Scenes of the race riots of the early 1960s juxtaposed against happier occasions among Singapore’s ethnic communities, and a clip of actor Lim Kay Tong as Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew calling for Singapore to be a multicultural nation.
Film-makers Randy Ang and Daniel Yun shared a glimpse of the highly-anticipated film 1965, when they screened the film’s trailer at a press conference yesterday (June 17) at Shaw Lido.
However, both Mr Ang and Mr Yun were quick to reiterate that the movie, which tracks events in Singapore in the early 1960s leading up to independence in 1965, is not just about the race riots.
“It is not a biopic of Lee Kuan Yew, it’s not a propaganda film, it is not a documentary or a political film,” said Mr Yun, the executive producer and co-director for 1965. “It’s a dramatic thriller based on historical events, and touches on something fragile — racial harmony and some of the peace that we experience right now.”
Mr Yun also said the movie was not just about looking back into the past. “Towards the end of the film, we sort of ask, ‘What’s next?’ That really is what this film is about. We showed what happened in 1965, then there’s a segment where we show the present day, but then we ask what’s the next 50 years going to be like.”
More importantly, he added, it stresses the idea of home, a sentiment that actress Joanne Peh, who plays Chinese immigrant Zhou Jun in the film, echoed. “Until I did this movie, I never questioned the sense of home,” she said. “I was born in the ’80s and there was peace and harmony. For (my character), coming from China and settling in Singapore was a temporary situation … but we take (the idea of home) for granted.”
Also introduced at the press conference were the official promotional posters and two songs written for the movie: Selamat Pagi by Sezairi, who also has a role in the film, and a new song by singer-songwriter Gentle Bones.
Mr Yun is aiming high for the movie. “We hoping that this is a movie that can (have) box office (takings) of S$3 million to S$6 million. You never know — we could do better,” he said.
Despite the movie being a period piece set in Singapore, Mr Ang said the film has legs to run well beyond SG50. “There are some universal truths in the film,” he said. “The film may be released for SG50 but even more than that, the racial and social discord (in the film) is something that is still happening. We had it here in the past, but elsewhere it’s still happening.”
Mr Yun agreed that the film could have international appeal, adding that they are looking to market the film outside of the Republic, like in Malaysia, India and China.
Source: www.todayonline.com
