Description

A forgotten corner of the wilderness provides refuge for two outsiders in this coming of age tale set in 1980s Singapore. Syafiqah is the studious new girl at school, and Huat is the class troublemaker she befriends. Bullied by fellow students and disregarded by parents and teachers, the misunderstood pair escape into the nearby jungle where fantasy and imagination take hold. Sanctuary is short lived, however, when monsoon season descends and oppressive adults encroach, forcing Syafiqah to embark on a quest of independence well beyond her years.

Befitting its title, INNOCENTS is a tale of innocence lost, but it’s also a memento of a disappearing Singapore. Through lovingly rendered shots, INNOCENTS fashions a visual archive of places that have since been erased within the rapidly evolving city-state: the North-South corridor of the old KTM railway tracks and a canal and forest by Old Holland Road and Upper Bukit Tima. Such evocative nostalgia is undoubtedly a reason that Chen-Hsi Wong garnered the Asian New Talent Award for Best Director at the 2013 Shanghai International Film Festival.

Credits

Producer: Chen-Hsi Wong
Writer: Chen-Hsi Wong
Cinematographer: Joseph White
Editor: Jeffrey Mcmahon
Sound: Justin Loh, Lillian Wang
Cast: Nameera Ashley, Chengyue Cai, George Kuruvilla

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