Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2018 Toolkit Toolkit 2018 Final | Page 31

Challenges in Film-Making: Storyline
A general concern for Singaporean Tamil
films seems to be that they do not convey
the Singaporean way of life but rather
touch on mostly cliché plot lines
○
Given the very sanitized nature
of our society, it is very difficult
to identify stories of those
marginalized due to our own lack
of experience with regards to
those marginalised and a lack of
information on these individuals
and their experiences
Singaporean films have a general
tendency to be monotonous and non-
individualistic because of the influence
of South Indian Films here. Hence,
many films tend to follow very similar For authentic Singapore stories to be
storylines to that of South Indian Films created, there is a need to establish a Tamil
■ However, telemovies that have film industry and infrastructure. Thus, a
been produced locally have proper support system for Tamil movies
overcome this challenge. For needs to be nurtured
instance, the telemovies screened
on Vasantham based on the
Singaporean
setting
have
successfully
portrayed
the
Singaporean way of life.
○
○
E.g. In India, some filmmakers adapt
storylines from literary texts because
they feel that their experiences are not
yet sufficient enough to generate
unique storylines
■ Visaaranai and Aravaan are good
examples of films adapted from
contemporary literary Tamil Texts
■ However, such a translation of
local literary texts to the big screen
has yet to be seen in Singapore
■ This highlights a gap between
Singapore literature and film as
well as lack of interconnectedness
betw