Celluloid Singapore

Examines how Singapore cinema functions as a national cinema

Celluloid Singapore is a ground-breaking study of the three major periods in Singapore’s fragmented cinema history, namely the golden age of the 1950s and 60s, the post-studio 1970s, and the revival from the 1990s onwards. Set against the context of Singapore’s own trajectory of development, the book poses two central questions: how can the films of each period be considered ‘Singapore’ films, and how is this cinema specifically national? The book argues that the films of these three periods collectively constitute a national cinema through different performances of Singapore, offering a critical framework for understanding this cinema and its history in relation to the development of the country and the national.

Key Features

• The first full length, critical study of Singapore cinema
• Includes case studies of films from the golden age of the 1950s and 60s, the post-studio 1970s, and the revival from the 1990s onwards
• Considers Singapore's cinema history and relationship with the national, building on developments in transnational cinema studies