FRAGMENT

/
 

GME is pleased to distribute the new omnibus film Fragment, commissioned by the Asian Film Archive.

This release is an important expansion of GME's deeper reach into Asian cinema and contemporary short and experimental films, including works from Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, among other countries.

OFFICIAL POSTER FOR FRAGMENT.

While the Asian Film Archive is known predominantly for preserving and restoring older, little-seen films by Asian filmmakers (see The Nanyang Trilogy, also distributed by GME), Fragment denotes a departure for the Archive as it foregrounds new work by both emerging and established cineastes working across Southeast Asian independent cinema.

Despite their seemingly disparate functions, Karen Chan, Executive Director of the Asian Film Archive, draws an important parallel between the preservation of older films and the creation of new films. She writes: "Restoring and commissioning a film appears to be on opposite sides of a spectrum – one working with old films and the other creating a new work. However, for an archive, the purpose and value of restoring and commissioning films converge to perform several significant purposes... In Fragment, the recurrent motif running through the films is the various notions of what fragment can mean. To prevent any fragments of independently made films being lost forever, preservation is needed to ensure that these films do not vanish. The commissioning [of Fragment] has allowed AFA to introduce more audiences to [these] filmmakers while facilitating [new] works [by] the filmmakers for greater opportunities. The outcomes of restoring and commissioning films therefore resonate with AFA’s goal to save, explore and share the art of Asian cinema."

STILL: Chui Mui Tan’s THE BEAUTIFUL LOSERS.

Fragment is a collage of ten stories, and each film distinctively embraces the others' subjectivities through collective sentiments of vulnerability and fortitude. The omnibus features the work of 10 filmmakers: Kan Lumé (Singapore), Kavich Neang (Cambodia), Lav Diaz (Philippines), Lucky Kuswandi (Indonesia), Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (Thailand), Phan Dang Di (Vietnam), Sherman Ong (Singapore/Malaysia), Tan Chui Mui (Malaysia), U-Wei Haji Saari (Malaysia), and Wesley Leon Aroozoo (Singapore).

Some of the films in Fragment offer dramatic, character-driven narratives. For instance, in Kan Lumé's metatextual Making Art is F**king Hard, two actors travel to Malaysia to make a movie and must contend with the tensions and difficulties of working on an independent film shoot. Lumé constructs a fragmented plotline that depicts his characters collaborating (and often sparring) in-between takes. Similarly, Kavich Neang's Goodbye Phnom Penh chronicles the final days a young couple spend together in a hotel room in Cambodia before one of them must return to their home country.

STILL: Kan Lumé’s MAKING ART IS F**KING HARD.

Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit opts for a more ambiguous and poetic approach, simply describing his film Scene 38 as "a romantic scene." Sherman Ong's The Warm Breeze of Winter situates a personal narrative within a broader historical and political frameworks, following a young woman who returns to her mother's hometown with her ashes amidst preparations to celebrate the re-merger between Malaysia and Singapore. (The Asian Film Archive's Nanyang Trilogy, also distributed by GME, comprises three feature films from 1957 that address the trans-national film histories between, at that time, China and the Malaysian region).

A comedic and slightly surreal departure from many of the films in Fragment, Wesley Leon Aroozoo's Umbilical depicts unborn twin babies arguing over the decision to leave their mother’s womb three months early in an effort to cheer her up. Yet, despite the humorous undertones of Aroozoo's film, he notes: "Umbilical is a short film that highlights a particular worrying social issue in Singapore. I hope viewers will not only be entertained but also reflect and [talk] about the film after viewing."

STILL: LAV DIAZ’S (THE DAY BEFORE THE END…).

Fragment also includes a new film by the internationally-recognized cineaste Lav Diaz, whose film Batang West Side GME distributes as a DSL file and DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack to North American academic institutions. A dystopian narrative set in 2050, Diaz's short (The Day Before the End...) chronicles residents of the Philippines as they brace for the fiercest storm ever to hit the country. As the wind and waters start to rage, poets begin to die. Of the film, Diaz notes: "The characters are theater actors who are tasked to do an 'elemental' approach to their method of exercises and rehearsals. While they are at it, a storm starts to rage. The experience becomes truly elemental to them. They are now struggling against real natural forces. Will theater survive then? Is the world ending?"

Like many of the films in Fragment, Diaz's work broaches personal, political and existential inquiries without offering easy answers. Viewers are invited into the rich and diverse worlds of these maverick makers and left with fragments of narrative and visual poetry.

As noted by curator Thong Kay Wee: "Fragments can embrace each other in [their] dissonance and subjectivity. The tenuous mosaic can reflect the precarious state of human consciousness.The turbulent rhythm of deconstruction and recreation can unsettle the orthodox and open up new ways of perceiving. The once broken can become whole again, despite and because of its incompleteness. With Fragment, the AFA would like to celebrate the courage, emotions and spirit of independent filmmaking. Ten visionary Southeast Asian independent filmmakers have gathered to concoct a multi-perspective collage within the context of the region, which will hopefully generate new reactions to the universal experiences of the human condition."

A 25-page PDF booklet accompanies the DSL file of this omnibus film.

ABOUT THE ASIAN FILM ARCHIVE

Founded in 2005 as a non-profit organization with the goal of preserving the rich film heritage of Asian Cinema, the Asian Film Archive (AFA) is a charity based in Singapore and an Institution of Public Character. AFA aspires to be a hub for the Asian film community through organized screenings and educational and cultural programs that open and enrich new intellectual, educational and creative spaces. 

AFA holds Singapore’s first collection of films (AFA Cathay-Keris Malay Classics) inscribed into the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Register. It also has a collection available for public reference at the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library.

AFA won the New Non-Profit Initiative Award at the 2007 National Volunteers and Philanthropy Awards (Singapore) for original, sustainable, impactful and best practices. In January 2014, AFA became a subsidiary of the National Library Board.

AFA is a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), an institutional member of the Southeast Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association (SEAPAVAA) and the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA).

FRAGMENT
(SOUTHEAST ASIA, 2015)

Directors: Kan Lumé, Kavich Neang, Lav Diaz, Lucky Kuswandi, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Phan Dang Di, Sherman Ong, Tan Chui Mui, U-Wei Haji Saari, and Wesley Leon Aroozoo

  • 2 hours 10 minutes
  • Digital
  • Color and B&W
  • Sound
Distribution Format/s: DSL/Downloadable 1080p .mp4 file on server

Published By: Asian Film Archive

Classroom Price: $500

Institutional Price: Inquire

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.