Film and Photography
The Awakening of the Modern Television Era
People weren’t particularly interested in upgrading their black-and-white TVs to colour TVs. Then came the World Cup.
Photo Studios and Photography During the Japanese Occupation
During the Japanese Occupation, local photographers worked under challenging conditions.
Restoring Classic Films from Asia
Besides restoring made-in-Singapore films, the Asian Film Archive is also involved in the preservation of other seminal Asian works.
Money No Enough, Passion Needed Too: Restoring Classic Singaporean Films
Money No Enough, Forever Fever and The Teenage Textbook Movie kickstarted a new era in Singaporean cinema, making them prime candidates for restoration.
Repairing and Restoring Singapore’s Reel Heritage
The Asian Film Archive has been restoring old classics since 2014.
Loke Wan Tho: The Man Who Built Cathay
While best known as a giant in the movie business in Malaya, Loke Wan Tho was also passionate about bird photography and the arts.
Loke Wan Tho: A Photo Essay
Loke Wan Tho was a renaissance man, says his niece, Choo Meileen, chairwoman of Cathay Organisation.
Negotiating Boundaries: Japanese and Chinese Photo Studios in Prewar Singapore
Photo studios such Yong Fong, Lee Brothers and Daguerre had to negotiate the politics of race, class and clan.
Picturing Singapore: A Visual History
Photographs are an important means to understand Singapore’s history and heritage. Janice Loo shares highlights from the National Library’s PictureSG Collection.
Marjorie Doggett: Photographer of Singapore
Edward Stokes reflects on Characters of Light by Marjorie Doggett, first published in 1957, and on his own recent book, Marjorie Doggett’s Singapore, which portrays her life and work here.
Daguerreotypes to Dry plates: Photography in 19th-century Singapore
The oldest known photographs of Singapore were taken by Europeans in the early 1840s. Janice Loo charts the rise of commercial photography in the former British colony.
The Making of Xin Ke (新客)
This 1927 silent Chinese movie is the first feature film to be made in Singapore and Malaya. Jocelyn Lau traces its genesis with researcher Toh Hun Ping and translation editor Lucien Low.
From the Archives: The Work of Photographer KF Wong
K.F. Wong shot to international fame with his images of Borneo, though not without controversy. Zhuang Wubin examines Wong’s work and sees beyond their historical value.
Five Ashore in Singapore: A European Spy Film
Raphaël Millet sits through a B-grade movie dismissed by critics as belonging to the genre of Eurospy flicks that parody James Bond – and discovers a slice of Singaporean celluloid history.
Ramen Teh: Food, War and Memory
Eric Khoo tells us how the Japanese Occupation, ramen noodles and bak kut teh became the inspiration for his latest film. Lu Wenshi finds out more.
Portraits from the Lee Brothers Studio
Gretchen Liu casts the spotlight on the Lee Brothers Studio Collection. Comprising some 2,500 images, this is the largest single collection of photographic portraits in the National Archives of Singapore.
Reel Life Singapore: The Films of Clyde E. Elliott
Clyde Elliott was the first Hollywood director to shoot a feature film in Singapore. Chua Ai Lin examines the authenticity of the three movies he produced here in the 1930s.
Chaplin in Singapore
One of history’s greatest comic actors, Charlie Chaplin, stops over in Singapore in 1932 and makes a return visit in 1936. Raphaël Millet traces these journeys.
Gaston Mèliès and His Lost Films of Singapore
Gaston Méliès may be the first filmmaker to have directed fiction films in Singapore. Unfortunately, none have survived the ravages of time. Raphaël Millet tells you why.
From the Director’s Chair
In candid, off-the-cuff conversations, four young auteurs talk about their upcoming works for the Singapore Memory Project film festival.
A Moving Journey: Film, Archiving and Curatorship
As the Asian Film Archive celebrates its 10th anniversary, Karen Chan takes a look back at the genesis of the organisation, the work it does and its plans for the future.
Culture on Celluloid: Alternative Films in Singapore
Intellectual and art house films have a long history in Singapore but the issues the genre faces have changed little over the years. Gracie Lee charts the challenges of alternative cinema in our city.
My Movie Memorabilia
Wong Han Min’s treasure trove of film memorabilia – collected over three decades – provides a glimpse of Singapore’s rich cinematic past.
The Revival of Singapore Cinema: 1995–2014
Singapore’s film industry gets a reboot as it enters a new phase of its development. Raphaël Millet explains how this resurgence came about.
Spies, Virgins, Pimps and Hitmen: Singapore Through the Western Lens
Western filmmakers have always had a fascination for Singapore. Ben Slater tells you why.
The Golden Age of Malay Cinema: 1947–1972
Few people are aware that Singapore was once the hub for Malay filmmaking in Southeast Asia. Nor Afidah Bte Abd Rahman and Michelle Heng recount its fabled history.
From Tents to Picture Palaces: Early Singapore Cinema
Few people are aware that Singapore’s cinema history dates back to as early as 1896. Bonny Tan traces its development, from the days of the Magic Lantern projector to the first locally made films.
My Leap Into Movies
Theatre thespian and film director Glen Goei reflects on his transition from the stage to cinema screen.
Points of Departure: Charting Memories Through Collective Imaginations
