TIONG BAHRU, the short film shot in the famous hawker centre and starring a cast of 150 volunteers from the area, is coming out on DVD soon and the filmmakers have 10 copies to give away exclusively to Yesterday.sg readers!

Filmed last year by leading UK-based Irish filmmakers Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy,  the film is the 10th in Joe and Christine’s acclaimed Civic Life series, a body of work that over the past 7 years has explored the relationship between communty and civic space.

Shot on 35 mm widescreen and lensed by leading Singaporean Director of Photography Daniel Low, TIONG BAHRU was Joe and Christine’s first project outside the UK and Ireland, and their most amitious Civic Life film to date . It involved months of consultation with the community of the Tiong Bahru estate, during which 100s of residents shared with Joe and Christine their memories of the estate, their feelings towards it and their hopes for its future.  From these dialogues, the filmmakers then developed the storylines which would make up the final narrative which centres around 3 characters on a day on which makes a crucial decision.  All of the parts in the film were played by volunteers who came forward to take part.  You can read about the process by checking the stories below:

http://yesterday.sg/blogging/and-suddenly-time-is-precious/

http://yesterday.sg/reflections/civic-life-tiong-bahru-its-a-wrap/

http://www.civiclife.sg/blog/?cat=5

TIONG BAHRU premiered at the National Museum in October last year and has since been seen at the Encounters Short Film Festival in the UK, the Rotterdam  and Dublin Film Festivals and is currently on tour in the UK (details here:http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/films/civiclife), with more international festivals to be confirmed.

The DVD  features the film, alongside an interview with Joe and Christine and 19 of the shortlisted films from the Civic Life short film competition,  WHERE THE HEART IS, including  the Jury Prize winner (Corridor by Isazaly Mohamed Isa : http://civiclife.sg/competition-filmdetails.php?id=113). The DVD also comes with  a souvenir booklet of production shots of the film by photographers Samanatha Tio and Alecia Neo and essays by poet Alvin Pang, playwright and poet Ng Yi-Sheng and journalist Shzr Ee Tan. See the film’s trailer here: http://www.civiclife.sg/film.html

The DVD will NOT be available for purchase (it will be available at libraries only) so this will be one of only a few opportunities you will be able to get your own copy. For a chance to win, send an email to civiclifefilms@hotmail.com with YESTERDAY in the subject line by 5.00pm  12th April, 2011.

Winners will be drawn at random and will be notified by email. Good luck!