Singaporeans get creative in making community artworks for SG60
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CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Singaporeans get creative in making community artworks for SG60
Singaporeans are getting creative as they celebrate the nation's 60th birthday. They are turning to household items and reusing materials to create sculptures and large installations. Ahead of National Day, Ivy Chok takes a look at some unique pieces made by the community.
New Paper
7 hours ago
- New Paper
No NDP ticket? Here's where to catch the Red Lions, fireworks and more for free
For the first time, the National Day Parade (NDP) show will extend from the Padang to Marina Bay as part of an "expanded canvas" to mark Singapore's 60th birthday. Members of the public can catch the aerial display, fireworks as well as the descent of the Red Lions onto the Padang and naval divers into the waters of Marina Bay. There will also be light projections on UOB Building Plaza 1 and The Fullerton Hotel, allowing people outside the Padang to be part of the National Day experience. 3 venues with free activities There are a few non-ticketed venues where the public can soak in the festivities while watching a live telecast of the parade: The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay, Marina Barrage and the Singapore Sports Hub. At The Meadow, visitors can play nostalgic games in larger-than-life formats, savour complimentary traditional snacks, take part in interactive art activities, and watch live performances. Over at Marina Barrage, people can try their hand at upcycling unwanted fabrics or jars, take on sustainability-themed challenges, and learn more about the environment through interactive booths. Last but not least, those at the Singapore Sports Hub can participate in fitness activities, buy handcrafted products from an artisanal marketplace, and take their fur babies to a pet fair. Look up... it's the Red Lions! From around five minutes before 6pm, a team of seven parachutists from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), better known as the Red Lions, will leap from a height of about 3,050m above the Esplanade. They will then get into their signature ring free-fall formation and perform a "bomb burst" manoeuvre - complete with red smoke trails - before landing. To catch a glimpse of their descent onto the Padang, Singaporeans can look skywards from the nearby Victoria Theatre, the rooftop of Marina Square or from Jubilee Bridge. They can also watch the fighter jets performing their enhanced salute to the nation and two special aerial displays that mark Singapore's 60th birthday. Fireworks fans should also linger at these spots as they provide a clear view of the explosive, colourful displays that will light up the sky from around 7.35pm onwards. Watch naval divers splash down Around 10 minutes before 6pm, just before the Red Lions leap, seven naval divers from the Republic of Singapore Navy will jump from a helicopter about 1,830m above the ground. They will take about five minutes to free-fall - one after another - and deploy their parachutes, before landing in the waters of Marina Bay in front of the Esplanade. They will approach the waters from Jubilee Bridge before getting onto small floating platforms that will move them to an area near the Merlion to perform a combined salute with the Red Lions. Those hoping to spot the naval divers jumping into Marina Bay and watch the fireworks thereafter can try their luck at Merlion Park, Jubilee Bridge, the waterfront promenade in front of the Esplanade as well as Helix Bridge. They can also take a closer look at the multi-axis fly-past, which involves six fighter jets flying in from opposite directions - three from above the National Gallery Singapore and three from Marina Bay - before zooming past each other over the Padang and flying almost vertically upwards. Get up close with tanks Families with young children may be interested in catching a glimpse of the mobile column, which showcases 170 air, land and maritime assets from the SAF, Home Team, and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. Before 5pm, the mobile column will be stationed in the area near Exit C of Esplanade MRT station. At around the same time, the Uncasing of Colours ceremony - a symbolic military tradition - will take place at Marina Square. Before 7pm, the mobile column will set off for the Padang, and Singaporeans waiting along Nicoll Highway - where Exit C of Esplanade MRT station is - may be able to catch it as it makes its way towards the Padang. And 10 to 20 minutes after 7pm, after the mobile column has done its round at the Padang, some assets will go past Funan mall in North Bridge Road, while others will exit via Esplanade Drive and Fullerton Road. Members of the public can head down earlier to secure a good viewing spot, as some of these spaces may be cordoned off closer to the start of the parade due to crowd control measures. Getting there According to the National Day traffic advisory posted by the NDP 2025 executive committee, roads such as Republic Avenue, sections of Crawford Street, Beach Road, Republic Boulevard, Nicoll Highway, North Bridge Road, Esplanade Drive, St Andrew's Road, Parliament Place, Supreme Court Lane and Coleman Street will be closed. For a full list of road closures on Aug 9, refer to The NDP website states that taxis and private-hire vehicles will be diverted due to road closures in the surrounding areas, and cautioned Singaporeans to plan their journeys accordingly. It also advises those who are attending the parade to take public transport instead, given the large volume of people. For those who want to drive, there are parking options in Bugis such as at Bugis Junction and Bugis+ shopping centres as well as the National Library and Duo Tower. Alternatively, they can park their vehicles in Dhoby Ghaut, at malls such as Plaza Singapura and The Cathay. These are just an MRT ride and a short walk from the suggested vantage points. Singaporeans watching the parade from Marina Bay should check the Crowd@Marina Bay map at to view real-time crowd levels, and areas that may be closed due to crowd build-up.
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
This Singapore director's films have won global acclaim, but he almost moved to the UK to take up citizenship aged 6
Sundays were sacred when Mr K Rajagopal was a boy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Not quite for religious reasons, but you could say the cinema within the grounds of the old Seletar Camp where he lived with his family served as a temple of joy for the youngster. There, he often sat on wooden benches alongside his four siblings, underneath a thatched roof that sloped down just enough to provide a vantage point under ample shade for cinema goers to enjoy moving pictures projected onto a plain canvas. The family would dress the part too for these cinema evenings which took place once every three months. "We had long socks and shoes and we wore our best clothes. It was a big deal because it was very rare, you know, it was like a treat you get for being a good child or for behaving yourself," he said. It was there where he first caught a glimpse of works from the old matinee idols of Tamil cinema, such as MG Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. A week before Singapore celebrates its 60th year of independence, I asked Mr Rajagopal – who also turns 60 in September and is now an internationally-acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker – to take me to his old stomping ground for a walk. The old Seletar Camp, now used by the Singapore military, was home to British forces back then. Mr Rajagopal's father and paternal grandfather worked for the Royal Air Force. As we entered the grounds of his childhood home, the sun was scorching and the man was dressed in black from head to toe. But even as droplets of perspiration trickled down his temple, his eyes lit up as he spotted familiar landmarks from his childhood. He pointed out the guardhouse along the Piccadilly roundabout where his father would drive by every day. He also drew my attention to the ghaut where he would watch a kind dhoby wash clothes. 'This brings back a lot of memories,' he said. But it is when he talks about film, including his mother's love of cinema, that his baritone voice perks up the most. He recalled: "Jalan Kayu used to have pasar malam (night markets) on Friday nights, and there were Tamil movies on Fridays too. "I remember my mum rushing us all back home (from the pasar malam) by 10pm so she could watch her movies on the TV. She would scold us and get us to hurry onto the bus. "It was an important part of our lives." Today, Mr Rajagopal is best known for his 2016 debut feature film A Yellow Bird – which follows a Singaporean man of Indian ethnicity navigating life after prison, grappling with the fractures he created within his family and being marginalised by society. The film premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week and was also screened at noteworthy festivals in Russia, South Korea and India, among others. He might not have known it then, but the memories gleaned from being glued to screens in 1970s Seletar played a crucial role in honing his creative sensibilities in the director's seat. STORYTELLER AT HEART I knew within the first five minutes of meeting Mr Rajagopal that I could listen to him talk all day as a throng of tales spilled out of him. He remembered that occasionally, on humdrum Sundays where a visit to the nearby cinema wasn't possible, an aunt named Rema would come to Mr Rajagopal's residence and recreate "entire movies" for him and his siblings. Aunty Rema would play the parts of every character, portray in detail the way they walked and talked, enunciate every bit of dialogue immaculately. Thus, his education in storytelling began very early. The fact he had a deep, articulate voice helped too – prompting his teacher at St Andrew's Junior College to persuade him to join the theatre. That teacher, Ms Marilyn, gave the young student a role in a play, which eventually drew good reviews in the newspapers of the day. This both excited and emboldened him to audition for more roles. The arts had stuck. "The whole idea of making theatre and acting shaped me. That's what art does to you, it opens up your mind to various things," he said. Even though he discovered this talent for storytelling early on and had an obvious love for all things cinema, it was only at age 30, while working as a manager for an American firm in the arts industry, that he put two and two together and decided to make his first film. He wrote and directed I Can't Sleep Tonight in 1995 after being inspired at his evening job moonlighting at a motel in Little India where he met a whole host of people: refugees fleeing their countries, a woman conned into becoming a sex worker, a druggie backpacker trying to evade the law. That film, and two others from 1996 to 1997, won three consecutive Special Jury prizes at the Singapore International Film Festival – a hat-trick of scoops that cemented his reputation as one of the country's most compelling voices in cinema. I was thus puzzled when he told me he felt as though he still hadn't reached a certain "level" to call himself a filmmaker – even after the success of A Yellow Bird. Why? "Because I've watched some amazing films by amazing filmmakers. There are too many, and when I watch them, I just feel so inadequate. I think I have so much more to learn." Perhaps it is also to do with the fact that he never had a "proper" film education, he said. "But my films are my experiences. They're personal, they're a very good way to express what I feel, and that's why I've stayed true to it." ALL SINGAPOREAN, YET ALMOST BRITISH Every film Mr Rajagopal has made is rooted in Singapore. They may explore different themes, but all of the characters live and breathe in the same places he has. This is by design. "I feel that this is where I'm at my best," he said. "It's very important because I am trying to talk about Singaporeans, and I relate to the people and to things that happen in this country. "I like to examine our differences and similarities. I want to present different perspectives and not to judge. That's why I make films in Singapore – because I'm Singaporean." Yet, life might have turned out quite differently for Mr Rajagopal. In 1971, as British military forces prepared to leave Singapore, his paternal grandfather – a longtime employee of the Royal Air Force – was ready to leave with them. The United Kingdom was offering citizenship to those who had served the crown, and like many in the community, his grandfather saw it as an attractive proposition. But Mr Rajagopal's mother was resistant. He recalled: "She was a school teacher, and she felt very strongly about living in Singapore. She said that she didn't want to be a second class citizen in a foreign country. "Unfortunately at the time, she couldn't really voice her opinions, so she had to do it through my father." He might only have been six years old at the time, but Mr Rajagopal remembered vividly the altercation that occurred between his father and grandfather over this disagreement. "That created a bit of tension within my family. I think my grandfather slapped him, and I remember hiding behind my mum and watching the scene (unfold) in the living room. This story was the premise behind his 2015 work The Flame – which featured in an anthology of short films entitled 7 Letters, produced in homage to the nation's golden jubilee a decade ago. He said: "That story changed my destiny. I could have been in the UK now, speaking differently, maybe not as a filmmaker." LOOKING FORWARD Indeed, staying gave him a front-row seat to the nation's evolution, and the raw material for all the stories he has told and will continue to tell. Does he feel like his films – and especially his magnum opus to date – have made the impact he desires on Singaporeans? "I wouldn't say it's widespread, but I think the response from the fraternity – filmmakers and audiences who like independent cinema – appreciated the fact that I've made a very realistic film. "I want the film to reach out to a lot more people, but I can't force it. It's not about playing to the galleries, I think you have to make a film that you really believe in." In the same breath, he spoke with cautious optimism about the future of Singaporean cinema. The scene, he said, has grown significantly since he made his first short film three decades ago. It's now more vibrant and more varied, with filmmakers such as Royston Tan, Anthony Chen, Boo Junfeng and Yeo Siew Hua carving out distinctive voices. "It has definitely progressed, and it's encouraging," he said. "But we need to stay open – more can be done to accept different premises, stories and issues that can be discussed in films. Sometimes we can be a bit restrictive and self censor. He hopes the next wave of filmmakers will embrace Singapore's present and future, not just look at the past with nostalgia, and that the space for artistic freedom continues to widen. "In cinema, you have to explore. We must allow everyone to express themselves freely."
