National Youth Film Awards (NYFA) 2021 Nominees
List of Nominated Films – Student
| LIVE ACTION |
| Gone Are The Moat And The Walls Director: Joshuah Lim En Institution: LASALLE College of the Arts Former puppet troupe leader, Zhang, returns to Singapore after 20 years when he received recurring dreams from the City God. As he searches for answers, Zhang faces a new Singapore he does not recognise. |
| 释怀 (Holding On, Letting Go) Director: Lionel Seah Institution: Ngee Ann Polytechnic A family starts to crumble, after the passing of their grandmother. |
| A Little Closer Director: Cheryl Mong Institution: Temasek Polytechnic A Stay-Home Caller must help a lost dementia-stricken lady find her husband or she would be left roaming around the streets alone during a pandemic in Singapore. |
| Scavenger Director: Nicholas Ong Kok Weng Institution: Temasek Polytechnic An old homeless scavenger must gather offerings for her wedding or she won’t be able to marry her late fiancé́ before he reincarnates. |
| GIRLS Director: Tamara Tan Institution: Ngee Ann Polytechnic ‘Girls’ is about two underaged teenage girls who embark on a runaway from home. Their plans slowly fall apart as they spiral deeper into their discovery of self and maturity, eventually leading nowhere. |
| Booking Director: Haziq Adam De Silva Institution: Temasek Polytechnic A taxi driver must form a risqué partnership with a social escort to protect his daughter from bankruptcy. |
| Skeletons In The Closet Director: Brendan Mayle Kor Chong Li Institution: Nanyang Technological University After an intimate encounter in a closet, a university freshman embarks on an obsessive journey to unravel the truth behind his roommate’s sexuality. |
| After Director: Monika Tsang Institution: Ngee Ann Polytechnic A family has difficulties readjusting to their lives after the grieve and loss from their father’s death. |
| Rocketship Director: Mathias Choo Institution: Nanyang Technological University Ten-year-old Samuel takes it upon himself to save his parent’s marriage by recreating a precious shared memory. |
| As Bold as Red, As Soft as Velvet Director: Nguyen Minh Truong Giang Institution: LASALLE College of the Arts A queer man has to go through a maturity ritual to gain acceptance from others and himself. |
| DOCUMENTARY |
| Eat What With Who Director: Stella Seetoh Wai Yeng Institute: Nanyang Technological University Deep diving into the online phenomenon of Mukbang, we explore more about the social needs of young Singaporean audiences. |
| Between These Bones Producer: Li Jiaqi Institute: Nanyang Technological University An ode to the place we call home, and the ways people navigate life within her spaces. |
| WallFlowers in the Parade Director: Tan Jit Jenn Institute: LASALLE College of the Arts Wallflowers in the Parade is a documentary film that chronicles the lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Singapore that were imprisoned since 1972 due to their conscientious objection. |
| Mother & Daughter Director: Wee Antong Institute: Ngee Ann Polytechnic Mother & Daughter is a documentary that explores the life of matriarch Mdm Teo Kerk Eng and how her story affects her daugher and grandaughter in the present. |
| Sum of Our Parts Director: Olivia Tan Jia Yi Institute: Nanyang Technological University Against the backdrop of pragmatic Singapore, four local performance artists introduce their unconventional practice—the use of the body as a vessel for artistic expression. |
| Reflections of a Housewife Director: Alena Kristine Yeo Institute: Nanyang Technological University An exploration of the life of a housewife. |
| Tia Gong Director: Enkainia Lee Institute: Nanyang Technological University Two Ah Bengs question the label they grew up with through their everyday lives in this light-hearted documentary. |
| SORRY FOR EXISTING Director: Shelby Kho Institute: Nanyang Technological University We were all made from the same factory with different materials — how does your heart beat, and how does your stomach sink? |
| Ah Ma Number One Director: Michelle Choo Institute: Ngee Ann Polytechnic Ah Ma Number one follows the journey of the director’s grandma with dementia, during her transient period where she remembers that she is forgetting her memory. |
| Chop Thye Bee Director: Md Azman Institute: Ngee Ann Polytechnic The film examines the looming loss of the Chop Thye Bee convenience store and its 65-year legacy through the eyes of family members who reminisce its memories and ponder its fate. |
| ANIMATION |
| Drive With Me Director: Huang Shiao-ya Institute: Nanyang Technological University Aiden decides to take a break from his corporate routine to take his suicidal wife on a roadtrip to nowhere. |
| Strange Occurrences: Bukit Bulabu Directors: Wong Shi Teng, Hana Lee, Gloria Yeo Institute: Nanyang Technological University Two interviewees talk about their experience in the recently rediscovered bathroom atop the hill of Bukit Bulabu, joined by self-proclaimed superstitions expert Mdm Kok. |
| Tankboy Director: Novella Institute: LASALLE College of the Arts When Kevin’s tears become never-ending and uncontrollable, he decides to put a tank on his head. |
| Bolder Director: Alex Li Institute: 3dsense Media School A young wizard in training is forced to deal with not only her annoying classmate, but also an angry boulder. |
| BirdFeed Director: Chia Chin Yong Institute: 3dsense Media School A Baker has lunch at a park. What could go wrong? |
| Full Circle Director: Yeow Su Xian Institute: Nanyang Technological University The Moon and Earth’s relationship through a narrative medium — the journey through a sleepless night, conquering the semi-conscious moonlit world and the retrospective nature of the night. |
| To Kill the Birds & the Bees Director: Calleen Koh Yee Lin Institute: LASALLE College of the Arts |
| In Tune Director: Dianna Koh Institute: 3dsense Media School In Tune is a short film about Ah Gong’s fatherly love towards Cheepcheep, his songbird. Set in a park, Ah Gong transitions from a strict, guiding figure to one that puts his pet’s desires over his own. |
| Grave Encounter Director: Hasya Amryna Nur Adly Institute: Nanyang Polytechnic Two ghosts fight over who gets to rest in peace, over a hole in a graveyard. |
| The Nights Director: Yap Jing Wen Institute: LASALLE College of the Arts The beauty of the night. |
List of Nominated Films – Open Youth
| LIVE ACTION |
| The Cup Directors: Mark Chua, Lam Li Shuen In a surreal tableau, a man with a brewing machine for a head, discontent with the bland taste of the brew from his own body, attempts to do what he can to improve its flavour. |
| The Day The Rhythm Went Away Director: Cheng Chai Hong A student goes out of sync with the world around him, and gradually finds himself losing all sense of self. |
| Heart Shape 莲蓉包 (The Peach Banquet) Producer: Lim Siew Rong Heart Shape 莲蓉包 is a sprinkle of magic in the ordinary. It is the beginnings that blossom after endings, and an aching solitude where love still finds its way to flow. |
| In Between these Pages Director: Rifyal Giffari When a woman brings her grandmother to stay with her after a fall, her personal, religious, and family values are questioned and criticised as her grandmother learns more about her lifestyle. |
| Tuition Director: Alistair Quak ALAN, a 13 year old boy, tries to get evidence of abuse, while attending a tuition with a physically aggressive teacher. |
| Kasih Sayang Untuk Layla (Love For Layla) Director: Nur Munawarah Mohamed Hussain When a young girl’s mother travels abroad for work, she needs to find a way to overcome her longing for her mother and convince her strict grandmother to allow her to call her mother. |
| Guang Ming Director: Amanda Tan KS (50s) is a hardworking and honest single dad trying to make ends meet for his son Feng (7-8). KS finds his morals questioned when an incident occurs between him and the workshop’s newest hire, Yue (30s), a Chinese migrant worker. |
| The Cabbage Statue Director: Megan Lim En Seeing The Cabbage Statue of Ranau, Malaysia is an once-in-a-lifetime, never going to happen again experience: A presentation on why it is imperative that Ruth and Kelly go see this statue. |
| Dark Light Director: Vikneshwaran Silva Mari, a construction worker in Singapore, seeks companionship on his day off, but instead gets into a misadventure that he will never forget. |
| Bulan Director: Syamsul Bahari A 12 year old boy secretly keeps his late grandfather’s beloved pet beetle named Bulan without his mother knowing. He vows to keep his grandfather’s promise of passing Bulan to a worthy pet owner before his mother finds out. |
| DOCUMENTARY |
| partitions Director: Vishal Daryanomel partitions tells a story of Sindhi migration to Singapore following the Partition of India in 1947, juxtaposing fragmented recollections of the past with enduring practices of the present. |
| The Spaces Between Us Directors: Dave Lim, Adar Ng Investigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on contemporary Singapore society, the film excavates the delicate balance between the interior lives of citizens and the society. |
| While You Were Sleeping Director: Jeremy Ho A photographer revisits his body of work over the past two decades of dark spaces in Singapore, finding many of these places irrevocably changed. |
| Last Day Today Director: Liu Yihong Due to the pandemic, Denny and Ivy, the largest poster retailer in Southeast Asia, decided to close their 16-year-old physical store in Singapore’s landmark, the Esplanade… |
| 148: Shangri-La Confectionery Director: Kyle Ong Shangri-La Confectionery & Delicatessen 香格里拉西饼美食 is a multi-generation family owned business since 1985. |
| Just A Call Away Director: Jessica Heng In the peak of circuit breaker, a moth flutters about the house, accompanied by conversations between grandparents and grandchildren. As snippets of daily life and tender longing play out, we remember the conveniently forgotten community that is just a call away. |
| Sleep Is A Waste Of Time Director: Chew Jia Hui Live life to the fullest. Meet Nick, an artist / inventor / designer /multihyphenate who takes this saying to a whole other level. |
| A Short Film for my Son Director: Hariz Zulkifli A father attempts to make a short film for his ever busy son in hopes of getting closer to him. |
| ANIMATION |
| Hindsight is 20/20 Director: Yanyun Chen A glimpse of a Singaporean artist’s life under lockdown. |
| Would This Be Too Much To Ask For? Directors: Lan Yu, Lim Joo Hwee A glimpse into the life of a rough sleeper, where basic needs that were once taken for granted in everyday life become a luxury. |
| BANGAU Director: Fanny Bratahalim A film exploring the (de)construction process of my diasporic identity. |
| Turning To Self-Surgery: A Transgender Woman’s Journey Director: Lee Yu En A transgender person shares the harsh realities of her life in China. |
| Breaking Bread Director: Elizabeth Xu Yuan Li A question of what it means to love as God-fearing gay person. |
| Another Day in Paradise Part 5 (Animal) Director: Ang Geck Geck Struggling to cope with isolation and loneliness during the pandemic, Lau finds an unexpected friend that changes his life. |
| The Visit Director: Morrie Tan A young girl visits her father in prison. The glass in-between would never separate them anyways. |
| Waiting for the End – A Mother’s Regret Director: Chew Jia Hui An elderly lady writes a letter to her estranged child as she wastes away the last years of her life. |
List of Best Actor / Actress – Student & Open Youth
| BEST ACTOR |
| The Day The Rhythm Went Away Name: Ezra Lim Character Played: Wei A student goes out of sync with the world around him, and gradually finds himself losing all sense of self. |
| Dark Light Name: Gosteloa Spancer Character Played: Mari Mari, a construction worker in Singapore, seeks companionship on his day off, but instead gets into a misadventure that he will never forget. |
| A Little Closer Name: Timothy Immanuel Character Played: Ashwin Sharma A Stay-Home Caller must help a lost dementia-stricken lady find her husband or she would be left roaming around the streets alone during a pandemic in Singapore. |
| Skeletons In The Closet Name: Li Jin Hao Character Played: Casey After an intimate encounter in a closet, a university freshman embarks on an obsessive journey to unravel the truth behind his roommate’s sexuality. |
| After Name: Chen Run Sheng Character Played: Gabriel A family has difficulties readjusting to their lives after the grieve and loss from their father’s death. |
| As Bold as Red, As Soft as Velvet Name: Belmont Soh Yu Xian Character Played: Gary A queer man has to go through a maturity ritual to gain acceptance from others and himself. |
| BEST ACTRESS |
| In Between these Pages Name: Tysha Khan Character Played: Imani When a woman brings her grandmother to stay with her after a fall, her personal, religious, and family values are questioned and criticised as her grandmother learns more about her lifestyle. |
| The Cabbage Statue Name: Rachel Yen Character Played: Kelly Seeing The Cabbage Statue of Ranau, Malaysia is an once-in-a-lifetime, never going to happen again experience: A presentation on why it is imperative that Ruth and Kelly go see this statue. |
| Dark Light Name: Dewy Choo Character Played: Mei Mari, a construction worker in Singapore, seeks companionship on his day off, but instead gets into a misadventure that he will never forget. |
| 释怀 (Holding On, Letting Go) Name: Iris Li Character Played: Ting A family starts to crumble, after the passing of their grandmother. |
| GIRLS Name: Dewy Choo Character Played: Tara (in red) ‘Girls’ is about two underaged teenage girls who embark on a runaway from home. Their plans slowly fall apart as they spiral deeper into their discovery of self and maturity, eventually leading nowhere. |
| After Name: Priscilla Chong Character Played: Sam ‘A family has difficulties readjusting to their lives after the grieve and loss from their father’s death. |
