Cinema art
(Painted cinema ads near Chinatown: Singapore)
I heard that this is a dying art, a special skill that is slowly being lost to the world and only happens in Asia; the painted cinema posters. This is the first and only time I have ever seen them, it may very well also be the last. I believe that in India you can still find them, but I never expected to see them in Singapore.
I didn’t get to see a film whilst I was there, but the Singapore film industry seems pretty robust (though I must confess, I didn’t even realise there was one until Ying produced a couple of Singaporean films). We watched ‘881’, a film about two getai singers and their family. After seeing just one or two films, I was delighted at Chinese New Year when I noticed that one of the main actresses from 881 (the mother) was presenting the entire evenings events a few feet away. She was boisterously commentating and mediating the antics of several dance troupes, singers, comedians, etc. In general, it follows a similar pattern to most New Year celebrations, definitely comparable with Hogmanay in many ways!
– Today Rosie is in the UK, sorting things out –
