New SGIFF film club discussing cinema to start first sessions in June

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) has launched its inaugural film club to garner deeper and more diverse appreciation of film culture through stories closer to home, it said in a press release on May 27. 

Aptly named the SGIFF FILM CLUB, its first four sessions will take place in June, with plans to run each month till September.

Each session will consist of a screening of a rarely available independent film and a participatory discussion facilitated by the SGIFF team. 

Through the initiative, SGIFF said it hopes to offer an intimate and welcoming space for conversations about cinema for both casual cinema-goers and film enthusiasts. 

For the June sessions, a mystery film and two local thrillers, Unlucky Plaza (2014) and Perth (2004), will be screened and discussed at Crane @ Robertson Quay.

The mystery film will be screened during the sessions on Jun 11 and 25, telling the story of a man setting off on a journey through multiple lifetimes. 

The session on Jun 15 will feature Unlucky Plaza (2014). Written and directed by Singaporean screenwriter Ken Kwek, it tells of a proud restaurant owner who takes people hostage in a millionaire’s mansion.

The Jun 29 session will discuss Perth (2004), directed by locally born filmmaker Djinn, which follows a cab driver who falls in love with a Vietnamese prostitute and dreams of leaving Singapore.

Each SGIFF FILM CLUB session is priced at $38 per ticket with a light meal included. All four aforementioned June sessions will be held at Crane @ Robertson Quay.

The sessions on Jun 11 and 25 will take place from 1pm to 3.30pm and sessions on Jun 15 and 29 from 7pm to 9.30pm. More details on the films discussed and the purchasing of tickets can be found on SGIFF’s website.