DAY TWO. The Orientation Week continues with a special treat: Screening of Italian film, “Passing Time” directed by Laura Bispuri yesterday. Grad Film Department co-organized this exclusive screening and Q&A session with Director Laura Bispuri with the Italian Cultural Institute in Singapore.

images: Tisch Asia

Recent Grad Film graduate, Basil Mironer collaborated with his family in the making of a 30-minute independent film entitled, “Fire Proof” or “Thohn Fai” in Thai. Basil co-wrote the story with his father, Dr. Eugene Mironer for his brother, Ben. This “first family collaboration” captured the attention of local journalist, Kim Kimzey and the story was published here.  The film was shot over 10 days at Mironer’s former school, Spartanburg Day School with a budget of USD$15,000.

His crew comprises of former classmates from Tisch Asia and film producer Tommy Oliver.

source: GoUpstate.com

Solondz Nurtures His Indie Cred

(from The New York Times)

IF Todd Solondz, assiduous chronicler of suburban ugliness, perversity and despair, had directed “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” what sort of movie would have invaded theaters? Would Cameron Diaz’s goofy Natalie have started a rocky romance with a man with cerebral palsy? Would Lucy Liu’s tough-as-nails Alex have attacked a Planned Parenthood office? Would Bernie Mac’s dutiful Bosley have harbored a secret sexual fetish steeped in racial taboos? These are the sorts of themes Mr. Solondz has explored in his offbeat, frequently queasy oeuvre, and so he was surprised when, in the early aughts, Drew Barrymore met with him to discuss the possibility of him overseeing the “Charlie’s Angels” sequel.

More Here >>

3rd year film student, Han West released two of his viral video projects which gained huge popularity among the gaming circle on the Internet. These videos were initially produced for his Directing Television Commercials class. Han decided to test the effectiveness of his videos on YouTube (click here to watch the videos). In a week, his viral videos for the imaginary PlayStation 4 received more than 200,000 views on YouTube. Read Kotaku.com for an exclusive interview with Han West as he revealed himself as the director of the viral videos.

Han West directing his actors on the set of his viral video project.

images: Han West

Shijie Tan’s ”Er Ren” has been mentioned in International Film Guide 2010 as one of the best films to come out of Singapore in the year 2009.

Download the full article here.

Read an Interview with Shijie Tan here.

Film graduate Weijie Lai is one of the filmmakers of 13 Little Pictures, the first “collective” group of writers, directors, and other professionals in Singapore. Read the article in The Straits Times.

Members of 13 Little Pictures. Photo courtesy of The Straits Times.

Festival Website

Festival Description

Synopsis of the film
A father cannot forget the old times when he and his daughter had good time together. He wants to rewind it.

Statement of Director
It’s a simple story about sadness and father’s love. I want to present how a father misses his daughter and what a father feels about when he meets the other little girls in his daughter’s age. He feels satisfied, no matter what his daughter does not have any responses.

Production Note
This film is my first project at NYU. It is shot in 4 days in Singapore, used two 400 feet Kodak film stocks. The budget is around 700 Singapore dollars.

Biography of the director – Chun Yi Hsieh
Born in Taipei in 1978. He is a senior at New York University Tisch School of Arts Asia and concentrating on M.F.A. film program. He prefers the stories discussed about the issues and relationships among people. His goal is making touching and meaningful movies.

From TribecaFilm.com:

Meet Melanie Schiele, director of the mesmerizing short, Delilah, Before, screening both at TFF in NYC and on TFF Virtual Premium

TribecaFilm.com: Tell us a little about your film.

Melanie Schiele: Delilah, Before is a film about the complexity of familial love. It’s also about the hope for another chance in mending a broken relationship. As Melodie Lee, who plays Delilah, puts it, “Sometimes, it’s not too late.”

TribecaFilm.com: What inspired you to tell this story?

MS: I was inspired by a personal experience at a women’s mentoring facility in Singapore, which aims to facilitate the difficult transition from prison to an often unforgiving society. I met with several young women whose families shunned them upon their homecoming.

TribecaFilm.com: What makes a great short film?

MS: One strong and simple concept executed by way of well-defined characters.

Read More >>

Congratulations to Tisch Asia Melanie Schiele for winning the Virtual Best Short Film at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival for her film Delilah, Before!  She’ll receive a $5,000 cash prize sponsored by American Express.

Still from Melanie Schiele’s Delilah, Before.

The Department of Film held the 1st symposium on film in Singapore on Thursday (22 April) at Tisch Asia. The symposium focused on “Film and Television: Singapore as a Media Hub” with guest speakers such as Roger Spottiswoode (writer/director of “Tomorrow Never Dies”), Daniel Yun (Founder of Homerun Singapore), Isaac Kerlow (Director/Visual Creator), Chang Yee Yeo (Hyde Park Imagenation Singapore), Freddie Yeo (General Manager of Infinite Frameworks), Kathleen McInnis (Publicist) and other distinguished guests. The full-day event was attended by the Tisch Asia community and also friends of the university.