Last Screening at Sinema!

Catch the Documentary on the big screen for the last time at Sinema - 8 Nov, 830pm!

For more information, please visit www.sinema.sg

Please help spread the word around.

cheers!

Screenings in September at Sinema

Screenings in September at Sinema

Sinema is starting a new themed night every Friday from September onwards that is dedicated to women. They are screening Women who Love Women as part of this over 2 Fridays in September:

- 5 September, 9.30 pm

- 12 September, 9.30 pm (with talkback with director, Lim Mayling)

For more information, please visit www.sinema.sg

Please help spread the word around.

cheers!

More Screenings at Sinema in August

More Screenings at Sinema in August:

• Thursday, 14 August, 6.45 pm
• Thursday, 21 August, 9.30 pm

Venue: Sinema @ Old School (11B Mt. Sophia Road)
Tickets: $8 each
Ticketing Hotline (Sinema): 63369707

[Tickets to be reserved over the ticketing hotline; payment and collection of tickets only at Sinema itself]

For more information: www.sinema.sg

Please help spread the word!

Docu Screening at Q! Film Festival Jakarta

We are being screened this coming week on 11 August (7 pm) and 14 August (8 pm) at different venues. For more information, please visit www.qfilmfestival.org. Please help spread the news to family/friends in Jakarta. The Q! Film Festival will also tour to Jogjakarta and Bali.

Final Screening of the Documentary at Sinema on Saturday 26 July at 2pm

Hi!

There'll be a final screening of the documentary at Sinema on:

Saturday, 26 July 08, 2 pm

Venue: Sinema @ Old School (11B Mt. Sophia Road)
Tickets: $8 each
Ticketing Hotline (Sinema): 63369707

[Tickets to be reserved over the ticketing hotline; payment and collection of tickets only at Sinema itself]
For more information: www.sinema.sg

cheers!

Screenings in July @ Sinema

Screenings in July @ Sinema

Sinema is extending our run again in this month of July, but are programming only 2 weeks in advance. Our confirmed screening so far is on:

Saturday, 12 July, 2.30 pm

The 2 pending screenings, depending on how ticket sales go are on:

Thursday, 17 July, 6 pm

Sunday, 27 July, 7 pm

An update will be given if the latter two screenings get confirmed. However, in the meantime if you can only make these latter screenings, call Sinema and let them know anyway and if there's enough interest, I'm sure they'll open up the screening.

Venue: Sinema @ Old School (11B Mt. Sophia Road)
Tickets: $8 each
Ticketing Hotline (Sinema): 63369707

[Tickets to be reserved over the ticketing hotline; payment and collection of tickets only at Sinema itself]

For more information: www.sinema.sg

Extended Screenings in June

Extended Screenings in June

Sinema has extended our screenings to 3 more in June, as part of the Singapore Encore series from the Singapore International Film Festival 2008.

Details of the screenings are:

Sunday, 15 June 3 pm

Saturday, 21 June 9 pm

Sunday, 29 June 7 pm

Venue: Sinema @ Old School (11B Mt. Sophia Road)
Tickets: $8 each
Ticketing Hotline (Sinema): 63369707

[You need to reserve tickets over the ticketing hotline; payment and collection of tickets only at Sinema itself]

For more information: www.sinema.org/oldschool/

SIFF Review by Mathias Ortmann

SIFF Review
Mathias Ortmann | April 26, 2008

Amongst the 14 feature-length films and the four
shorts screened at the first ever Singapore Panorama
section at Sinema Old School during SIFF, there was
one documentary about the lives and times of lesbians
in Singapore. The film is Women Who Love Women:
Conversations in Singapore by Lim Mayling.
The five sell-out screenings proved the point that
there is a need for the candidness the title suggests
– let’s talk straight about being queer. Indeed, it is
the totally uncompromised approach of having three
women basically tell their personal life stories to
the camera and sharing their thoughts and experiences
openly which make the film work and worth watching.

You enter a conversation with three young women,
Sabrina, Amanda and Gea Swee, who let you in on the
stories of how they discovered their love for women
and how they established themselves in their otherness
– which turns out to be pretty normal after all. In my
opinion, that is the most refreshing and encouraging
aspect of the film: to witness a degree of clarity and
self-assuredness that is authentic and ready to tell.
The real revelation is in showing once more how the
homosexual experience (in coming out especially) is a
journey on a path of liberation, self-discovery and
universal character building. At the base of this
wholly personal pursuit is the belief that human
nature will express itself, and most truthfully when
not coerced into something which it is not, the
mandatory blending in with the norm – and this is
again, a joining find.

The level of engagement that is apparent in most of
the film’s 65 minutes of footage is nothing short of
impressive, with the un-staged presence of “real”
people who have something to say about themselves
which is not exhibitionist or vain. The interview
atmosphere and the achievement of getting to the heart
of the matter betray a technique of empathy and
identification on the part of the interviewer and
director Mayling, which is expert as much as it is
psychologically profound and frank.

Because it is nothing but talk, the film is as simple
– there is no revealing glimpses into some alien life,
even the questions are not heard but very naturally
retreat into the matrix setting of a forum provided
for the sake of having this as honestly and open an
account as possible. There is no finesse and little
refinement in this documentary, and this is its
greatest strength.

So, you will get to know them, these three, through
the straightforward arrangement and their willingness
to talk with a refreshingly uninhibited way of
addressing the issue of what it means to be a
homosexual in Singapore; and it is truly disarming.
And why not? It can be so easy, and it should be –
there is nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian, we
know this of course, but the social stigma is around
and persists. You will encounter this as well in the
film, not so much verbally, as by way of a striking
absence of the protagonists’ lovers and family. It was
part of the original idea to include them, but in the
end this testifies to the fact that for all the
frankness of these one-on-one conversations, it
remains a closed-room topic, an uneasy topic with
wider ramifications.

This is why the camera provides a crucial opening –
the confiding in film and putting a positive message
of affirmed lives of lesbian women on screen – it is a
pioneering task. Obviously it is important and there
is a need to address the issue and make it a case that
although discrimination may be subtle these days, it
does not make it any less disrespectful or wrong.

Upon reading this review, you’ll probably notice how
any discussion of Women Who Love Women becomes a
discussion of the very theme it is about, and in any
documentary of such kind, this has to be reckoned as
an achievement. Therefore – do not take it as anything
other than a political statement. There is a case
being made here that is very much needed, and just at
a time when MDA handled incoming complaints about a
commercial by dealing out a fine for the depiction of
two women kissing, “as if it was appropriate” to do
so.

Any more questions, anyone?

Screenings at Sinema confirmed!

Yay! We've gotten the go-ahead from MDA for the 4
additional screenings of the documentary at Sinema.

Here's the updated schedule of screenings:
- Saturday, 17 May, 9 pm
- Sunday, 18 May, 5 pm
- Sunday, 25 May, 9 pm
- Sunday, 1 June, 7 pm

Venue: Sinema @ Old School (11B Mt. Sophia Road)
Tickets: $8 each
Ticketing Hotline (Sinema): 63369707
[You need to reserve tickets over the ticketing
hotline; payment and collection of tickets only at
Sinema itself]

For more information: www.sinema.org/oldschool/

There will be a Q&A session with the team after each
screening.

Cheers, and please help spread the word around! :)

More good news!

More good news!

More screenings of Women who Love Women will be presented at Sinema in May! :) Well, pending MDA's reply to our application which we hope to receive by 2 May 08. This will be part of a Singapore Panaroma Encore series where some of the local films in the recent SIFF will be brought back.

Here are the dates and times for the 4 screenings:
- Saturday, 17 May 08, 9 pm
- Sunday, 18 May 08, 3 pm
- Sunday, 25 May 08, 7 pm
- Saturday, 31 May 08, 9 pm

There will also be a Q&A session at the end of each screening where the docu team will be there.

So please note the screenings in your schedules if you're interested to come watch, and please help spread the word around! More information coming your way soon.

Cheers,

Su-Lin:)

Review by Stefan from anutshellreview.blogspot.com

[SIFF08] Women Who Love Women: Conversations in Singapore

Just for the record, Women Who Love Women was the last of the films in the Singapore Panorama section to have its tickets released for sale. I had all the tickets for the other films ready, but of course an In Camp Training stint meant that when the tickets were available, I couldn't get any. And they were sold out in record time too! Then another screening was available, and that was also sold out faster than you can say "Women". Finally, I managed to get a ticket for the last screening, which was tonight, and even then, the film played to a sell out crowd.

Which brings me to wonder, whether the crowd was going to be primarily made up of the GLBT community, and looking at the rate at which tickets have been sold out, there's no denying that the numbers are increasing / coming out of the closet / niche market / etc, but there were of course, the curious souls like me, besides the fact that I'm doggedly persistent in wanting to watch every movie in the Panorama, who want to know and understand more, but having no clue how to, and this documentary allowed for the shedding of some insight. Granted it's rated R21, but no, it's a fairly serious subject, and allowed for the opening of minds.

Of course I would say that it is stupid if anyone were to remotely suggest that after watching this, one would completely change their lifestyle, or be immensely affected by it to want to do so. Good thing it wasn't censored or banned, and was allowed to play during the SIFF in its entirety. It's presentation as a documentary was simple, featuring solely the talking heads of 3 Singaporean lesbians - Amanda Lee, Sabrina Renee Chong and Gea Swee Jean. Shot in 2006, they offer very honest, candid views of their lives, the discovery of self, and of course, the inevitable discrimination and the grappling of issues such as relationships and the defining moment when they chose to come out of the closet.

However when the documentary started, I thought that there could possibly be something that was a little off, as accounts of failed relationships from a very young age, or from a traumatic experience, seemed to have put the community in bad light, or provided a portrayal that relationship matters were treated casually and trivially. Of course it was easy to pass judgement on the attitudes and trivalities placed towards relationships, but as the documentary went on, it set to clear this up, and you get embarassed that you'd have fallen into convention, and have judged, prematurely and incorrectly.

It's not all deadpan serious, as there were enough comical anecdotes to lighten up the mood, despite the discussion on real issues that real people face, and the raising of awareness on things like how labelling and the provision of terms both help and sometimes box mindsets for those who are coming out. Little things become distinguishing factors too, and you're bound to obtain new insights, such as how easy it is to be mistaken in salutations. And I thought it covered good ground with the various age groups covered, and touching on religion and the penal code were inevitable too.

But if I had some minor gripes, it would be the initial presentation style of the interviews. I guess the subjects might not have spoken in complete, fluent sentences, but the cuts employed to join sentences and words together were too fast and furious that.it.made.it.sound.like.that. I would've preferred to have allowed the dialogue to play out as it was, or at least cut sparingly. Later on however it became smoother, especially with the use of fading in/out, but prior to that, the cuts were too excessive.

The other peculiar observation I had made was, and I've to determine this from the filmmakers (if I can!), was why no family members were interviewed on screen. We've seen their friends (though not necessarily their partners, who might make interesting subjects themselves, but probably will dilute the focus on the 3 representatives) talk about their feelings and reactions to discovery, but for the family's reaction, we're only given an account from the interviewees themselves. I guess it could be either the filmmakers were unsuccessful in engaging them, or the families were reluctant to say anything on record in front of the camera because they were still disapproving.

If there was anything that a straight guy like myself could get out of this documentary, that would be to not pass fast judgement on others who are different. We should be celebrating diversity, not discriminating against differences. Everyone has feelings, like it or not, and it's easy to hurt people without sometimes even knowing it, and it's easier to do so when you don't seek to first understand. While we think we know some of the issues they face, nothing beats hearing it from the horse's mouth, so to speak, and if you don't have lesbian friends, then I guess the next best thing to begin with, is through this documentary. Watching it with the correct audience helped too, because if there was any hint of inaccuracies, pretentiousness and the likes, you can be sure you're gonna get an instant reaction from the audience, and probably hear a boo or two. This one passed with flying colours.

http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2008/04/siff08-women-who-love-women.html

Review by Mervyn Tan

I attended the screening of WWLW at Sinema on Saturday, and I found it to be an extremely moving, honest piece. I really appreciated the manner in which you approached the film from an angle that seeked to create greater awareness on gay relationships, and in the process, normalise people's warped thoughts on gay relationships. I think this is the key point in which your film differs from most of the lesbian awareness films out there in that it doesn't seek to drive a point, or push an agenda too hard. Instead, it just presents a peek into the lives of these brave and interesting women, and asks questions which everyone would love to know the answers to but never dared to ask.

I would really like to thank you for your creative direction in making this film as I feel that it was a really masterfully produced and directed piece of work, and there was wonderful editing that maintained most of the integrity of the characters' feelings.

Thanks for the great film!

ST Article - Love Ladies (April 6, 2008)

April 6, 2008
Love ladies

A documentary about three lesbians has become a quiet hit at the Singapore International Film Festival

By Deepika Shetty

When Su-Lin Ngiam posted an online call in 2006 asking lesbians to share their experiences for a documentary she wanted to make, no one came forward.

'It shows there is a lot of fear when it comes to talking about same sex relationships in public,' says the theological studies student.

Given the lack of response from the community, Ngiam, 34, turned to her friends and three agreed to talk on camera.

Ms Sabrina Renee Chong, 40, a freelance events consultant and photographer, Ms Amanda Lee, 24, a student, and Ms Gea Swee Jean, 24, a business & IT marketing professional are featured in the 65-minute documentary, Women Who Love Women: Conversations In Singapore.

The documentary, which has an R21 rating, has proven to be a small hit at the Singapore International Film Festival. Four screenings have already sold out and tickets to the fifth screening today are selling fast.

The documentary is being screened at Sinema, Old School, in Mount Sophia, which has a seating capacity of 130.

Mr Philip Cheah, 50, the festival director, says the documentary has made an impact because 'you see people as themselves. The fact that these women have come such a long way in realising their dreams is moving people and encouraging them to watch it.'

Director Lim Mayling, 28, an events coordinator who studied film-making, says she is surprised at the warm response. The documentary was screened privately last year at the Pelangi Pride
Centre in Tanjong Pagar.

She says she shot the three women talking about their lives and the 'talking heads' technique goes against what she was taught in her media studies course at the University of Buffalo in the United States.

'But in this case, it works, it is the story of their lives and my idea was to get it across as honestly as I could.'

Ms Chong says she agreed to appear in the documentary because she wants to share her experience with other people who are in the same situation.

'When I was growing up, the Internet was non-existent, there were Hardly any support groups, you couldn't come clean.'

She says that she never came out to her family 'officially' . Her parents Split up when she was two years old and she was brought up by her grandmother and other relatives. Her father later died and her mother is in Canada.

'My grandmother knew about my sexual orientation but we never talked about it. But she and my relatives accepted it.'

Her girlfriend, a 30-year-old producer, joins her family at family events.

Ms Lee, an undergraduate at the Australian National University, Canberra, had a harder time with her family when she told her mother that she is gay.

There were 'a lot of tears, angry words' and her mother, an office administrator, refused to accept her sexual orientation.

'Our relationship deteriorated because I could not share an important part of my life with her.'

But her mother has since come around and comforted her when one of her relationships failed, she says.

The third woman in the documentary, Ms Gea, declined to be interviewed.

Ms Chong thinks that the climate has become more tolerant of gay people in recent years. Government leaders have spoken of treating homosexuals like everybody else and employing them in the civil service. She says: 'People don't fall backwards when they see gay women holding hands.'

But the biggest comfort for her has been the acceptance of her family.

'When my grandmother passed away when I was in my late 20s, my girlfriend and I were by her side. I think what was important for me was the fact that my grandmother loved me unconditionally through all of it.' Sabrina Renee Chong

deepikas@sph.com.sg

Women Who Love Women: Conversations In Singapore is showing at
the Singapore International Film Festival. For details, visit www.filmfest.org.sg

http://www.straitstimes.com/ print/Lifestyle/Hot/Story/ STIStory_ 224109.html

5th Screening Confirmed

Yup! The 4th screening has sold out. Check the sidebar for details on the 5th screening and also look out for an article with us in this week's Life!

See ya! :)

4th Screening Confirmed

Good news! The additional screening of the documentary has been sold out but a 4th screening has been added on Sunday, 6 April 2008, 7pm at Sinema.

Get your tickets from SISTIC or visit www.filmfest.org.sg

Cheers! :)
Su-Lin

Possible 4th Screening of Documentary for SIFF

The three screenings for the documentary have been sold out. A fourth screening will most probably be added soon. Please check back for more details or visit www.filmfest.org.sg

ST Life! Censors pass controversial film

March 18, 2008 Censors pass controversial film

A DOCUMENTARY about lesbians has been cleared by the Board of Film Censors to screen in next month's 21st Singapore International Film Festival. Directed by Lim Mayling, Women Who Love Women: Conversations In Singapore has been given an R21 rating with no cuts. It will be screened twice at Sinema@Old School on April 5, at 7pm and 9.15pm.The 65-minute documentary revolves around three Singaporean women - Amanda Lee, 24, an undergraduate at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia; Sabrina Renee Chong, 40, a photographer; and Gea Swee Jean, 24, who works in business and IT marketing - talking candidly about their lives and loves. The film was submitted to the censors on Jan 10 and was given the seal of approval last Wednesday. Producer Ngiam Su-Lin tells Life!: 'It is heartening and encouraging that alternative voices in Singapore are beginning to get heard, and we hope that audiences for the documentary will be diverse and not just primarily the lesbian and gay communities. 'We would be very happy if the documentary manages to create dialogue about the issues raised as well as a deeper understanding of some experiences of growing up lesbian in Singapore.' The Singapore International Film Festival runs from April 4 to 14. For ticketing details and programme schedule, visit www.filmfest.org.sg

Screening at the S'pore Int'l Film Festival

Women who Love Women will be screened at this year's Singapore International Film Festival 2008. It is programmed as part of the Singapore Panaroma section of the festival, and finally got passed by the censors with a RA(21) rating.

We are very pleased and excited, and hopefully a wider audience will get to watch the documentary.

Screening details: Saturday, 5 April; 7 & 9.15 pm (2 screenings); Sinema (Mt. Sophia; limited seating capacity); tickets at $8.40 each plus $1 booking fee (special discount for Citibank card holders) available from SISTIC.

For more information, please visit: www.filmfest.org.sg

Read on for an article on SIFF which includes Women who Love Women, which appeared in The Straits Times Life! recently.

------------------------------------------------------

Feb 22, 2008 - The Straits Times Life!
14 home-grown works in S'pore film fest
Two films with gay content, Women Who Love Women
and Lucky7, could prove controversial
By Douglas Tseng

THIS year's Singapore International Festival showcases 14
movies made by home-grown talents including two works
with gay content which could prove to be controversial.

Women Who Love Women: Conversations In Singapore
is touted as one of the few documentaries ever made about
lesbians here. In it, three Singapore lesbians talk candidly
about their lives and loves.

Lucky7 is an experimental film with seven directors at the
helm. One director does a 10- to 12-minute segment of the
film and this is continued by the next director who knows only
what has happened in the last minute of the previous segment.

The movie's central character is played by by Sunny Pang. It
has homosexual content and has been rated R21 for 'sexual c
ontent and disturbing images'.

Festival director Philip Cheah said Women Who Love
Women was submitted to the censors on Jan 10 and is pending
a rating.

He said: 'All the films are like our children, we want to see
them all through the process.''

The festival has a policy of showing films uncut. Last year,
Kan Lume's experimental film about a gay couple, Solos, was
withdrawn from the festival after the censors ordered three cuts.

Other films that were withdrawn after the censors wanted
cuts included Sam Loh's serial killer thriller Outsiders (2005)
and Zai Kuning's short film Even Dogs Have Choices (2005), a short
film featuring local singer X' Ho.

Women Who Love Women, directed by Lim Mayling, 28, an
events manager, was screened at the Hong Kong Lesbian &
Gay Film Festival last November. It has also been screened privately
in Singapore.

The three lesbians are Amanda Lee, 24, an undergraduate at
the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia;
Sabrina Renee Chong, 40, a photographer; and Gea Swee Jean, 24,
who works in business and IT marketing.

When asked how the audience would react to the documentary,
Lim said: 'We will leave it to the audience to have their own
thoughts. It is still a little surreal to have been selected for the festival.
It remains to be seen if the film will be screened or how it will be rated.''

Other Singapore works to look out for include Royston Tan's After
The Rain, a short film about a young lad's move from the countryside
to the city, and Tan Siok Siok's Boomtown Beijing, a documentary on
the impact of the upcoming Olympics Games on a group of Beijing
residents.

Royston is one of Singapore's most well-known directors, whose last
film, 881, about getai singers, made about $3.5 million at the box
office. Siok Siok is a long-time television producer who has worked
with Discovery Channel and MediaCorp TV. Boomtown Beijing is her
debut film, which she made while lecturing at Beijing Film Academy.

Festival manager Yuni Hadi said of the Singapore film segment:
'Whatever pre-conception we have of what a 'Singapore film' is, should
be left at the door and be challenged, twisted, questioned and discussed.'

The festival's opening film on April 4 is Wayne Wang's The Princess Of
Nebraska, a story about a pregnant Chinese girl's life in the United
States. Wang, who made his name with The Joy Luck Club (1993) and
Eat A Bowl Of Tea (1989), will be here for the festival.

Other films to watch out for include Wang Quanan's Tuya's Marriage,
which won the prestigious Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival last
year. It tells the heartbreaking story of a Mongolian woman who tries
to find a suitor to take care of her and her disabled husband.

Review by Sze Wei

It is 2007, and lesbian sexual relations have received de facto legitimacy with the repeal of section 377 of the penal code. The gay community in Singapore has more community resources than ever before. More and more men and women are making their stories public.

It is 2007. Three more talking heads come out on film. Will we remember them?

Amanda, one of the women interviewed in the film, wraps her tongue around Women who love women (WWLW) and explains it as a gentler acronym for “lesbian”, because “nobody can fault love”. At the time of this review, WWLW has been shown at festivals in Hong Kong and KL, but only in private screenings in Singapore. Producer Ngiam Su Lin explains that she and Director Lim May Ling are still trying to find a Singapore venue that will host a public screening.

With each screening, the room gets more and more crowded. When I first saw WWLW in July 2007 in tiny Bianco, I sat with somebody else’s knee jammed in my back, the seating was so tight. At the film’s sixth screening at Mox this December, men and women who had no seats lined the room and stood throughout its 60 Mins. They’d heard about this film, and they wanted to see for themselves. So 80-odd packed into the room to get intimate with the bubbly Amanda (24), androgynous Sabrina (40) and puckish Swee Jean (24).

Many lesbians I have spoken to identify deeply with the women in the film. Many other lesbians do not. But the faces and words of WWLW remain with you after the film is over, because of the honesty with which they are given. Lounging in luminous sitting rooms or drawing you into the privacy of their homes and childhood photographs, the three tell you what being lesbian is to them. It is first loves, coming out trauma, "it's always full and fulfilling .. it's like second skin" (Sabrina). It is toilet evictions, and label-mad Singapore where “people who don't belong in a category belong in a category” (Swee Jean). Simply and directly, they explain how they have made sense of the prejudice and tolerance in their lives, and what has coloured their choices in relationships, religion, work and fashion.

When you come out of the closet, your family and friends walk into a bigger closet with you. A rare and refreshing feature of this documentary is the other side of the coming out story, from straight friends of Amanda and Swee Jean. It is a touching moment when Amanda and her best friend declare that their friendship doesn't change even though they don't agree on how God sees gay people. Swee Jean's chums tell how they rallied around her in her coming out school days.

But this labour of love is at times laborious – my sympathies to the folks in standing room. In a bid to preserve the authenticity of the dialogue, the raw-edged editing ambles on past the average attention span, interspersed with unnecessary, stuffy quotes from Andre Gide and Sappho. Shot in the months before the repeal of Section 377 of the Penal Code (which could be interpreted as criminalising sex between women), the film jolts from personal anecdotes into a draggy spiel on statutory discrimination.

Nonetheless, WWLW will be an important document of Singapore lesbians today and the society in which we live. It is also a clarion for change. Towards the close of the film, Swee Jean gives the film's rationale: “It's so difficult for [lesbians] to see positive representations of ourselves anywhere...the problem is that so many of us are in the closet. Till we come out and have the guts to say 'we are here', all these [women] will be seen as being straight. Otherwise, why should anything change?”