Im Luxuszug durch das Herz Asiens(2004)

Singapore GaGa(zh)

Singapore GaGa is a 55-minute paean to the quirkiness of the Singaporean aural landscape. It reveals Singapore's past and present with a delight and humour that makes it a necessary film for all Singaporeans. We hear buskers, street vendors, school cheerleaders sing hymns to themselves and to their communities. From these vocabularies (including Arabic, Latin, Hainanese), a sense of what it might mean to be a modern Singaporean emerges. This is Singapore's first documentary to have a cinema release. With English and Chinese subtitles.

Carlos Sainz: The Operator(es)

Shirkers(en)

In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan shot Singapore's first indie road movie with her enigmatic American mentor Georges – who then vanished with all the footage. Twenty years later, the 16mm film is recovered, sending Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, on a personal odyssey in search of Georges' vanishing footprints.

Singapore On Film(en)

Rare archive footage reveals what Singapore was like dating back to 1900, showing coolies sharing lunch, rickshaw pullers, a grand Peranakan funeral, and more.

Being and Becoming Chua Ek Kay(en)

The film offers exclusive and intimate insights into how and why the classically trained artist risked rejection to revolutionize the traditional Chinese ink art form in Singapore.

Class Acts(en)

Class Acts is a feature-length documentary tracing the genesis of Singapore's creative scene in the '90s through intimate conversations with its pioneering personalities. These are the stories of individuals who started creating with nothing, who push Singapore’s creative standards even today. The ones who went on to inspire a new generation of musicians, designers, and street artists.

High Point Summer(en)

It's Seattle 2006: A refugee teenager from Cambodia begins recording a video diary early in the summer to explain the meaning of "thug life." But ultimately his summer is defined by tragedy. Awarded Best Documentary at the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival 2019

Modern Heroes Modern Slaves(en)

Each day, thousands of people leave countries like the Philippines to seek work abroad. They work as nannies, domestics, clerks and labourers for low wages and with few rights. What little money they earn they send home to their families. This contribution to their country’s economy has prompted the Philippine government to call these contract workers “modern day heroes.” But that’s only half the story.

Chop Thye Bee(en)

An intimate portrait of an inter-generational family as they bid farewell to the common ground that binds them together.

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn(en)

A documentary directed by Winding Refn's wife, Liv Corfixen, and it follows the Danish-born filmmaker during the making of his 2013 film Only God Forgives.

Petchyindee(en)

An old Traditional Muayboran Monk Champion Master enters the famous Petchyindee Kingdom Muaythai Gym to practice and train a session of Muaythai. In order to regain and recover the technics and skills, he showcases different styles of Wai Kru dances. From Tiger, Snake, Scorpion, Dragon and the spearing warrior dance.

One or Several Tigers(en)

Bomb Hunters(en)

Bomb Hunters is an engrossing examination of the micro-economy that has emerged in Cambodia from untrained civilians harvesting unexploded bombs as scrap metal. The film explores the long-term consequences of war and genocide in an attempt to understand the social, cultural, and historical context and experiences of rural villagers who seek out and dismantle UXO (unexploded ordnance) for profit. Part of a global economy, these individuals clear UXO from their land in order to protect their families from harm and to earn enough money to survive. Bomb Hunters is an eye-opening account investigating the on-going residual, persistent effects of war experienced by post-conflict nations around the globe, and the complex realities of achieving "peace".

The Virgin Trade(en)

An investigation into the nature of the sex trade in Thailand.

Thailand Most Viral Vlogger 2(en)

From love pride parade to the strain hunters of Thailand. A vlogger makes its journey from the side hustle streets of Bangkok, covering the lost gems of Pattaya beaches and the mystical wonders of valuable antiques, amulets and significant temple paintings.

David Suchet on the Orient Express(en)

In this travelogue, actor David Suchet journeys across Europe aboard the world famous Orient Express train, as he prepares to play Poirot in an adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express".

Laya Project(en)

A musical, visual journey. Recorded and filmed on location, it resurrects ancient and forgotten folk music from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, India and Myanmar. The experience is brought to life for a contemporary audience through a minimalist orchestration of modern electronic waves and flows, thereby preserving the integrity of the music. The musicians come primarily from the coastal communities, towns and villages practically wiped of the world map by the Tsunami of December 26, 2004. It's beauty lies in it's purity and simplicity, a non-judgmental point of view. For the international team who came together, Laya Project is a personal and collective tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.

Ode to Book People(en)

Booklovers, booksellers, storytellers and writers can easily squeeze into various demos of important issues. This documentary brings this group of people in the limelight, discussing the value of art space in bookshops. The book-loving director Kong King Chu visited independent bookshops in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia for three to four years, tried to understand how a bookshop can become a dynamic, inspiring and heartwarming space, even these booksellers carry different attitude towards life, books and community, as well as management beliefs. These booksellers do not care about the commercial value emphasized by the capitalist society and they are content in their own way by sharing their enthusiasm about books with the others in spite of all difficulties. Thus, they keep trying new methods to sharpen their touch on social issues and become an important starting point for the general public to reflect upon conflicts in our society.

The Dwarf in China(en)

A dwarf, a dragon, and a golden egg. Yet the real fairy-tale of this film is the journey of Jeanmarie, the Dutch street performer. In an adventurous project, Jeanmarie teams up with youth worker Frank to travel through the last remaining untouched regions of China, performing his new show to local children. As they transport their wondrous music machine from village to village, they bring laughter and intrigue to all who witness their magical performance, reuniting reality with fantasy, Europe and Asia. In a film as imaginative and whimsical as Jeanmarie's play itself, this is a poignant tale of passion and conviction to follow and fulfil your dreams.

The Importance of Being Mlabri(da)

There are only 320 Mlabri people left on this planet. They came out of the jungle in Northern Thailand on the border to Laos one generation ago. The Mlabri people used to be hunters and gatherers. Today they scrape out a meagre existence at the bottom of society working as day labourers for the Hmong farmers, and living in shacks on the outskirts of larger Hmong villages. The Mlabri people are currently going through a transformation process, which has taken many other people thousands of years. Now the young people are faced with the choice of staying with their families in the village or adapting to the Thai society. How do they experience the meeting between their own culture and the local, regional and national majority cultures? In this film young Mlabri tell about their past, present and future as they see it; all expressed in their unique and expressive Mlabri language.