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Our Denial
An artistic video expression granting insight into various facets of Singaporean society. Made up of a series of jump cuts over a starkly contrasted black and white landscape, Our Denial is a completely silent affair, speech-wise, save for the crackles of a distorted soundtrack murmuring in the background, chaotic one moment and tapering off the next, as each scene threatens to overcome your senses and meddle with your mind.
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| Video information | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Cher Tan |
| Directed by | Seelan Palay |
| Contact | write the producer |
| Home page | more info |
| Produced | 2006/07/28 |
| Duration | 2 minutes 7 seconds |
Full description
Satyagraha, as Mahatma Gandhi once mentioned, is the force of Truth.
And that was the driving force behind the birth of Antithesis’s (made up of Seelan Palay, Cher Tan and Nessi Esteffa) 2-minute artistic video expression, Our Denial.
So why did we choose to tackle the film in this way?
"We felt images and noise could say more than speech itself, and rather than a documentary, we wanted to explore a more artistic, edgy approach to our causes of concern, as we think that it may capture the audiences’ attention in a different way," says Seelan Palay, director of Our Denial, with a knowing twinkle in his eye.
Although Our Denial’s cinematography might prove distracting to some – disturbing, even – it does, without doubt, address certain social issues that we are extremely concerned about, hoping to trigger a contemplative frame of mind within each viewer; to make them question themselves and society, especially, and eventually see what is inherently wrong with it.
What are these issues, you ask?
As each scene unfolds, viewers are treated to shot after shot of 7 scenes in inconsecutive order, its layers slowly peeling off bit by bit until it finally reaches its climax, the film a riposte to what has been denied to us all (hence the title), as people. Freedom of speech, racism, the education system and the mass media (amongst a few others) are themes at the topmost of our minds as we made the film and it reflects strongly as a result.
"We want to tell any frustrated Singaporean who understands what’s going on around them, and yet feels helpless and trapped, that they’re not alone.
There are many platforms in which we can express ourselves, film being one of them," remarks Nessi Esteffa, camerawoman of Our Denial.
"And like it or not, our message is one of Truth," Cher Tan, producer of Our Denial, concludes with a nod.
