15 shorts

by Abigail Han

What does an Indian man with a one-room HDB flat, a matron of an old folks home, and a primary school Malay boy have in common?

As a prelude to the series of 15 shorts, we gathered on a Saturday morning at 1880 to watch three films presented by Melissa Kwee and Daniel Yun. We discovered through the films that all three characters all embodied compassion. The films are part of a movement where Fifteen Singapore filmmakers, Blue3Asia, and the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre come together in a ground-up effort, to unfold visual stories of a lesser-told side of Singaporeans from the 1970s to the 1990s.

The first film, Shelter, told the story of Rashid Bakar who experienced homelessness himself and was able to walk out of it. After purchasing his own one-room HDB flat he lovingly pursued a family of three who because of financial difficulties were experiencing homelessness themselves. The second film, One Day At A Time, featured Teresa Hsu affectionately known as “Singapore’s Mother Teresa”, whose lifelong devotion in helping the aged sick and destitute touched hearts locally, one at a time. The third film, The Buddy, told a timeless story of friendship. At just 8 years old, Hidayat was able to relate to his autistic friend, Tam, and demonstrated a sensitivity and quiet understanding by helping him at school and hanging out with him despite his quirks of speaking with spiders and occasional uncontrolled tantrums. There was not a dry eye in the audience as the films unravelled before us.

In 1997, Singapore launched the Singapore Kindness Movement, motivated by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. He highlighted the need for Singapore to become a gracious society by the 21st century. While Kindness awards have been presented to students, and Singa the Lion mascots have sprouted up across the island, we question the impact this top-down approach has had on our city.

Films like 15 shorts present a far more powerful collective movement. The ripples these films create will emanate beyond the walls of 1880, and we are grateful to have been part of it. We cannot wait for its second installation.