Snakeskin
︎︎︎Trailer︎SYNOPSIS
In 2066, a survivor of an enigmatic cult recounts his country's traumatic history and the events leading to the rise and fall of the cult. Through his reminiscence, ghosts from 2014 and before appear as witnesses. Part dream documentary, part city symphony, this film traces the lineage of oppression as inscribed in Singapore’s landscape and collective unconscious.
Nooraisha Abu Bakar
Hey Mun Cheok
Max
Ishvinder Singh
Vicki Yang
Lim Lung Chieh
Chris Yeo
Dan Koh
Philipp Aldrup
Stephen Black
Syahrudin Pasha Dasa
Yusnor Ef
Hey Rui en
Connie Goh
Geraldine Kang
Godwin Koay
Adeline Koh
Isyraf Bin Sabtu
Zai Tang
Photographed and Directed by
Daniel Hui
Produced by
Tan Bee Thiam
Executive Producer
Violet Goh
Co-Producers
Pedro Fernandes Duarte,
Joana Gusmão
Sound Mixer
Tiago Matos
Colourist
Andreia Bertini
Original title
Snakeskin
International Title
Snakeskin
Duration
105 min / Colour
Aspect Ratio
1.33:1
Shooting Format
16mm
Screening Format
DCP
Sound
Mono
Year of Release
2014
Language
English, Malay
Subtitles
English
Country of production
Singapore,
Portugal
Production Company
13 Little Pictures,
Primeira
PRESS
Daniel Hui's ambitious but unpretentious film accepts the complexity of Singapore's past and its multiple strains of subjectivity... The personal recollections of ethnic minorities, film impresarios, and the ghosts of the city coalesce into a polymorphic narrative intimately lensed but told in a choral voice.
- Film Comment
In its unraveling narrative, this unusual, thoughtful evocation of time travel probes one of history's most complex sites of colonialist intrigue.
- Art Forum
Myths and personal histories populate the soundtrack, but as aberrations in the visuals and onscreen text become increasingly pronounced as the film proceeds, a future of both civic and cinematic ruin grows all the more unsettling as we watch as the events are set in motion by our very own hand.
- Jordan Cronk
- Film Comment
In its unraveling narrative, this unusual, thoughtful evocation of time travel probes one of history's most complex sites of colonialist intrigue.
- Art Forum
Myths and personal histories populate the soundtrack, but as aberrations in the visuals and onscreen text become increasingly pronounced as the film proceeds, a future of both civic and cinematic ruin grows all the more unsettling as we watch as the events are set in motion by our very own hand.
- Jordan Cronk
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
The 1950s is a fascinating era in Singapore’s history. It was a time when Singapore had the most vibrant film industry in the region. It was also a time of great political upheaval. Watching the cinema of this era, I have always found many parallels between its ideals and the ideals of activists and politicians at that time. Both wanted a racially-integrated society that is independent and egalitarian.
Unfortunately, a lot of this history has been either forgotten, erased, or rewritten. This film is dedicated to the people who have fallen through the gaps of history. Their ghosts remain with us, in our dreams, in our hallucinations, in our unconscious. In the deep of the night, when the ring of money has died down, we can still hear their voices warning us of the future to come.
Unfortunately, a lot of this history has been either forgotten, erased, or rewritten. This film is dedicated to the people who have fallen through the gaps of history. Their ghosts remain with us, in our dreams, in our hallucinations, in our unconscious. In the deep of the night, when the ring of money has died down, we can still hear their voices warning us of the future to come.
FESTIVALS
TFFDoc Special Jury Award, Torino Film Festival 2014
New Asian Currents Award of Excellence, Yamagata International Film Festival 2015
Special Jury Mention, Montreal International Documentary Film Festival (RIDM) 2015
IN COMPETITION
FICUNAM 2015IN COMPETITION
Doclisboa International Film Festival 2014IN COMPETITION
Festival de Cine Lima Independiente 2015IN COMPETITION
Salamindanaw International Film Festival 2015Harvard Film Archive, 2015
Art of the Real, Film Society of Lincoln Center New York, 2015
FIDMarseille, Marseille Festival of Documentary Film 2015
Southeast Asian Film Festival, Singapore Art Museum, 2015
