – inviting artists and audiences alike to turn their attention towards new perspectives on the body and physical touch, new ways we experience, express and watch dance, as well as the relevance and power of dance, especially so in these challenging times.
Highlights include In Good Company, not the clothing label but rather, the newly commissioned works by five leading contemporary dance companies in Singapore (P7:1SMA, T.H.E Dance Company, CHOWK Productions, Frontier Danceland and RAW Moves) that represent their identity and artistic direction for the near future.
Street dance fans can also look forward to an interactive face-off featuring powerhouse couple ScRach MarcS, where audiences get to play the role of judges, and as a special treat for those who sorely miss clubbing, there’s Dissemination Everywhere!, a silent disco activity put on by German studio Ligna. It’s a rich and nuanced line-up, so don’t miss out.
More details here.
October 8 to October 17, Esplanade