The 7th National Youth Film Awards (NYFA) announced 56 films that showcase a new wave of filmmakers for Singapore’s film industry.
Held by *SCAPE, an organisation that supports the development of Singaporean youths, the platform saw a total of 330 submissions this year. The most prominent themes this year were mental health, self-discovery, as well as the importance of human connection as we battle through the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the nominated films were also filmed during the Circuit Breaker to showcase how Singaporeans are powering through the unforeseen challenges posed.
One film that showcased the different sides of how Singaporeans battled the Circuit Breaker period is “A Little Closer” by Cheryl Mong from the Student category. The film revolves around Ashwin, a young Indian man, who works as a Stay-Home Caller during the pandemic. While working from home, he forms an unlikely friendship with a Chinese elderly lady who helps him discover the importance of tradition and family.
A second film, “The Cup” by Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen from the Open Youth category, was highly regarded by the jurors for how the filmmaker took a risk to showcase a different style of storytelling.
The film uses surrealism to showcase the uncertainty and lack of joy Singaporeans felt during the pandemic by telling the story about a man with a brewing machine as his head and how he attempts to improve the bland flavour of his own body. The entire film was shot and produced during the Circuit Breaker, while the filmmakers were confined at home.
Many of the pre-selection jurors highlighted how this year’s submissions included films that are award-worthy.
“Overall, I was very impressed with the diversity and quality of the submissions – from the acting to the scripts and the production values. The nominations were shorts I connected with on a very visceral level. There were times where I was so drawn into a film that I forgot I was watching it as a juror.”
--- Jaclyn Chan, year’s pre-selection juror of Open Youth category ---
The NYFA will be hosting a closed-door screening of the nominated films for the nominees and media in early July with the winners will be announced during a live online award ceremony on 24 July 2021.
In the meantime, some of the nominees will be on Reel Talk, a NYFA web series hosted by Fly Entertainment artiste, Nikki Muller, on *SCAPE YouTube channel (@scapesg) on 14, 17 and 21 July.
