In this second instalment of our Re-Worlding Through Cinema series of film screenings, we delve into the domestic mundane, uncovering how ordinary spaces and rituals are reimagined through varied perspectives. From fantastical to critical, these films reframe everyday experiences, shedding light on the tensions between tradition and individuality, cultural identity and modernity, and consumption and capitalism. Each narrative transforms the familiar into a site of inquiry, exploring themes of belonging, negotiation, and the personal stakes embedded in domestic life. The films challenge understandings of the everyday through their aesthetic and narrative strategies, inviting audiences to reconsider the layered complexities of home and identity.
This screening also features Q&A sessions with the directors of Dirty Laundry, Kyaw Shoon Le Yee, and Eating Fish, Ooi Mae Hweei, who will delve into the themes explored in their films. These discussions will touch on how the films engage with the reimagining of domestic spaces, the negotiation of cultural identities, and the social politics of cultural consumption and production.
Dual-Site Screenings
The screening of Re-Worlding Through Cinema at both NUS Baba House and NUS Museum offers two distinct yet interconnected contexts. At NUS Museum, the films align with exhibitions exploring cultural negotiation, artistic practice, and transcultural exchange, reimagining identity as dynamic and interconnected. Meanwhile, NUS Baba House provides an intimate setting that highlights cultural hybridisation and negotiation as lived experiences, connecting the films to everyday practices of synthesis. Together, these venues frame the films through complementary lenses, inviting reflection on how space and context shape meaning.
Register for 12 Mar (NUS Museum)
(including Q&A with director of Dirty Laundry, Kyaw Shoon Le Yee)
Register for 19 Mar (NUS Baba House)
(including Q&A with co-director of Eating Fish, Ooi Mae Hweei)
Featured Short Films
Bình (2020) | dir. Ostin Fam | 21 min | Vietnamese with Vietnamese and English subtitles | PG
An alien arrives on Earth on a quest to find assistance to rebuild his home. Under dissociated instruction of his spaceship, he makes a stopover at a construction site in Vietnam, where the biggest temple of the world is being built. As the group performs a spirit summoning ceremony, the alien observes these individuals exchanging their different ideas of home.
Dirty Laundry (2022) | dir. Kyaw Shoon Le Yee | 19 min | Burmese and some English with English subtitles | PG
Sandar hangs her underwear outside the house – a blunder that ensues a string of ugly fights and strife. Governed by traditions and rules that she disagrees with, Sandar flounders about for an escape. As tensions rise within the family, Sandar makes a bid for freedom from traditions that pin her down.
Eating Fish (2024) | dir. Ooi Mae Hweei & Wai Zi Ying | 16 min | English | PG
The Yu family is having dinner together, and on the table there is a bowl of live guppies and four fish dishes: Turmeric Fried Fish, Hong Kong Style Steamed Fish, Fish Head Curry, and Otak Otak – all made of tilapia. How did things end up like this?
Related Pages
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