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Singapore’s only independent cinema sustained by online screenings, merchandise sales, and hope amid coronavirus lockdown
April 29, 2020
Alexis Ong
April 27, 2020
Since opening its doors in 2015, The Projector – Singapore’s only independent cinema – has become a pillar of the city state’s independent arts scene. The retrofitted cinema in Golden Mile Tower, a commercial and residential complex on Beach Road near Kampong Glam, retains a nostalgic look, from old-fashioned wood-and-metal seats to bespoke film posters.
In its first incarnation as the Golden Theatre in 1973, The Projector was once the biggest cinema in both Singapore and Malaysia. With three screens and 550 seats it is nothing like the country’s ubiquitous modern multiplexes, but it’s much more than a place to watch movies – it’s a home for alternative culture and a singular piece of local history.
The Projector offers an elusive cultural experience in Singapore: independent programming and curation that includes everything from recorded operas and critically acclaimed foreign films to niche documentaries and experimental films that you will not find in a mainstream theatre chain.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, it has become hard for The Projector to survive, much less thrive, especially as the government announced an additional month of its “circuit breaker” lockdown on April 21. The theatre has been shut since March 28, when cinemas nationwide were closed by government order.
“January 2020 was our best-performing month in our five-year history,” said founder Karen Tan by email, but noted that management had also anticipated some form of shutdown. “It came a bit sooner than expected, but thankfully we already had the online merchandising initiative almost ready to launch. Our team worked overnight to put it online immediately, and it’s been doing well so far.”
Merchandise for sale online includes tote bags, memberships, an adopt-a-seat feature, and a “Project-It-Forward” initiative that allows people to buy movie vouchers for others who may not be able to afford a ticket when the theatre eventually reopens.
For now, The Projector, initially the product of a crowdfunding effort, is once again relying on the community for its survival. Although Tan and her partners secured most of the cinema’s private funding, the home stretch came in the form of US$77,000 raised on Indiegogo, which general manager Prashant Somosundram joked was the equivalent of “barely two projector systems”.
Prashant, one of the original Indiegogo contributors, stressed the importance of community ownership, which has become a baseline method of survival for many independent businesses across the world. Its current monthly expenses run up to S$100,000 (US$70,000).
The Projector’s 14-strong team – all working from home – continue to tap into current events through digital content and activities. A week ago, they streamed I Dream of Singapore, a 2019 documentary on migrant workers’ living conditions, and hosted a Facebook Live talkback session with the non-profit organisation Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) and Bangladeshi migrant worker Ripon Chowdhury.
With a recent spike of Covid-19 outbreaks in worker dorms, many Singaporeans are discussing the poor treatment of migrant workers – a painful issue that long predates the pandemic – as the government continues to frame the narrative as “two separate infections” in one country.
On Instagram, the team posted a promo video made in Nintendo’s hit game Animal Crossing New Horizons, which has become the new normal for social interaction and creative expression in a homebound world.
Even under normal circumstances, it’s not easy to run an independent cinema in Singapore, known for its limits on freedom of expression, rigid media guidelines and strict laws on filmmaking. This makes The Projector, which screens LGBT-friendly content and champions inclusion and diversity, a rare bird in a tightly controlled society.
“Our audience has likened us to a bubble of mental breathing space in a rigid, polished urbanscape, and the spontaneity and energy they find at The Projector is something they greatly appreciate being able to tap into,” Tan said. “The impact of this on our community cannot be understated.”
The theatre’s immediate future is somewhat secure through May, thanks to the government’s Enhanced Job Support Scheme and budget, though Tan pointed out that they will not be eligible for adequate wage support beyond then.
But as the effect of the pandemic spreads beyond initial expectations, it’s hard to imagine a time when people will be able to comfortably head to the movies without worrying about masks and germs. Its impact on arts and culture in a country that already undervalues independent businesses puts The Projector in a precarious position, which can only be addressed by local support.
Editor’s note: this story was amended on April 28 as follows: Golden Mile Tower is near Kampong Glam, not in Kallang (which was misspelled Kailang); the running costs of The Projector are S$100,000 per month, not US$100,000.
This article was first published here.
