AFFF 2009: Ticket Giveaway

Ticket Giveaway to the Asian Festival of First Films (AFFF)!

AFFF is the only festival that celebrates first-time film and documentary-makers and provides a platform for budding film talent. This year’s nominated films hail from Australia, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, USA and UK and will be screened in their original languages ranging from Hindi and Persian to Cantonese and English.

This year, AFFF will be giving away the first 20 readers a pair of tickets to movie Frontier Blues or Looking for Anne!

Simply write in to rsvp@roi-strategy.com and include in title “Blog Ticket Giveaways” and in the message your NRIC name, NRIC no. handphone number, email address and your movie choice.


Film Title: Frontier Blues
Nominated for: Best Actor, Best Screenplay
Country: UK
Language: Persian
Length: 95 mins
Showing on: 3rd Dec, 4.45pm, GV Marina



Frontier Blues takes place on Iran’s northern frontier with Turkmenistan. It consists of 4 stories:

-Alam is a 28-year-old Turkmen man who lives with his father and works in a chicken farm.
-Hassan is a 28-year-old Persian man who has a pet donkey and lives with his uncle.
-Kazem, is Hassan’s uncle and he owns a clothing store but the clothes he tries to sell never seem to fit anyone.
- A 55-year-old Turkmen minstrel is the subject of a book of photography by a photographer from Tehran. His wife was stolen by a Sheppard in a green Mercedes many years ago.


Film Title: Looking for Anne
Nominated for: Best Director, Best Film
Director: Takako Miyahira
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Length: 105 mins
Showing on: 3nd Dec, 7pm, GV Marina



The journey of a seventeen year old Japanese girl, Anri, who comes to Prince Edward Island with a secret mission, to find a Canadian war veteran. Gradually we find out that the veteran was the man who gave the book "Anne of Green Gables" to her recently deceased grandmother, and was potentially her first love.

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This festival will take place from 28 November 2009 to 4 December 2009. A total of 30 films will be screened at GV Marina and The Arts House. Tickets sold at $10 each at GV and The Arts House box offices, http://www.gv.com.sg/ and AXS Stations islandwide.

For more film schedules and synopses, please go to the official site: http://www.asianfirstfilms.com/.

AFFF 2009: Celebrated Jury Members

Here's the list of celebrated jury that AFFF managed to invite for this year.

Ana Kokkinos, Filmmaker

Ana Kokkinos is a Melbourne-based filmmaker whose career spans film and television. Her recent film, Blessed which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2009 won her Golden Shell for Best Screenplay, the Contemporary World Cinema Section at the Toronto International Film Festival (2009) and the BFI Times London International Film Festival (2009). Blessed has also been nominated for 4 Australian Film Institute Awards including Best Film.

Her other multi-award winning films include Head On which she directed and co-wrote with Andrew Bovell and Mira Robertson, The Book of Revelation which she directed and co-wrote with Andrew Bovell and Only The Brave which she directed and co-wrote with Mira Robertson. Films such as The Secret Life of Us, Young Lions and Eugenie Sandler Pl were also directed by Ana.

She is currently a board member of Film Victoria and was an Industry Consultant and Mentor to MA Directing students at the Australia Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney, in 2007. Ana was also a participant in the Creative Stream of the 2020 Summit in Canberra in 2008.


Chris Lee, Producer

Chris Lee was formerly the head of Columbia/TriStar where he oversaw the production of films such as Jerry Maguire, As Good As It Gets and Philadelphia. After leaving Columbia, he went on to produce internationally-recognised films such as Valkyrie, Superman Returns and its sequel, Superman: Man of Steel. Lee is the founder of the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media.

Other movies under his belt include:
· Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985) (Assistant Director/Assistant Editor)
· Blood of the Samurai (2001) (very special thanks)
· Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) (Producer)
· Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) (Producer)
· S.W.A.T. (2003) (Producer)
· Superman Returns (2006) (Executive Producer/Assistant Visual Effects Production Coordinator)
· One Foot Off the Ground (2006) (Executive Producer)
· Real Fiction (2008) (Executive Producer)
· Valkyrie (2008) (Executive Producer)
· The People I've Slept With (2009) (special thanks)
· Superman: Man of Steel (2011) (Executive Producer)


Kabir Khan, Director

Kabir Khan is a film graduate from Jamia, New Delhi and his film and documentary assignments have given him opportunities to travel extensively to over 60 countries. In 1998, he won the Grand Jury award at Film South Asia 2000 for his documentary, The Forgotten Arm. He moved on to direct a film, Two Assassinations and An Accident which won him Best National Film Award jointly with another film, Mechanics of Change at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2002. He was also awarded the National Critics Award.

His first feature film, Kabul Express premiered in the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival 2006 and then went on to the London, Pusan, Dubai, Singapore, Casablanca and Cairo Film Festivals. At the Asian Festival of First films in 2007, he received the Best Director’s Award and the Foreign Correspondents Association Purple Orchid Award for Best Film. His second feature film, New York, released worldwide in June 2009 to much critical acclaim and box office success. The film is set against the backdrop of post 9/11 New York and was shot in a single 100-day schedule in USA.

Other than filmmaking, he enjoys photography and this has won him several awards such as international photography awards at the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention in Switzerland in 1999 and the Nikon International Photo of the year in 2003.

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All the nominated films will be screened at Golden Village Marina and The Arts House from 28th November to 3rd December 2009. Tickets are available from the respective box offices and online (only Golden Village) at $10 each. Click here to see the schedule in full size.

For any other info, pls go to the official site: http://www.asianfirstfilms.com

AFFF 2009: List of Nominees

Here's the list of nominees for Asian Festival of First Films 2009:

Best Director
· For Real
· Lahore
· Looking For Anne
· Madholal Keep Walking
· Storage
· Dead Slowly

Best Producer
· Storage
· For Real
· Land Gold Women
· Madholal Keep Walking

Best Film (Producer & Director)
· For Real
· Lahore
· Looking For Anne
· Madholal Keep Walking
· Storage
· Dead Slowly
· Land Gold Women

Best Screenplay
· For Real
· 7 Days In Slow Motion
· Bollywood Beats
· Frontier Blues

Best Cinematographer/Editor
· Blood Ties
· Lahore
· Superman Of Malegaon
· Cowboys In Paradise

Best Actor
· For Real
· Cashless
· Basic Love
· Frontier Blues

Best Actress
· Blood Ties
· For Real
· Closed For Winter
· Trick Or Cheat

Best Documentary/Director Documentary
· A Homecoming Spectacle
· Addicted In Afghanistan
· Superman Of Malegaon
· Vitthal
· Cowboys In Paradise
· Alternate Lives: The Street Busker
· Honey Hunters

Best Short Film
· Vaishnav Jan Toh
· Love And Luksah
· Certain Chapters
· Kala Pul
· Swayamsidhha
· Ikaw Sana
· Just Kabir



Image taken from Vinashare.net

Out of all these films, I have only watched Basic Love on DVD before. It is a very simple movie and great when you need something to relax your mind (a no-brainer type of movie). I do think that the male actor is great, especially since he is actually from a singing background. Hopefully he may win the Best Actor award.

Another film I actually taken note before is Blood Ties, which is produced in Singapore. However I changed my mind to watch it at the last minute as I feel that it is a little too bloody for my taste after watching the trailer. But since it is a Singapore film, i will definitely be giving my support to it and hoping it will win all the awards it is being nominated for. :)


If you are keen to watch the nominated films, they will be screened at Golden Village Marina and The Arts House from 28th November to 3rd December 2009. Tickets are available from the respective box offices and online (only Golden Village) at $10 each. Film synopses and schedules will be listed on the festival website http://www.asianfirstfilms.com/.


Click here to see the schedule in full size.

Certain Chapters is one of AFFF 2009 nominees

AFFF is a prestigious festival that celebrates first-time film and documentary-makers and provides a platform for budding film talent. This year, the festival attracted over 700 entries and Certain Chapters is the sole Tamil nominee out of the 30 nominees from 28 countries.

Certain Chapters is a short independent Tamil-Language film released in Singapore.
Directed by Singaporean Abbas Akbar, it reveals the world of Indian gangsters in Singapore. Click here to watch videos of Certain Chapters.

The winners of the Asian Festival of First Films 2009 will be announced at the AFFF 2009 Gala Dinner in Singapore on December 4th. It will definitely be an unforgettable event for all the nominees.

For all updated news, pls refer to the official site: http://www.asianfirstfilms.com/

Painting your face

I was watching "Guess Guess Guess" program on Ch U last Saturday and there was this section where they invited three women to attend the show showing their pre make-up faces. Once again, it really highlighted the wonders of make-up which can transform an otherwise normal face to that of a supermodel.

It was also said in the show that 80% of women in Taiwan do not go out without applying makeup. The three women on the show also said that they were treated differently by their boyfriends or suitors once the men saw their real faces.

So I guess this is one of the reasons why I do not really use make-up. I prefer the person to be looking within me first rather than focus on my face. If the person does not even try knowing me first, then he is really a superficial person that I could not be bother knowing as well. But then again, all men are "visual" creatures who love looking at beautiful women.

Of course I cannot deny that I am also rather lazy to learn the make-up tricks, plus all the cleansing that I will need to do at the end of the day. I also need to look for cosmetics that are suitable for my oily skin as the previous foundation kept caking on my face. Or maybe I have applied them wrongly. :P

Oh well, I know I must start learning the tricks very soon, as it is always polite to dab a little make-up when attending events or in a workplace. Of course, my current and past workplaces have always been lenient on this so I guess I will put it off for a little while again. So to all friends of mine, please bear with my plain old face for the time being.

Tata and it's off to work for me now.. See ya again soon!

不能说的秘密 - 周杰伦

I love this song and piano piece from the movie, "不能说的秘密". If you haven't seen the movie, it will be broadcasted on tv tonight at 9pm. Enjoy the song for now.



不能说的秘密 - 周杰伦

冷咖啡离开了杯垫
我忍住的情绪在很后面
拼命想挽回的从前
在我脸上依旧清晰可见

最美的不是下雨天
是曾与你躲过雨的屋檐
回忆的画面
在荡着秋千
梦开始不甜

你说把爱渐渐放下会走更远
又何必去改变你走过的世界
你用你的指尖
阻止我说再见
想象你在身边
在完全失去之前

你说把爱渐渐放下会走更远
或许命运的签只让我们遇见
只让我们相恋
这一季的秋天
飘落后才发现
这幸福的碎片
要我怎么捡


Piano piece

MJC Farewell Assembly video

The Maths teachers at MJC are so cooooooool....


[Via DK]

<<在树上唱歌>> - 郭静

Another song by Guo Jing. I think it kinda lighten up my spirits after hearing it. Hope it will do so for you too. :)




<<在树上唱歌>> - 郭静

你说的每个笑话我都笑了
是你变幽默还是我变快乐
好久不见你说我大不相同
偷偷告诉你我的心去整型了

不想对每件事情都那么严格
弄得全世界好像只剩挫折
爱一朵花不猜它能开多久
放宽了心情把什么都变美了

想要光着脚丫在树上唱歌
好多事物全被缩小了
心里不想放的就去了 算了
让太阳把脸庞给晒得红彤彤

想要吹着口哨在树上唱歌
要像开往远方的火车
可以那么轻快的穿过山洞
大树上还很空你要不要陪我

想要光着脚丫~