Scene UnSeen, a new documentary about Singapore’s underground music scene, will launch with live performances by Singaporean indie rock veterans The Oddfellows and hardcore band Obstacle Upsurge.
The film will be screened at the Esplanade Theatre on November 28 as part of this year’s edition of Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF). Per a press release, the screening will also feature the two band performances alongside Q&A sessions.
Both bands are discussed in the film, each of them having made a mark in Singapore’s independent music history: The Oddfellows’ formation in 1988 helped galvanised a fresh indie rock scene in the 1990s, while Obstacle Upsurge are Singapore’s first hardcore band made up entirely of women.
Tickets for the screening will be out tomorrow (November 9) via SGIFF’s official website at 12pm. Watch the trailer for Scene UnSeen below.
Scene UnSeen was co-directed by Abdul Nizam, the filmmaker who was also the drummer for ’80s indie rock band The NoNames. Nizam died in 2016 of liver, lung and pancreatic cancer.
Scene UnSeen will comprise interviews, archival footage, and animation capturing Singapore’s underground music scene over the decades. It will also delve into the issues of discrimination, disenfranchisement, and disillusionment that come with making music independently in Singapore.
Artists who appear in the film include Francis Frightful from Opposition Party, Suhaimi Subandie from Stompin’ Ground, and Ginette Chittick from Astreal, among others.
SGIFF will run from November 25 to December 5. Its opening film is Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, an Indonesian black comedy directed by Edwin.