26th Singapore International Film Festival Special Presentation Night – In The Room
Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands
1 Dec 2015 (Tue), 7pm – 10pm

Pure Talents bilingual emcees Danny Yeo and Tan Liyi hosted the grand night of a special presentation film – Eric Khoo’s In The Room.

This is a film that will reflect on Singapore’s history as a melting pot and an entrepôt. Six sexually charged stories all set in the same Singapore hotel room. A hotel room is one of the most transitory lived spaces. It becomes the vehicle that transposes a sprawling tapestry of stories in Eric Khoo’s vision of the history of Singapore. Starting off from the advent of Singapore’s occupation in 1942, two men meet for the last time in the hotel room before the Japanese arrive. In the ‘0s, a band celebrates New Year’s Eve fiercely in an orgiastic drug fueled party. Decades pass as stories unfold within the same hotel room. Reflecting Singapore’s history as an entrepôt, characters of diverse backgrounds and nationalities find themselves in the hotel room, as a spirit watches on, drawn to the suffering and tragedies expressed within it.

In the Room contains all the hallmarks of Eric Khoo’s oeuvre – a distilled nod towards his love for horror, an empathetic approach towards cruelty, and the constant search for the transitory moments of human tenderness. It is perhaps his most ambitious and personal feature film, and the perfect bookend to a year of jubilee celebrations.

In attendance, were:
Director of Photography: Brian Gothong Tan
Scriptwriters: Andrew Hock, Jonathan Lim
Cast: Maguire Jian, Koh Boon Pin, Daniel Jenkins, Ian Tan, Vernon Cornelius, Rain Chan, Wine (Natnaphad Pulsavad), Leon (Wasurat Unaprom), Lawrence Wong, Choi Woo Shik, Michelle Goh
Director Eric Khoo, Actress Josie Ho 何超仪, Producer Nansun Shi, Executive Producer Jeffrey Chan

The Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands was filled with audience eager to catch this possibly one-and-only screening of In The Room. The film was unclassified by MDA for public screening and director Eric Khoo chose to not show it if there were to be any cuts required.

The well-attended screening started with an introduction by the director, producers as well as all the actors and production members present onstage.

Danny Yeo also facilitated a chat with director Eric Khoo after the screening.