Women who Love Women: Conversations in Singapore

WWLW - Closing Film of Love and Pride Festival at Golden Village (1 Nov, 7pm)

2009-10-17T17:49:00.005+08:00

Hi everyone,

It's been awhile .. I'm very happy to announce that Women who Love Women will be screened as the closing film to this year's Love and Pride Festival at Golden Village. Yay! Thank you Golden Village!

Here are the screening details:

Date: Sunday, 1 November 2009
Time: 7 pm
Venue: GV Grand (Great World City) Hall 4
Tickets: $8.00
Rating: R(21)

Do come and support the screening, and please help spread the word around.

For more information on the festival and to purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.gv.com.sg/moviedetails/gv_moviedetails_the_2nd_love_&_pride_film_festival.jsp

Take care!
Su-Lin

Women who Love Women to be screened at Asian Hot Shots Berlin Film Festival

2009-01-13T10:18:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year/2009!

Women who Love Women is being screened this Wednesday, 15 January at 20:30hrs at the Asian Hot Shots Berlin Film Festival.

More information can be found here:
http://www.asianhotshotsfestival.com/eng/film-programme/index.html (click on Queer Cinema and download the programme).

Please help spread the word round to people you know on that part of planet earth! There are a couple of other S'porean films being screened at the festival too which you might want to highlight.

Cheers, and take care!
Su-Lin:)

Last Screening at Sinema!

2008-10-24T18:07:00.002+08:00

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

2008-09-03T10:56:00.000+08:00

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

2008-08-11T18:55:00.001+08:00

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

2008-08-10T12:20:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-21T18:04:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-04T18:14:00.001+08:00

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

2008-06-10T14:32:00.001+08:00

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

2008-05-19T18:34:00.000+08:00

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!

2008-05-07T23:28:00.000+08:00

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!

2008-04-28T00:13:00.001+08:00

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

2008-04-08T18:06:00.001+08:00

[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

2008-04-07T18:05:00.000+08:00

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)

2008-04-06T17:54:00.007+08:00

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.straitst imes.com/ print/Lifestyle/Hot/Story/ STIStory_ 224109.html

5th Screening Confirmed

2008-04-02T00:25:00.002+08:00

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

2008-03-25T00:19:00.002+08:00

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

2008-03-23T02:03:00.002+08:00

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

2008-03-18T01:43:00.002+08:00

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

2008-03-13T01:36:00.002+08:00

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

2008-01-18T04:00:00.000+08:00

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?”

Review by Regina De Rozario

2007-11-25T12:32:00.000+08:00

Despite its sparse, low-budget approach, and having been made over a year ago, 'Women Who Love Women' presents a range of complex issues that is especially timely in these months following the recent Parliamentary debates on S377A.

Although running at a little over an hour, the film manages to touch on topics such as coming out, having to 'validate' one's relationships, and reconciling one's (Christian) faith with one's sexuality. Above all, the film talks about honesty to friends and loved ones, and especially to oneself. Honesty, the film proposes, being the first step towards self-acceptance, awareness, and empowerment.

Amanda, Sabrina, and Swee Jean come across as balanced, articulate women with a lot of heart. Swee Jean especially, exudes a maturity and awareness quite remarkable for someone of her age. Sabrina brings to her conversations a sense of gravitas and resilience, while Amanda touched me the most by bravely making her vulnerability and moments of doubt apparent.

The scenes that worked best for me were the ones between Amanda and her friend. Interestingly, it was not so much their discussion, but the silent pauses and stares they exchanged that spoke volumes about the respect and friendship they shared, despite their different opinions. The other scene that moved me was when each of the women showed off their family pictures and spoke about their respective childhoods - an indication perhaps that gay people aren't just "born that way", but have grown from roots that they respect and treasure.

Having said that, the film is not perfect. One thing that struck me was the lack of voices from women of minority races. With its group of below-40, Chinese, English-speaking interviewees, the film cannot be said to be representative of Singapore's multi-racial lesbian community. I did wonder what an Indian or Malay woman, or someone who was not English-educated would have made of the film. Fortunately, there were questions 'common' to the lesbian experience for the interviewees to address. For instance, how does one find a place along the spectrum of labels from butch to femme? Does one even need to? Further to this, I was also a little disappointed that the film only managed to include comments from the interviewees' friends, but not their parents or siblings. A few opposing voices included in the mix would have also brought forth a little more tension, realism, and food for thought. On the other hand, I can understand some of the limitations the filmmakers must have had to work with.

Despite its shortcomings, 'Women Who Love Women' is no small triumph. Anyone familiar with Singapore's media policy on gay-affirmative films would understand the difficulty in putting a work like this together and bringing it to a wider audience.

I do hope that this film gets to be seen by those who need to see it, especially for the very pertinent questions it poses. Such as, how does one assert one's voice to amend misguided, misogynistic, heterosexist, or homophobic, attitudes? Despite the heightened visibility of 'the gay community' in the spotlight of the S377A debates, it is undeniable that a large majority of queer women still stand on the periphery, rendered silent because they are not acknowledged, or with their hands tied up in self-doubt. Perhaps this film can offer them a push in the right direction.

Documentary selected for the Hong Kong Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

2007-11-18T14:05:00.001+08:00

We are very pleased that the documentary has been selected to be part of the upcoming Hong Kong Gay & Lesbian Film Festival!

The documentary will be screened at Broadway Cinematheque, Hong Kong on 25 & 27 November 2007 at 220pm & 740pm respectively.

Check this link out for more details - http://www.hklgff.hk/2007/movie/20/index.htm

Review by Irene Oh

2007-09-24T00:06:00.000+08:00

观看《Women who love women》，是一个集体感动的体验。

《Women who love women》是一部独立制作，访问了三位不同年龄层的女性，畅谈她们的出柜经历和生命历程。和早期类似的纪录片比起来，《Women who love women》受访者面对镜头的坦然，已经隐喻了时代的变迁。遗憾的是，我们要走的路还很长。这样的社会氛围，令这部纪录片更具有特殊意义。

三位女性；三种性格；三个时代。镜头跳跃之间，剪接得流畅。Amanda 的好友们亲自现身说出对Amanda的支持，让影片温情洋溢。Swee Jean幽默的快人快语，令全场哄堂大笑。《Women who love women 》的受访者勇气可嘉，不过如果做回自己也需要勇气的话，不仅是少数族群的悲哀，更是整个社会的悲哀。

值得注意的是，《Women who love women》的切入角度相当个人化，注重受访者的个人体会和感受。

《Women who love women> 在 Pelangi Pride Centre 的放映会，反应踊跃固然令人鼓舞。制作群的用心良苦也毋庸置疑。不过，如何让更多人看到这部纪录片，改变对同性恋者既定的刻板印象，相信是制作群更艰巨的挑战。

Irene Oh 胡爱妮
Administrator of Sayoni.com

(English translation by Tan Hui Yee)

Watching WLW was a touching experience.

WLW is an independent production, it interviews three women of different ages, who talk freely about coming out and lives. Compared to earlier documentaries on the same topic, the interviewees in WLW are candid, showing how times have changed. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go, which makes this documentary even more significant.

Three women; three personalities; three eras. The different scenes were smoothly spliced together. Amanda's friend appeared in the film to support her, adding much warmth to the film. Swee Jean's humorous banter got the house roaring with laughter. The interviewees' courage is admirable, but it is really sad - for minorities and the whole society – that it actually takes courage just to be ourselves.

What's also worth noting is that WLW is shot from the perspective of the interviewees, with their experiences and emotions taking centrestage.

It's wonderful that WLW got such a good response when it was screened at Pelangi Pride Centre. It is evident that the production team put in a lot of effort. But the greater challenge now for the team is to get more people to watch the documentary, to counter stereotypes of gay people out there.

Review by Peizhi

2007-09-23T23:57:00.000+08:00

"Have you ever walked down the street, looked at someone and
wondered about their life? Wondered if they've gone through the
same happiness, the same sadness, the same discrimination as you?
I have..

WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN gave me an insight into 3 women's
lives. These women shared about their family, friends, lovers and
coming out etc. The documentry felt like a nice old blanket. Comfortable
and familiar. Here were 3 women I could identify with. I have gone
through bits and pieces of their life. In a way, it made me happy to
know that I'm not alone in facing all these problems and obsticles.
This documentry have given lesbians not only a voice, but also a face.

This documentry did not portray 3 women as just lesbians; a label
but as human beings leading happy and contented lives, just like
everyone else on the street. It is heartening to know there are lesbians
out there who have found strength and courage to tell their story. So as
my friend always says, I'm a woman, hear me roar!

Review by Alicia

2007-08-25T20:35:00.000+08:00

I am one of the lucky ones who managed to catch Women who love Women: Conversations in Singapore on its third screening. On that day at Bianco, there was the usual pre-screening excitement in the air. I have been to a few lesbian-themed screenings, and it is always crowded with girls and feels like everybody is anticipating something. Maybe it’s because we are so deprived in Singapore. Whatever it is, I just like that feeling of a whole community of women sharing a common space and concentrating on a common thing.

Su-Lin, the producer gave a brief introduction and the screening started without a fuss. The directing and production was simple and basic and suited the subject matter, allowing for focus to be on the interviewees and their conversations. It was very engaging and did not feel like it ran for 65 minutes; and actually that is my only complaint, that it was too short J.

What I really liked about the documentary was its honesty. There was an absolute absence of the producer’s and director’s voice and that allowed the conversations to flow without judgement. The topics raised were plentiful and I think it would be fun if there were spin-offs based on the topics raised.

The interviewees were allowed space and time to tell their stories and it was clear that they felt confident and open with the interviewer and May Ling behind the camera to be able to share whatever they felt like sharing. The conversations were smooth and I did not feel that the interviewees were directed to say the ‘right’ things. There’s a saying that says if you can’t see the work that was done, lots of work must have been done. Given the flow of the entire documentary, I would think that a lot of production work, i.e. good editing and organisation must have been done so that the conversations that were screened were coherent and connected.

The interviewees were well chosen. The interviewees, Swee Jean, Sabrina and Amanda were positive examples for lesbians in Singapore. They showed that they had thought hard and deep about the issues about being gay and out in Singapore. They were not afraid to talk about their family and friends, their relationships and partners, and even sex. Because of their candidness and spontaneity, there were many light-hearted moments, easing what might have been heavy topics.

The Q&A was interesting. People were open with questions and most wanted to find out what was the impact of the documentary and if there are plans for more similar productions. We need more stories, and documentaries.

A documentary it might have been, but it was entertaining and informative. It is also long overdue. Ten percent and more of any population in the world, including Singapore are homosexuals, but we have hitherto been silent. And everyday that passes us by is another day of history and pride that we lose. There are stories out there waiting…

The documentary is a significant contribution to the lesbian community in Singapore because: not only is it the first to document in film the lesbian experience in Singapore, it also represents the first time lesbians are declaring their hitherto invisible and misunderstood lives as women who love women in Singapore. We have a life, a real one, filled with love, laughter and learning - our real-life L word. :)

Alicia

Review by Peter Goh

2007-08-25T20:33:00.000+08:00

Most viewers may come in thinking lesbians are just women who love other women, as the title suggests. The documentary, however reveals the whole person of a lesbian in her unique complexity beyond sexual attraction to other women. The multi-faceted and seemingly fluid nature of a lesbian’s self-identity comes through quite strongly in all three stories. Perplexing that may be to the uninitiated and prime fodder even for the unconverted, there is no attempt to water-down or conceal that which is characteristically true of many lesbians. In using real human faces and voices, this is a brave and honest attempt to expand the collective understanding of women who love other women.

Peter Goh

Review by Tania Chew

2007-08-25T20:22:00.000+08:00

"WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in Singapore" is warm, funny and poignant all at once. The conversations struck me as deeply honest - sometimes even raw - and that's what makes them real. There were little parts of myself and my own experiences that I identified with and I wouldn't be surprised if others do too. This isn't just for or about women who love women. It's about self discovery and about loving yourself and being true to yourself. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Tania Chew

Review by Nizhen Hsieh

2007-08-25T20:06:00.000+08:00

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

-- Anais Nin

When American dramedy “Ally McBeal” first hit the screens, it was all the rage until one particular episode – the female protagonist has a dream about kissing her colleague who is of the same gender. It sparked such an outrage that the then Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) went as far as to scrub the episode off prime time completely. Their defense? “As a responsible broadcaster, we are very careful to monitor and take action against overtly sexy or alternative themes.”

In a country that deems homosexuality as a genetic variation or idiosyncracy that goes against the supposed moral majority, it’s no surprise that something as mundane as a fleeting fantasy would provoke such an extreme measure. But as feminist philosopher, Judith Butler, once optimistically declared, the existence of the unspeakable ‘other’ isn’t pure exteriority, rather, it stands as a notion of futurity – the ‘not yet’. In other words, it potentially “constitutes the limit that actively contests what we already comprehend and already are…”

Women Who Loves Women may not have brought anything new to the table in terms of the issues and struggles that the gay community has dealt with hitherto. But it reinforces the very real existence of these issues and extends the rainbow coloured spectrum to include the most often absent lesbian perspective. Homosexuality for a long time has been mainly a ‘male’ point of contention, that even within this alternative space, it is defined conceptually on a patriarchal level.

Women Who Loves Women is no dramatized or histrionic flight of fancy. It has enough balls to dish the dirt and like any woman, derives strength from her own vulnerability. It takes responsibility in acknowledging that decriminalization begins when we stop policing ourselves.

A much-needed dialogue that elevates self-reconciliation above social acceptance, it is first and foremost a coming out that steers away from guilty confession to instead a human portrayal of three women’s evolutionary process and the renewed hope of what could be.

Nizhen Hsieh

Greetings!

2007-07-29T15:51:00.000+08:00

Hi and welcome to the WOMEN who LOVE WOMEN: Conversations in 
Singapore blogsite! :)

A big thank you to Charmaine who helped us design this! This
blogsite is meant to keep you updated on the journey of this
documentary, and for you to post your comments and feedback.
Please feel free to review the documentary and post it here.
All feedback is welcomed and we sincerely hope dialogue and
conversations can be started, and continued here, not only
about the docu but also wider GLBTQ issues.

As a starter, I'd just like to thank everybody who came for
the previous 3 screenings and filling the house! :) It's such
an encouragement and affirmation of the work, but also of the
community and I hope you felt the same way being present at
the screenings. Thanks for being a part of this exciting journey,
and for being community.

I know there are so many other stories out there, to be shared
and heard. This is only the beginning! Maybe some of you would
like to post your stories here! Anyway, please make this blogsite
your own too and come visit and involve yourself often. We will
try and update it as often as we can, and perhaps switch stuff
around and make it more exciting as we go along...

Do look out for some reviews from some audience members who've
agreed to write and which we hope to receive and post soon. There
is also a new screening of the docu coming up. Please refer to the
Screening section on this blog for more information.

Ok, hope to hear from you soon! Cheers!

Su-Lin :)