Tiong Bahru Social Club

Tiong Bahru Social Club (Chinese: 中峇鲁俱乐部) is a 2020 Singaporean satirical black comedy art film. The film tells the story of a simple man who accidentally becomes a happiness agent in an artificial intelligence cult community named Tiong Bahru Social Club, which aims to become the happiest neighbourhood in town.

Tiong Bahru Social Club
Directed byTan Bee Thiam
Written byAntti Toivonen, Tan Bee Thiam
Starring
  • yao
  • Guat Kian Goh
  • Jalyn Han
Production
companies
Tiger Tiger Pictures
Bert Pictures
13 Little Pictures
Distributed byGolden Village Pictures
Release dates
  • 26 November 2020 (2020-11-26) (Singapore Film Festival)
  • 10 December 2020 (2020-12-10)
Running time
88 minutes
CountrySingapore
LanguagesEnglish
(Some Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay, Tamil)
Box officeS$108,774[1]

It was released on 10 December 2020 in Singaporean cinemas.[2][3]

Synopsis

Just fired from his job, 30-year-old Ah Bee then signs up as a young Happiness Agent with Tiong Bahru Social Club, a planned community project using data to build the happiest neighbourhood in an ageing Singaporean district. In this place where society has embraced artificial intelligence that will allow them to help people to learn what to do based on big data, and even matches their lovers. He moves into the communal house and finds himself in a strange cult of happiness and technology. He is now tasked with taking care of an elderly aunt, and he even meets a girl. Things seem to look brighter and better, but he soon realizes that something is going wrong. How will his story go?[4]

Cast
  • Yao[lower-alpha 1] as Ah Bee[5]
  • Guat Kian Goh as Mui
  • Jalyn Han as Miss Wee[5]
  • Benjamin Lee as Uncle Mok
  • Noorlinah Mohamed as Haslinna
  • Jo Tan as Geok
  • Munah Bagharib as Orked
  • Mochi
  • Imran Shafie as Happiness Agent

Production

The film is Tan Bee Thiam's solo directorial debut. He previously co-directed local indie films Fundamentally Happy (2015) with Lei Yuan Bin, and produced Snakeskin (2015) and As You Were (2014).[6][7]

Release

The film served as the opening film at the 2020 Singapore International Film Festival on 26 November 2020.[8][9]

The film was invited for a screening at the 20th New York Asian Film Festival.[10] It was featured in Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film Competition section and screened at Lincoln Center and SVA Theatre in the two-week festival held from 6 to 22 August 2021 in New York.[11][12]

See also

Notes
  1. formerly known as Thomas Pang. His current name is styled as 'yao'.

References
  1. "Overview of SG Cinema 2020" (PDF). IMDA Singapore.
  2. "Filmmaker Tan Bee Thiam on his new satirical comedy Tiong Bahru Social Club". Time Out Singapore. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. "Singapore Filmmaker Tan Bee Thiam's Tiong Bahru Social Club to Premiere at Busan International Film Festival". Sindie. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  4. "Official trailer for Tiong Bahru Social Club". Youtube.
  5. Auto, Hermes (9 December 2020). "At The Movies: Tiong Bahru Social Club pokes gentle fun at Singaporean habits | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  6. "Film review: Tiong Bahru Social Club is a satire but don't expect it to be bleak or pointed". The Straits Times. 9 December 2020.
  7. "Film Review: Tiong Bahru Social Club is a quirky comedy that warns of the dangers of AI". Yahoo. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  8. "Filmmaker Tan Bee Thiam's Tiong Bahru Social Club Opens the 31st Singapore International Film Festival". Tatler Singapore. 25 November 2020.
  9. "Tiong Bahru Social Club — A dreamy, satirical Singaporean film redefining happiness". Sethlui.com. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  10. "Tiong Bahru Social Club". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  11. "Berlinale Talents Project - Tiong Bahru Social Club". Berlinale Talents. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  12. Gray, Richard (17 July 2021). "NYAFF 2021: Opening night film, additional titles revealed". The Reel Bits. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
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