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| In conjunction with the Audio-Visual World Heritage Day, the Asian Film Archive (AFA) opened its reference section to the public at the library@esplanade. This reference section consists of titles from the AFA's collection that include Singapore and Asian films from around the region. Amongst the titles are the works of local award winning filmmakers like Royston Tan, Anthony Chen, Tan Pin Pin and Kirsten Tan. Films by famed Asian filmmakers like Tan Chui Mui, Riri Riza, and Thunska Pansittivorakul also form part of the collection.
Made available for research and viewing within the premises at the library@esplanade, this is the first time a collective body of Asian films can be readily accessed at a centralized location in Singapore. With over 100 Singapore film titles and 50 Asian titles currently accessible, the collection is expected to increase substantially by the end of 2008. The synopses of all the films can be found on the AFA's online catalogue at www.asianfilmarchive.org.
As part of its outreach and education efforts, the AFA is involved in and organizing several events related to the Archive's film collection.
The Archive is organizing the Asian Film Archive Presents Symposium on Southeast Asian Digital Cinema (www.asianfilmarchive.org/seadc) on 10th and 11th Dec 2007. Students can submit papers based on the Southeast Asian films they have viewed from the reference section, and stand to win prizes worth over $6000 in total sponsored by Canon. Outstanding student papers on the films will be presented during the Symposium, allowing for discourse between the students, filmmakers and members of the public.
An accompanying visual installation of digital filmmaking groups from Southeast Asia has been mounted by the Archive at the library@esplande from Aug-Dec 2007 to celebrate the cultural diversity of our region through the work of filmmakers.
The Archive has contributed a video clip from its collection, Sunshine Singapore (1967) by Rajendra Gour as part of the AV World Heritage Trailer that is compiled from the works of filmmakers and archives' collections from around the globe. Several hundred DVDs of this trailer are being circulated at the UNESCO General Conference this week and will be played to delegates in attendance in honor of the World Day for AV Heritage. The trailer can be viewed from the website: www.ccaaa.org/wdavh/?c=trailer. (The theme of the trailer, "Planet Earth: From Place to Space," is UNESCO's theme for 2007). This is the first time a Singapore organisation has taken part in the AV World Heritage Day, a special day set aside by the UNESCO to raise awareness on the importance of audio-visual preservation.
The AFA hopes that through its reference section, more people will be able to appreciate and enjoy the works of Asian filmmakers. With the support of the National Library Board, Singapore Film Commission, the National Archives of Singapore and Canon, the mission of the AFA to save, share, and explore the art of Asian cinema can be further realized.
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