28th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival

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You Can Just Learn It
You Can Just Learn It
You Can Just Learn It
You Can Just Learn It

You Can Just Learn It

director: Abigail Han
original title: You Can Just Learn It
country: Singapore, United States
year: 2015
running time: 29 min.

synopsis

On their path to economic prosperity, Singaporeans have had to give up certain traditions and even their own particular Chinese dialect. Today, the youth of Singapore travel around the word speaking standard Chinese and English and, in general, taking advantage of all the benefits that globalisation has brought. At the same time, within their grandparents’ generation the continuity of previous eras continues to linger on. The film’s director goes against time and current trends when she asks her grandmother to teach her how to prepare a traditional dish – chicken and rice. In this minimalist documentary, which is filmed primarily in the kitchen, we inadvertently also find out many details of Singapore’s cultural history.

DETAIL:
“Why do you think this way?” “Because I am about to die, and I don’t have interest in anything. It’s true, I don’t have interest in anything. When there is no more strength in my heart, I stop caring about much.”

biography

A versatile artist, Abigail Han is originally from Singapore, but now lives and works in Los Angeles. She bring together the creative arts and film, and her works are focused on the cultural identity of her native country, primarily the changes and processes that take place on the border between public and private space. Her creations have been exhibited in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Paris.

more about film

director: Abigail Han
producer: Abigail Han
photography: Bao Shun Loe
sound: Qian Hui Lin
Ministerstvo kultury
Fond kinematografie
Creative Europe Media
Město Jihlava
Kraj Vysočina
GEMO
Česká televize
Český rozhlas
Aktuálně.cz
Respekt
Dafilms