Public Programs
If you're curious about the ever-changing media landscape in Southeast Asia, I'm your person. Check out some of the projects I've worked on that bring together academics, practitioners, and the public.
2024
ATLAS Volume 2, Singapore International Film Festival
Ten spirited young writers from Singapore have lent their voices, offering fresh perspectives on the 34th Singapore International Film Festival’s Asian lineup. By weaving personal stories into film criticism, ATLAS charts a path into a new ‘thoughtworld’ — one where films reside beyond the screen as living, breathing entities, and where criticism becomes truly generative.
2023
“No Such Thing as ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”,
Singapore International Film Festival, 4 Dec 2023
Are film critics too serious? What does it mean to review a movie in the age of TikTok and ChatGPT? As part of the 34th SGIFF, I moderated a rare panel on recent disruptions to the film industry, streaming and social media in particular, and the evolving role of the critic today.
In conversation with Sara Merican, Eternality Tan, Mark Peregrino, Müge Turan, and Joyce Yang.
Read more about the panel.
“ANTIPHONY”, Objectifs Centre for Film and Photography,
16 Sep 2023.
In Asia, horror speaks in many voices. Screening as part of Objectif’s Women in Film and Photography 2023 showcase, ‘Antiphony’ aims to coax the echoes of existential dreams and dread to the fore by bringing together 6 short films penned and directed by women filmmakers.
Curated by Phoebe Pua with responses from the 2022 SGIFF Youth Critics Program alumni Shelby Kho, Sasha Han, and Benjamin Yap.
Youth Critics Program,
Singapore International Film Festival 2023
I return for a second year as Mentor of the SGIFF Youth Critics Program, and Editor of its publication, Atlas.
Part of the SGIFF Film Academy, the Youth Critics Programme provides mentorship and encourages writing in response to the festival programme. It aims to nurture a new generation of film writers who can contribute to Asian and Southeast Asian film discourse. Invited industry experts will also share what it means to think and write about cinema.
Read more about our 2023 cohort of youth critics.
Read Atlas Vol. 1, developed in 2022 and published in April 2023.
Climate of Cinema: Isle, the Planet and Postcontact Zone Exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Busan,
South Korea, April - June 2023.
As part of this exhibition curated by Korean filmmaker and scholar Professor Kim Soyoung, I programmed ‘Monsoon & Memories’, a series of short films on the climate crisis told through Southeast Asia’s rivers, oceans, and waters.
View the exhibition catalog. Essay forthcoming.
2022
Youth Critics Program, Singapore International Film Festival 2022
An intensive mentorship program with the objective of nurturing a new generation of writers contributing to film discourse in Asia.
As Mentor and Editor, I also developed the inaugural post-festival publication, ATLAS.
ATLAS Volume 1, Singapore International Film Festival
We live in a world of 280-character flash reviews. You’ve read them — fiery, funny, fast —, likely written a few, and perhaps even contemplated a secret life as an anonymous internet wit. The allure is undeniable and I am sometimes left to wonder if there is still a place for the practice of long- form film criticism.
I am thrilled to present our collective labor of love, hope, and commitment — the inaugural issue of Atlas.
Elsewhere Cinema Club
In 2022, we ran (almost) monthly online screenings and live chats with filmmakers, media practitioners, and audiences across Southeast Asia.
Check out our past events at elsewherecinemaclub.com
“Alternative Voices: A Conversation with Boo Junfeng and Phoebe Pua”, Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, 20 July 2022.
A panel discussion celebrating the richness and diversity of short films in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Moderated by Vincent Quek. Held in conjunction with Objectifs Cinema: Now Showing.
Take a peek at Turf Wars: Cinema and the Tropics in Southeast Asia, a three-day series comprising six screenings and three talks, which I programmed in collaboration with NUS Museum.
View the archived program & read my interview with SINdie.
2021
“Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle”, Singapore International Film Festival, 29 November 2021.
A Director’s Q&A with Arthur Harari about the ethics of making films about war. We discuss his latest film, Onoda, a fictionalized account of the WW2 Japanese soldier who refused to surrender and continued to wage warfare, alone, in Lubang Island, Philippines until 1974.
“All the Lines Flow Out”, Singapore Art Museum, 24 June 2021.
A panel discussion with Assistant Professor Elizabeth Wijaya and curator Kenneth Tay on the hydrographic filmmaking practice of Singaporean sailor-artist Charles Lim Yi Yong. Listen to an excerpt where I consider river imagery in Southeast Asia’s cinematic self-imagination.
“Objectifs Film Club: The Shades of Love”, Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, 29 April 2021.
A Q&A with director Jessica Lee and contributor Selena on documentary filmmaking and sex work in Singapore. Read the transcript.
“South to South: Proposals of Intimacy with Southeast Asia”, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, 1 April 2021.
A conversation with curator Sidd Perez on the history and formation of Southeast Asia’s regional cinematic identity.
“In Conversation with Director Nan Achnas”, part of Turf Wars: Cinema and the Tropics in Southeast Asia, NUS Museum, 27-29 January 2021.
A conversation with Indonesian filmmaker Nan Triveni Achnas on the 20th anniversary of her landmark film Whispering Sands (Pasir Berbisik, 2001, Indonesia). Listen to an excerpt where Nan reflects on filmmaking in the early days of the post-Suharto era and her use of feminist imagery.
“Dislocating/Locating Southeast Asia/Trinh T. Minh-ha”, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, October 2020 - February 2021.
A 6-part reading group series co-programmed with visual artist and researcher Nurul Huda Rashid as part of the larger exhibition Trinh T. Minh-ha. Films. View the exhibition catalog or archived program.
2020
“A Million Years: Dialogue with Danech San”, HERE Arts Carnival, 21 August 2020.
A screening and dialogue with Cambodian filmmaker Danech San about her debut short film. View the recording.
“New Curriculum for Old Questions”, NUS Museum, 24-26 February 2020.
A 3-day arts practitioners and educators’ camp, co-organized with Hsu Fang-Tze, Sidd Perez, Nurul Huda Rashid, Tan Li-Jen, and Nadia Wagner. View the archived webpage.
2019
“SEA-ME-WE: A Dialogue with Virgile Fraisse”, at Institute of Contemporary Arts, LASALLE Singapore, 9 November 2019.
View the archived webpage.
“Feminist Cinema”, Freedom Film Festival, 7 September 2019.
View the archived webpage.
“Seni and the Tropical Imaginary”, NUS Museum, 20 March 2019.
A panel on Kent Chan’s Seni and Singapore’s tropical landscape. View the archived webpage.
Thanks and acknowledgements:
Collaborators Nina Chabra, Griselda Gabriele, Kim Soyoung, Leong Puiyee, Sidd Perez, Nurul Huda Rashid, Erika Suwarno, Corrie Tan, Katrina Ross Tan, Kenneth Tay, and Thong Kay Wee;
Filmmakers Aiess Alonso, Bui Kim Quy, Kent Chan, Mattie Do, Virgile Fraisse, Arthur Harari, Jessica Lee, May Thyn Kyi, Pam Miras, Nan Triveni Achnas, Thùy Trang Nguyễn, Lamin Oo, Quan Phuong Thanh, Danech San, Sammaria Sari Simanjuntak, and Sarnt Utamachote, and Baby Ruth Villarama;
Curators and programmers at Freedom Film Festival Singapore, LASALLE Institute for Contemporary Arts, Museum of Contemporary Art Busan, NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, NUS Museum, Objectifs Centre for Photography & Film, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore International Film Festival, and Yangon Film School.