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Invisible City premieres in NUS July 21, 2007

Tan Tze How Kelvin | tzehow@nus.edu.sg
The Ridge News
A NUSSU Publication

July 19, 2007

“Without this film, did all these happen?” 38 years old Tan Pin Pin posed this question to a full house at the world premiere of her documentary, Invisible City.

Centre for The Arts (CFA) of the National University of Singapore was the venue of world premiere, and tickets were given out free-of-charge to public who made reservation via email.

Contrary to popular beliefs, Invisible City is not a documentary that revolves just around Singapore history. The recurring theme of “searching and remembering” became the criteria of footage selection when Tan was editing a film.

Tan had a 50 hours long footage, but only one hour was selected. From an archeologist to a documentary maker, from an ex-Chinese school student to a Japanese journalist, Invisible City reflects how these people attempt to immortalize history.

There were also moments in the documentary that seemed like “technical glitches”. The usage of black-and-whites and deafening silences were intended by Tan, to give audience “a sense of time passing.”

“What makes a life a lived life?” she asked.

A member of the public asked during the question and answer session, that whether Tan feels that “things are changing, young people are reclaiming history?”

She was “optimistic but not that optimistic.”

She is glad that there is community of people out there who is willing to search and interpret the past. However, she hopes that the audience can go home and start to “interview your grandmother.”

“Imagine what it has been like, and that is enough,” Tan said. “It is a city that is ours, and yet so invisible to us.”