Tiong Bahru Social Club
︎︎︎Trailer ︎︎︎Streaming ︎︎︎Linktree︎SYNOPSIS
Ah Bee goes on a comedic odyssey through Tiong Bahru Social Club, a data-driven project to create the happiest neighbourhood in the world. Little by little Ah Bee’s encounters with the neighbourhood’s residents reveal the absurdity of life.
Bee
Thomas Pang
Mui
Goh Guat Kian
Ms. Wee
Jayln Han
Haslinna
Noorlinah Mohamed
Geok
Jo Tan
Orked
Munah Bagharib
Tiong Bahru Cat
Mochi
Directed by
Tan Bee Thiam
Written by
Antti Toivonen,
Tan Bee Thiam
Produced by
Huang Junxiang
Director of Photography
Looi Wan Ping
Editor
Looi Wan Ping
Production Designer
James Page
Costumes
Melissa Chang
Executive Producers
Glen Goei,
Bert Tan,
Christer,
Warren Eriksson,
Oliver Robert Eriksson
Co-producers
Antti Toivonen,
Looi Wan Ping
Sound Recordist
Justin Loh
Sound Designer
Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr
Sound Mixer
Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr
Music Composers
Ruben De Gheselle,
Michaël Penson
Original title
Tiong Bahru Social Club
International Title
Tiong Bahru Social Club
Duration
88 min
Aspect Ratio
1.90:1
Screening Format
2K DCP
Sound
5.1 Surround Sound
Year of Release
2020
Language
English, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Malay, Tamil
Subtitles
English, English and Simplified Chinese
Country of production
Singapore
Production Companies
Tiger Tiger Pictures, Bert Pictures, 13 Little Pictures
In Association with
Uncle Auntie & Friends, WBSB Films
With the support of
Singapore Film Commission
PRESS
"Tiong Bahru Social Club is a funny and light-hearted satire that both serves as a cautionary fable about the dangers of integrating artificial intelligence into our lives, as well as a tribute to the historic Singaporean districts which form the settings for the film." - Yahoo Singapore
"Tiong Bahru Social Club is a visually thrilling comedy with a delicate touch. Never a futuristic dystopia has been so heartwarming." - Asian Movie Pulse
"Tiong Bahru Social Club is a charming, witty and visually pleasing satirical comedy that succinctly captures the Singaporean obsession with measuring and assigning empirical value to abstract things. This is the most striking, memorable and enjoyable local film in a long time." - F*** Magazine
"Unlike any other, the film shatters any preconceived notions there is about what Singapore film can (or should) look like, giving us a potential glimpse of local cinema’s future...it would be hard not to be swept away by the visual treats offered here, and even more difficult not to be inspired by the care put into Tiong Bahru Social Club. Every frame is meticulously and lovingly crafted, making me wish I spent more time with the film than its brief 88 minutes allowed. Tiong Bahru Social Club’s dazzling style looks to be a crowd-winner." - Sinema.SG
"Tiong Bahru Social Club is a visually thrilling comedy with a delicate touch. Never a futuristic dystopia has been so heartwarming." - Asian Movie Pulse
"Tiong Bahru Social Club is a charming, witty and visually pleasing satirical comedy that succinctly captures the Singaporean obsession with measuring and assigning empirical value to abstract things. This is the most striking, memorable and enjoyable local film in a long time." - F*** Magazine
"Unlike any other, the film shatters any preconceived notions there is about what Singapore film can (or should) look like, giving us a potential glimpse of local cinema’s future...it would be hard not to be swept away by the visual treats offered here, and even more difficult not to be inspired by the care put into Tiong Bahru Social Club. Every frame is meticulously and lovingly crafted, making me wish I spent more time with the film than its brief 88 minutes allowed. Tiong Bahru Social Club’s dazzling style looks to be a crowd-winner." - Sinema.SG
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
How does one quantify happiness to measure it? And once we can quantify it, do we need to be happier than others to be truly happy? Tiong Bahru Social Club is a satire that serves as a reflection of the absurdities of modern Singaporean society. To create this whimsical world, the locations, sets, props, costumes, hair and makeup are designed with precise colour coordination and uncanny symmetry, as if there’s an invisible hand shaping a bonsai. I am influenced by the profound wisdom of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. At the heart of the film, Tiong Bahru Social Club is a story that celebrates the courage of an Everyman to drop out of the rat race and see the world from the perspective of a cat, the ultimate Tao master.
FESTIVALS
OPENING FILM & IN COMPETITION
Singapore International Film Festival 2020IN COMPETITION
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021
Busan International Film Festival 2020