Tribal Worldwide Singapore, PUB Short Film 'Kinship' Wins at the Canberra Film Fest

In collaboration with Tribal Worldwide Singapore, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, launched its ‘Kinship’ short film on 30 May 2019 to mark Hari Raya Celebration.

Released on Facebook and YouTube, the heartbreaking story follows two orphaned brothers unwillingly separated at a young age. The film was inspired by the Malay proverb "air dicincang tidak akan putus", which translates to "water does not break apart when you chop it", a reference to family ties.

Announced on 15 September, the six-minute short film brought home an award from the 24th Canberra Short Film Festival in the international category. The only Singaporean film to win at the festival, ‘Kinship’ triumphed over 380 entries received from across the globe. Screened twice at the Australia-based festival, the film was lauded by the festival judges for its great storytelling and production quality.

“The year-long water conservation campaign is a key agenda for our country. We will continue use various techniques of storytelling to draw people closer to preciousness of water,” said Jeff Cheong, president at Tribal Worldwide Asia. “This is our first dip at the film festival and that’s given us the boldness to dive into new territories.”

“We are extremely grateful and delighted to receive this international recognition. It is a testament to the creativity and hard work by the teams that created the film, and also the immense support from the public,” added Cindy Keng, director of 3P Network, PUB.

Following its release, ‘Kinship’ captivated the nation, raking in over 1.5 million views locally and internationally. The overwhelming response inspired an audio story sequel co-created with the public and launched at the end of July.

View the first commercial here:

PUB Kinship Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/PUBsg/videos/375509809734765/
PUB Kinship Facebook sequel link: https://www.facebook.com/PUBsg/videos/340855073483263/