I found out this evening. I was the only blogger at tonight's press screening of the documentary made by a group of young Singaporeans that will be shown at The Picturehouse come March.

The 75 minute documentary entitled The Kallang Wave is a very well put together commentary on Singapore's society told through the country's history of football. Yes, football (Soccer as some call it). I am not the biggest football fan, but I have to say that the film made me think and re-think my being a Singaporean. It was a semi-emotional ride through passion, desire, and conformity as Singapore grew from a simple town to a world-class metropolis told through the eyes of professional football players, ex-football players, fans, and others.

The film progresses from asking simple questions such as, "why is there more media coverage of the EPL than local football today?" to societal norms and issues such as, "why don't we encourage our children become professional football players?" climaxing at questions such as "what has Singapore become?" The documentary hits home with everyone, especially those who have watched the Singapore Lions play and remembers the passion of The Kallang Wave.

What I found equally intriguing was the people behind the documentary. Seven classmates who since graduated from poly have been working as starving artists (literally) for over three years producing this masterpiece. The group, who now run a production agency called Orbital, started out wanting to document the National Stadium after hearing that it was to be torn down in 2007.

Research on the stadium led them to realise that the history of the stadium was filled with memories of football matches that led all the way back to the days of the Malayan Cup. The group then changed focus and decided to film and compile old film of Singapore's most loved sport. This again led them to another turn when their interviewees began to comment on a bigger issue they've observed in Singapore beyond football. That was the defining moment and the story had to be told.

The group managed to get sponsors such as the Singapore Discovery Centre and HP among others and has passed the tests of Cathay and The Picturehouse to be shown at their 1st Anniversary.

I've uploaded their press release here and these are the links to some preview videos: Teaser 1 (Society), Teaser 2 (Stadium), Teaser 3 (Football), Trailer.

The Kallang Wave will be screened at The Picturehouse from 25 March 2007. I'd try not to miss it if I were you.