Chinese moviefest fetes short films

SHORT films take the spotlight at this year's Singapore Chinese Film Festival (SCFF) with the controversial dystopian drama Ten Years making its premiere here at the 10-day event.

Winner of Best Film at the recent 35th Hong Kong Film Awards, the low -budget omnibus feature deals with the issue of eroding human rights in Hong Kong as the mainland Chinese government gradually exerts its influence over the country.

Made on a shoestring budget of just HK$600,000 (S$104,000), the dark political satire was a domestic box-office hit despite the limited number of screens that would carry it. At one cinema, it outgrossed Star Wars: The Force Awakens and even after it was removed from multiplexes, the makers continue to organise their own guerrilla screenings at makeshift venues such as schools and public basketball courts.