Share your Singapore story at ciNE65
Singapore residents are invited to share their memories and stories of their experiences and encounters in Singapore in ciNE65, a short film competition organised by Nexus, the Ministry of Defence's national education arm.
Focused on telling "the Singapore story", organisers of the competition hope to discover what people in Singapore -- Singaporean or not -- love about the country.
"We believe everyone has a story to tell and we would like them to share it with the rest of Singapore on what is uniquely Singaporean to them," said Colonel Kelvin Koh, director of Nexus. "There is definitely something in these stories that all of us can identify with," he added.
The competition is already open for entries under two categories -- the Student and Open category. The Student category is open to all full-time students enrolled in institutions based here, or Singaporean students who are enrolled full-time in overseas schools.
However, there is no age restriction for the Open category and it is available for entries from people living in Singapore, or Singaporeans residing overseas.
With broadcast equipment manufacturer Sony also throwing its weight behind the competition, awards attainable in six different judged technical categories will include Sony HD camcorders and cash prizes.
On top of the Jury's Choice award categories, there will also be three categories of awards to be determined by audience voting -- namely Favourite Film, Favourite Actor and Favourite Actress.
In conjunction with the competition, a filmmaking workshop for students and a field trip to Shooting Gallery and Artison Asia are also available for public registration, toward the end of this month. More information about the workshop and field trip are available at the ciNE65 website.
On the judging panel are 11 esteemed members of Singapore's film and performance industry, including actress Irene Ang, directors Daniel Yun and Juan Foo, who are looking for new voices and fresh, genuine stories.
"If you're telling a story that is real, that is honest, you're not concerned about the envelope, the boundaries," said Yun. "I am looking for a new voice to tell colourful and interesting stories."
"Commercial filmmakers might be paiseh (feel bad) about participating, but we would welcome their entries as well," said Ang.
"At the same time, we are also looking for the Boo Junfengs and the Royston Tans of the future, and I am looking for good actors and actresses. We both (herself and Yun) believe there is enough talent in Singapore, just that we need more opportunities, government and industry support to push out these people," she added.
