Discover how the iconic Anthony Bourdain came to be in Matt Johnson’s scrappy coming-of-age comedy that's equal parts sweet and sour.
Long before he became the world’s favorite culinary storyteller, Anthony Bourdain was just a dishwashing kid getting baptized in the grease, sweat, and chaos of a 1970s coastal seafood shack. This electric origin story follows a young Tony (Dominic Sessa) as he gets thrown into the fire of a cutthroat kitchen brigade. Surrounded by foul-mouthed line cooks, late-night vices, and non-stop pressure, a reckless teenager stumbles into the raw grit and rock-and-roll pulse that defined his entire legacy.
In English with English subtitles.
Rated M18 for Coarse Language and Drug Use.
The film contains an utterance of religious profanity that exceeds IMDA guidelines. The line has been muted by the distributor to be kept in line with guidelines.
Oscar is an aging, rueful poet whose artistic ambitions have long faded into obscurity and heavy drinking. When Oscar takes up teaching to meet ends meet, he encounters Yurlady, a working-class girl with an extraordinary gift for poetry, he becomes consumed with launching her talent into the local literary scene. Driven by a desperate longing for career redemption and a second chance at fatherhood, Oscar inadvertently pushes her into an ambitious world she never asked to join.
Directed by Simón Mesa Soto, this tragicomedy earned the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and represented Colombia as its official submission for Best International Feature Film. Anchored by a brilliant, cringe-inducing performance from Ubeimar Rios, the film offers a darkly funny and deeply humane satire on artist egos and the messy search for purpose.
A Poet, A Creative, A Panel
Join us for a post-show fireside chat on Tue 6 Oct, 7.30pm!
Do you dream of writing your story one day? Of writing novels, poetry, or making films?
Do you want to support those dreamers around us to do so?
It isn’t easy being an artist anywhere, especially not outside major commercial systems like America, the UK, and Hollywood. And though A POET comes from halfway across the world, our creative industries are really not so different. So why make the admirably Herculean task of creating any harder by keeping career wisdom behind closed doors (or gates), or by having to struggle alone? And if you care about local voices, then how can we best support our artists?
Join us for a fireside chat with a local poet, Theophilus Kwek, and filmmaker, Pek Jia Hao, as they share with us their uncensored stories, tips and tricks, and dreams for the creative life in Singapore.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Rated M18 for Nudity.
Haru, a competitive ballroom dancer in Tokyo, finds her world shattered when a sudden tragedy takes her husband-cum-dance partner from her side. Withdrawn into deep isolation and grief, she slowly allows her friends to coax her back onto the floor, where an unexpected connection with a new instructor reignites her passion. As she navigates life after loss, Haru stumbles through awkward choices, finding that healing is an exuberant, messy, and wildly colorful process.
Featuring a charismatic lead performance by Rinko Kikuchi(Pacific Rim), the film presents an energetic, unabashed and fantastical way of moving on.
In Japanese, Spanish and English with English subtitles.
Rated M18 for Sexual Scene and Mature Content.
Still grieving the tragic loss of her fiancé Itsuki Fujii in a mountain climbing accident, Hiroko Watanabe sends a letter to his old childhood address in snow-covered Otaru, a home she believes no longer exists, hoping to send a message into the ether. To her shock, she receives a reply signed by "Itsuki Fujii." The respondent is not her late lover's ghost, but a female former classmate who shared his exact name. As the two women begin exchanging letters across the snowbound landscape, a tender, long buried portrait of forgotten youth, unrequited first love, and shared memory slowly unfurls.
A foundational landmark of 1990s Asian cinema, Shunji Iwai’s feature debut became a massive cultural phenomenon across East and Southeast Asia, immortalized by Miho Nakayama’s double performance. Shot with a dreamlike, soft focus palette by the late cinematographer Noboru Shinoda, this new 4K digital restoration preserves every delicate detail.
4K remastering under the supervision of Fuji Television Network, Inc., with all analog and digital processes by Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc. Image digitization through high-resolution 4K scanning from the original 35mm camera negative. Restoration, color correction, and final sound finishing supervised by director Shunji Iwai.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
Rated PG
Presented at Filmhouse as part of Japanese Film Festival, in partnership with the Singapore Film Society, Japan Creative Center and Japan Foundation
An unexpected meeting on a train leads two travelers to spend an evening wandering through Vienna. As the night unfolds, they share stories and conversations about life and love, exploring new ideas while a quiet intimacy grows between them, knowing it may be their only night together.
In English.
Rated NC16.
