The Songs We Sang

The Songs We Sang
Film poster
我們唱著的歌
Directed byEva Tang
Produced byEva Tang
Distributed byGolden Village
Release dates
  • 29 November 2015 (2015-11-29) (SGIFF)
  • 24 March 2016 (2016-03-24) (Singapore)
Running time
128 minutes
CountrySingapore
LanguageMandarin
Budget$35,000
Box office$84,000

The Songs We Sang is a 2015 Singaporean documentary directed by Eva Tang. It is about xinyao, Singaporean folk music that was popular in the 1980s.

Synopsis

The documentary covered the last years of Nanyang University and how it affected the Chinese educated students who graduated from there. It also documented how the poetry club in Nanyang University, before the closure of the institution, branched out to song writing, influenced by Taiwan minyao (民谣), a Taiwanese folk songs movement in the 1970s and their school campus songs (校园民歌). The history of was then chronicled from its birth in educational institutes to local success and then to commercial success.

Interviews were conducted on three different groups of people: local xinyao singers such as Eric Moo, Billy Koh, Koh Nam Seng, Liang Wern Fook, Wong Hong Mok; singers inspired by xinyao such as Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin; and local DJs who helped popularised xinyao.

The film ended with clips of footage of the free xinyao concert, with performances by various xinyao singers, held by the producers.

Production

The documentary film was budgeted at $35,000.[1] It was also supported and partly funded with a grant of 30 per cent of the original budget by the National Heritage Board of Singapore.[1][2][3]

As part of the documentary, a free concert was staged on 6 July 2014 at Bras Basah Complex. Various xinyao singers such as Eric Moo, Roy Li, Dawn Gan and Pan Ying performed at the concert for two hours. Footage of the concert was shown in the documentary.[3]

Release

The Songs We Sang premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival on 29 November 2015.[4] The performance was sold-out.[5] Golden Village released it to five Singaporean theaters on 24 March 2016. It grossed $23,508 on the opening weekend and a total of $84,661.[6]

On 8 August 2020, the film was released via Netflix.[7]

Reception

After its festival premiere, the film received positive reviews.[8][9] In praising Tang's research, Boon Chan of My Paper rated it 4.5/5 stars and wrote, "The Songs We Sang is a labour of love that puts our stories front and centre."[10] Tan Kee Yun of The New Paper rated it 4/5 stars and called it "truly a gem of local cinema", as it avoids the melodrama associated with That Girl in Pinafore.[11]

Her World rated it as one of the best Singaporean films of 2015.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Chan, Boon (6 June 2014). "Xinyao reunion". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016 – via AsiaOne.
  2. ^ Auto, Hermes (25 February 2016). "Xinyao documentary The Songs We Sang gets commercial release at 5 cinemas | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b Migration (6 July 2014). "1,000 fans brave rain at Bras Basah for Xinyao singers | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. ^ "The Songs We Sang". Singapore International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  5. ^ Li, Ho Ai (8 December 2015). "In celebration of xinyao". The Straits Times. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  6. ^ "The Songs We Sang". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Netflix is dropping over 100 Singapore-made films and series this August". Lifestyle Asia Singapore. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Win The Songs We Sang preview tickets". The New Paper. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  9. ^ Yee, Wai Yip (25 February 2016). "Xinyao documentary The Songs We Sang gets commercial release at 5 cinemas". The Straits Times. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  10. ^ Chan, Boon (24 March 2016). "A tribute that hits the right xinyao notes". My Paper. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  11. ^ Yun, Tan Kee (24 March 2016). "Movie Review: The Songs We Sang (PG)". The New Paper. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  12. ^ Lui, John (28 December 2015). "The best and worst movies of 2015". Her World. Retrieved 30 March 2016.


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