Lost Images of a by-gone era

Posted by plumblossoms under National History, News, Reflections, Traditions
(19) Comments • (5423) Reads • Permalink

There’s something about National Day that always evokes a certain patriotism. The fluttering of our beloved flag in the gentle breeze, the city awash in colours of red and white. In the midst of the celebration, one can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia as you think back of how life has evolved in 44 years of nation building. As I walk past the gates of the old National Library on my daily journey, I have been trying to piece together the landscape of my neighbourhood.

4140_fishmonger It’s timely perhaps that OKTO will be screening Lost Images on Monday evening, 10 August at 9:30pm. Produced by The Moving Visuals Company, this documentary features the ‘lost images’ of Singapore and the region, captured through the eyes of Dr. Ivan Polunin from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Dr Polunin had arrived as a young doctor from England in 1948 and has lived in Singapore since then. As a lecturer in Social Medicine and Public Health at the then University of Malaya, he captured hundreds of hours of footage on 16mm film. The diverse images, which depict kampong scenes to life in an orang laut village, show a side of Singapore that many of us never realise existed. These were probably scenes which our grandparents and parents took for granted and must have told us about. This is a ‘must catch’ programme not to be missed.

Dr Polunin also took still photographs, on top of capturing moving images. These images can be seen from 8 Aug to 22 Nov 2009 at the NUS Museum in an exhibition simply entitled ‘I Polunin’. I can’t wait to check that exhibition out. More information can be found at http://www.nus.edu.sg/museum/exhibitions_polunin.html.

Happy National Day, Singapore!

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(19) Comments

Posted by: Tony
Posted on: August 10th, 2009

Just watched it on tv and what an amazing documentary! I'm now going find out from the production co if its for sale on dvd. The authenticity of daily lives should not be confined to historical moments. There is so much pleasure in the "little things"... The moments in this documentary that made it for me are the farm scenes as my grandparents did have a small farm in serangoon gardens. Water Hyacinths are harvested from the ponds to be cooked as feed for the pigs. Mud tracks, fruit trees and smells, this documentary made it all come alive for me. Will check out the exhibition in NUS. :-)

Posted by: CaT
Posted on: August 11th, 2009

We watched it on tv just now. Very impressed by the quality of the images. The colours are still very vivid, even after more than 50yrs. These rolls of film are treasure. Thank you very much Dr Polunin for capturing those moments of history of the ordinary S'poreans. We have a better idea of how our parents' life was back then...

Posted by: YGen
Posted on: August 11th, 2009

I agree with posters it was an excellent documentary. I was very intrigued when the documentary showed clark quay near the MICA building back in the 50s- full of bustling shopkeepers, lorries and coolie workers. Also the happy images of kampung life, of children jumping boisterously into the water, sailing toy boats made of cloth and wood and playing on the streets of Chinatown. Now I know what the old Singapore my grandparents talked about was..!

Posted by: Errol Goodenough
Posted on: August 12th, 2009

I'm in the evening of my life. The brillant docummentary meant so much to me. It should mean even more to younger Singaporeans. Thank you Dr Polunin!

Posted by: Kelvin S
Posted on: August 16th, 2009

It was a brilliant documentary and I hoped that they sell this as a DVD. I watched it with my parents, and it intrigued them to see scenes from old Singapore that are long gone. One of the best, most interesting documentaries that I've seen in a long time.

Posted by: James Seah
Posted on: August 16th, 2009

Nice blog which evoke nostalgic memories of our past. Gets my vote!

Posted by: Hira Osman
Posted on: August 17th, 2009

When I saw the trailer and edm of this program, I immediately forward it to my friends and family. I am an avid fan of everything nostalgia and if given the choice to time-travel back, I would like to re-visit S'pore in the olden days. Kudos to Dr Polunin for giving us the opportunity to walk down memory lane. Hope there's a re-run of this.

Posted by: Galen Yeo, Executive Producer of Lost Images
Posted on: August 20th, 2009

Thanks for the comments. I have passed them on to Dr Polunin and family. There is more footage but we were unable to put them all in one film, so hopefully we can do more. The DVD is in the works and will be out soon. A re-run date is pending.

Posted by: The Moving Visuals Co. - Blog » More Praise for Lost Images
Posted on: August 20th, 2009

[...] more comments about Lost Images from the public here at yesterday.sg Category: Bios, History, Shows Tags: Lost [...]

Posted by: acroamatic
Posted on: August 20th, 2009

That's fantastic news, Galen. I will definitely purchase the DVD when it is out.

Posted by: plumblossoms
Posted on: September 17th, 2009

Hi folks, Just a quick update! The DVDs are out! It was sold at the Business of Heritage conference at the National Museum yesterday. Will let everyone know where they retail soon! Thanks!

Posted by: Dr Ian Britain
Posted on: December 8th, 2009

I have come across a reference to Dr Polunin in the published diaries (vol. 4, pp. 84-5) of Australian artist Donald Friend, of whom I am currently writing a biography. Or I am assuming and hoping it is the same person. The date is March 1968; the place is Sanur in Bali. Could someone - Dr Palunin, or a member of his family, or the producers of Lost Images-please confirm this?

Posted by: plumblossoms
Posted on: January 7th, 2010

Hi Dr Britain, Will check with the producers and get back to you on that!

Posted by: Cindy
Posted on: April 28th, 2010

Hi can someone let me know if i am able to buy the DVD anywhere??

Posted by: V Vijaykumarr
Posted on: August 9th, 2010

When I was alerted by this documentary by my nephew Lavinn, I got my kids aged 12 and 10 to join me and my wife to watch it. The kids were amazed, but it was I who was jumping from my seat pointing the TV and repeatedly saying things like "Ya, I did this", or "That school bag (box?) is what I carried". In that short while, I relived my memories of my kampong at Lorong Bendul which was just outside what was then Serangoon Garden Community Centre, just behind Zion Church. AMK Ave 3, near CTE occupies what was my kampong. Great old days. Thanks for the documentary and look forward to the DVD.