Kevia Tan

In fast-paced Singapore, people must die in order to live. Piecing together vignettes of disparate individuals, Certain Deaths is a portrait of Singapore told through the lens of metaphorical deaths experienced by its people. As they navigate transformative life experiences — from academic stress to sacrifices made out of familial love; from the assertion of gender identity to the quiet introspection of old age — the film explores the tension between the nation’s celebrated longevity and the personal tolls that accompany it. How do we persist in spite of the weight of life? Meeting each individual where they are, the 17-minute documentary ultimately forms a meditation on time, purpose, and mortality in Singapore.

A slice-of-life documentary shot handheld without a viewfinder, MRT City captures the chance encounters of a diverse range of people on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system from October to November 2023. A pair of convent girls, migrant workers, squid-fishing youth, and tourists are caught chatting about plants, the internet, and “what real life is about”.

Love Quest is a performative desktop documentary exploring the complexities of modern dating. Using The Sims, a sandbox game that allows players to freely interact with the game world, the dating experiences of two app users are reconstructed, blurring the boundaries between digital simulation and reality. By merging real-life interactions with digital platform elements to create a dystopian-like reality, the film reflects the gamified nature of modern dating. Through this lens, Love Quest questions whether something as delicate as love can truly be found online.

In fast-paced Singapore, people must die in order to live. Piecing together vignettes of disparate individuals, Certain Deaths is a portrait of Singapore told through the lens of metaphorical deaths experienced by its people. As they navigate transformative life experiences — from academic stress to sacrifices made out of familial love; from the assertion of gender identity to the quiet introspection of old age — the film explores the tension between the nation’s celebrated longevity and the personal tolls that accompany it. How do we persist in spite of the weight of life? Meeting each individual where they are, the 17-minute documentary ultimately forms a meditation on time, purpose, and mortality in Singapore.

A slice-of-life documentary shot handheld without a viewfinder, MRT City captures the chance encounters of a diverse range of people on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system from October to November 2023. A pair of convent girls, migrant workers, squid-fishing youth, and tourists are caught chatting about plants, the internet, and “what real life is about”.

Love Quest is a performative desktop documentary exploring the complexities of modern dating. Using The Sims, a sandbox game that allows players to freely interact with the game world, the dating experiences of two app users are reconstructed, blurring the boundaries between digital simulation and reality. By merging real-life interactions with digital platform elements to create a dystopian-like reality, the film reflects the gamified nature of modern dating. Through this lens, Love Quest questions whether something as delicate as love can truly be found online.