Landmark
Co-presented with the Asian Film Archive, Landmark showcases recent restorations of international classics, with a special showcase of Indian-born Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta’s films this year.
These 11 rediscovered films from the 1960s to the 2000s celebrate the enduring spirit of rebellion and transgression in the face of tradition and authority. Touching upon themes that range from forbidden desires to identity and self-discovery, these films illuminate complex emotions and desires in a fraught world, while spotlighting the visionary filmmakers who dared to envision new and alternative ways of being with luminous clarity.
Opening Film
28 Nov, Fri 4:30PM / 87 min / R21 (Sexual Scenes and Homosexual Content) / Oldham Theatre
Bye Bye Love
This film is a queer reimagining of Bonnie and Clyde, set against the backdrop of 1970s countercultural Japan.
Isao Fujisawa / Japan / 1974 / 87 min / R21 (Sexual Scenes and Homosexual Content) / Southeast Asian Premiere
Deepa Mehta In Focus
Fire
Two sisters-in-law in unhappy marriages form a romantic relationship in this powerful examination of female desire and agency.
Deepa Mehta / Canada / 1996 / 107 min / R21 (Homosexual Content)
Earth
A young Parsi girl whose Hindu nanny is wooed by two Muslim suitors bears witness to the violent Partition of India and Pakistan.
Deepa Mehta / India, Canada / 1998 / 108 min / PG
Water
A sobering look at child marriage and the fate of Hindu widows in India against the backdrop of Gandhian anti-colonialism.
Deepa Mehta / Sri Lanka, Canada / 2005 / 117 min / NC16 (Coarse Language)
Funny Boy
A young boy, Arjie, comes of age and navigates his sexuality amidst escalating racial tensions leading up to the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983.
Deepa Mehta / Sri Lanka, Canada / 2020 / 108 min / M18 (Mature Content and Some Violence)
Feature Films
Dream of the Red Chamber
A classic Chinese novel is given a new setting in 1970s Singapore, where burgeoning affections are challenged by the decline of a wealthy family.
Chiu Kang-chien / Singapore / 1977 / 96 min / NC16 (Some Coarse Language) / World Premiere
Matador
Almodóvar explores the intoxicating relationship between pleasure and death through the convergence of bullfighting and murder.
Pedro Almodóvar / Spain / 1986 / 102 min / R21 (Mature Content and Sexual Scenes) / Southeast Asian Premiere
The Arch
An attractive captain awakens the yearning for love in a widow and her daughter in this retelling of a Ming Dynasty folktale.
T'ang Shushuen / Hong Kong / 1968 / 96 min / PG / Singapore Premiere
The Girls
A sensitive exploration of two sisters whose dreams and aspirations come up against insurmountable class barriers.
Sumitra Peries / Sri Lanka / 1978 / 113 min / PG / Southeast Asian Premiere
The Razor’s Edge
A teenager wanders Beirut dreaming of love and life. War has ravaged the city but also sparks her unlikely bond with an older artist.
Jocelyne Saab / France, Lebanon / 1985 / 102 min / PG13 (Some Mature Content and Violence) / Asian Premiere