National Day / 19min / HD / 2009by He Shuming
He Shuming is currently a Final Year Directing Major at The Puttnam School of Film, LASALLE College of The Arts. 'National Day' is his 2nd short film after 'Visiting', which closed the inaurugal SMU Film Festival. He is currently writing his thesis short film.
Director's Statement:
National Day is a short film about how a Hainanese family in Singapore cope with the sense of loss and grief.
Human relationships always make for good stories, even more so within a family. This is a study of these relationships; the generational gap divided by dialects and languages, the subtle dichotomy in personal beliefs and ulitmately the blood that binds these people together as a family.
National Day is also a keen observation of how one deals with emotions within family and in their own private space. This is an attempt to portray the honest inner workings of an ordinary Singaporean family.
Film Synopsis:
Wei has finally collected enough National Day Parade tickets for his whole family. But National Day happens to coincide with the 7th day after his father's sudden death. The family foregoes the Parade to observe a traditional family custom - waiting for the father's soul to return home before its final journey into the afterlife.
