Joant Úbeda (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7034331/):
Joant Úbeda is the son of Nicaraguan refugees who fled from the country’s Sandinista-Contra War of the 1980s. At age 10, his parents bought him a small camcorder with which he made short action films with his neighbors and edited them in camera. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree in film directing with New York University and is a director now based in Singapore. His short film, Spirit from the Meadow, a dark comedy dealing with the supernatural, has played at festivals in the U.S., U.K., and Asia. In 2020, he released his feature film debut, Sementara (“transient”). Filmed during Singapore’s 50th anniversary, it is a documentary that encapsulates the philosophies, daydreams, and crucial moments strangers share-which all lead back to certain universal truths. Its world premiere will be held at the prestigious 31st Singapore International Film Festival.
Chew Chia Shao Min (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8694690):
Chew Chia Shao Min is a producer, writer, and director from Singapore. Her film May and June featured at Singapore International Film Festival, Oslo Independent Film Festival, and SF Shorts, and won Best Cinematography at the Maverick Movie Awards. She wrote Wanton Mee (dir. Eric Khoo), which featured at Berlin International Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival. Shao Min graduated from Harvard University in 2013 and NYU’s Filmmaking MFA program as an Ang Lee Scholar in 2020.
On the occasion of Sementara opening April 11 at the Projector in Singapore, Panos Kotzathanasis talks with Shao Min Chew Chia and Joant Ubeda about the success of Sementara and the Audience Award it won in the recent Singapore International Film Festival, the way they picked the people they interview in the film, the shocking ritual included in the documentary, single mothers, multiculturalism and racism in Singapore, an interesting episode during the shooting, Singaporeans leaving for other countries, the excellent editing of the film and many other topics
