Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

Five Minutes For Centuries tells the human story of an unspoken connection between a wet-plate photographer and his subject. Through the use of poetic voice-over, an intimate relationship is formed between the photographer and the subject- conflating the act of wet plate photography into something not just to commemorate, but into an experience itself.  With this short narrative video, we hope to promote Hip Xiong, Singapore’s only wet-plate portrait studio by shedding light on the faded art form and raising awareness amongst Singaporeans for this humble initiative.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

Five Minutes For Centuries tells us about the importance of the wet-plate photography culture, where it is somewhat a dying culture in the world at this day and era. This fading art form is so beautiful yet is a slow process that needs to be appreciated more by many people because there is only one wet-plate portrait studio left in Singapore, and this shows how people take photography for granted with the existence of mobile phones and digital camera. But with Five Minute of Centuries, its a poetic piece that shows us the value and beauty of photography.

Tell the jury anything relevant about the direction. Do not name the director.

The director decides to get through audiences by the use of poetic voice-over with a combination of black and white visuals in a form of polaroid to capture the essence and beauty of older ways of photography. With the use of poetic voice over, the director wanted the audience to be able to feel a sense of intimacy between the photographer and his work of art just like how he actually feels them.