In conjunction with the Audio-Visual World Heritage Day, the Asian Film Archive (AFA) opens its collection for reference to the public at the library@esplanade. This collection consists of Singapore and Asian films from around the region. Amongst the titles are the works of local award-winning filmmakers such as Royston Tan, Anthony Chen, Tan Pin Pin and Kirsten Tan. Films by famed Southeast-Asian filmmakers such as Tan Chui Mui, Riri Riza, and Thunska Pansittivorakul also form part of the collection.

Made available for research and viewing within the premise of the library@esplanade, this is the first time where a collective body of Asian films can be readily accessed at a centralised location in Singapore. This is made possible under a partnership between AFA and the National Library Board (NLB). With over 100 Singapore film titles and 50 Asian titles currently available, the collection is expected to increase substantially by the end of 2008. The synopses of all the films can be found on the AFA’s online catalogue at www.asianfilmarchive.org. The list of locally produced films funded by the Singapore Film Commission can also be found under the Series "Asian Film Archive: Singapore Collection" in NLB's Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) at www.nlb.gov.sg.

As part of its outreach and education efforts, the AFA is involved in and organising several events related to the Archive’s film collection.

• The Archive is organising the Asian Film Archive Presents Symposium on Southeast Asian Digital Cinema (www.asianfilmarchive.org/seadc) on 10th and 11th Dec 2007. Students can submit papers based on the Southeast Asian films they have viewed from the reference section, and stand to win prizes worth over $6000 in total sponsored by Canon. Outstanding student papers on the films will be presented during the Symposium, allowing for discourse between the students, filmmakers and members of the public.

• An accompanying visual installation of digital filmmaking groups from Southeast Asia has been mounted by the Archive at the library@esplande from Aug-Dec 2007 to celebrate the cultural diversity of our region through the works of filmmakers.

• The Archive has contributed a video clip from its collection, Sunshine Singapore (1967) by Rajendra Gour as part of the AV World Heritage Trailer that is compiled from the works of filmmakers and archives’ collections from around the globe. Several hundred DVDs of this trailer are being circulated at the UNESCO General Conference this week and will be played to delegates in attendance in honor of the World Day for AV Heritage. The trailer can be viewed from the website: http://www.ccaaa.org/wdavh/?c=trailer. (The theme of the trailer, “Planet Earth: From Place to Space,” is UNESCO’s theme for 2007). This is the first time a Singapore organisation has taken part in the AV World Heritage Day, a special day set aside by the UNESCO to raise awareness on the importance of audio-visual preservation.

The AFA hopes that through the partnership with NLB, more people will be able to appreciate and enjoy the works of Asian filmmakers. With the support of NLB, Singapore Film Commission, the National Archives of Singapore and Canon, the mission of the AFA to save, share, and explore the art of Asian cinema can be further realised.

Thank you.

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