Threading Silence

In this essay film, a Singaporean family’s silenced grief over the death of an uncle parallels the country’s removal of diverse dialects and funeral rituals that conceal mourning.

Directed by Isabel Tay

Director’s Bio: Isabel Tay is a visual artist and filmmaker from Singapore based in Portland, Oregon, whose work uses documentary, narrative, installation, and experiential strategies. Tay completed her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film and Video at Maryland Institute College of Art in May 2023. Tay’s work explores identity, and intimacy within – and beyond – herself through her life and family, research, documentation, interviews, and experimentation. Tay’s introspective nature influences her use of self to reimagine narratives that form the mundane, the overlooked, the voiceless, and the forgotten.

Plays in

Talking About It

A documentary can take many shapes, whether expository, investigative, or even pure entertainment. One of the most effective uses of the form, however, is as an avenue for the documentarian to bare their soul, to express themselves without holding back. In this way, the documentary can become an intimate portrait, a point of true emotional catharsis, or even a confessional. These films, though differing in style and the content of their stories, were all made with the intent of shedding light on the personal, whether that means hidden truths, repressed traumas, or even unspoken appreciation and love. To both heartwarming and heartbreaking effect, these courageous and insightful filmmakers have used documentary to uncover the hidden depths of both themselves and their subjects.

Award Nominated Shorts