Shirkers

Last updated
Shirkers
Shirkers poster.jpg
Directed by Sandi Tan
Written bySandi Tan
Produced bySandi Tan
Jessica Levin
Maya Rudolph
Cinematography Iris Ng
Edited by Lucas Celler
Sandi Tan
Kimberley Hassett
Music byIshai Adar
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
Running time
96 minutes
Countries Singapore
United States
United Kingdom

Shirkers is a 2018 British-American documentary film by Singapore-born filmmaker Sandi Tan about the making of an independent thriller featuring a teenage assassin set in Singapore. [1] It premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in January and won the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award, making her the second Singapore-born filmmaker after Kirsten Tan (Pop Aye, 2017) to win an award at the festival. [2] [3] [4] It was also nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary. [5]

Contents

Shirkers was released on October 26, 2018, on Netflix. [6]

Synopsis

In the summer of 1992, 19-year-old Sandi Tan, alongside friends Jasmine Ng and Sophia Siddique, as well as film teacher and mentor Georges Cardona, shot the independent film Shirkers, which would have made it Singapore's first road movie. The footage showed lots of promise and big things were expected of the finished result. [7] After wrapping, Tan, Ng, and Siddique left the footage with Cardona as the trio went to study abroad for college. However, Cardona disappeared with the footage and the trio never saw him again; Tan did receive two brief, inconsequential taped messages via snail mail. [8]

On September 11, 2011, four years after Cardona's death in 2007, Cardona's ex-wife emailed Tan (who by now was a novelist living in Los Angeles), [9] informing her that she was in possession of the footage for Shirkers, minus the audio tracks. In the proceeding years, Tan decided to digitize the footage and use it to make something new: a documentary about the process of creating, and then losing, the original 1992 film. [10]

Interviews were conducted in 2015 with Tan's friends, people involved with the making of Shirkers, and people who knew Cardona. The interviewees were Sophia Siddique Harvey, Jasmine Ng, Sharon Siddique, Philip Cheah, Ben Harrison, Foo Fung Liang, Pohshon Choy, Tay Yek Keak, Grace Dane Mazur, Stephen Tyler, and Georges Cardona's ex-wife.

Georges Cardona

Around 1976 in New Orleans, Georges Cardona, [11] a John F. Kennedy High School attendee, photography mentor to David Duke, and Vietnam War veteran, [12] opened Lighthouse Media Center (a franchisee of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Super-8 Sound, a retrofitter of Beaulieu Super 8 film cameras). [13] [14] Cardona was the cinematographer for some of David Duke's electoral campaign commercials and, in New Orleans in 1988, for Stephen Tyler's The Last Slumber Party. [15]

Reception

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 70 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Shirkers uses one woman's interrogation of a pivotal personal disappointment to offer affecting observations on creativity, lost opportunity, and coming to terms with the past." [16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "universal acclaim"; it is labeled as a "Metacritic must-see". [17]

Citing the film as one of his favorites at Sundance, Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com wrote a rave review for Shirkers, saying that "Tan presents her multifaceted life story—vibrant, unbelievable, and full of such incredible women—as a dazzling tapestry that’s unlike many narrative or documentary films." [18]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards January 10, 2019Best Documentary Sandi Tan Nominated [19]
Austin Film Critics Association Awards January 18, 2019 Best DocumentaryShirkersNominated [20]
Cinema Eye Honors January 10, 2019Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature FilmSandi TanNominated [21]
Outstanding Achievement in DirectionSandi TanNominated
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music ScoreIshai AdarWon
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or AnimationSandi Tan and Lucas Celler Won
Audience Choice PrizeSandi TanNominated
The UnforgettablesGeorges Cardona, Sophia Siddique Harvey, Jasmine Kin Kia Ng, and Sandi TanWon
Dorian Awards January 12, 2019Documentary of the YearShirkersNominated [22]
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards December 21, 2018 Best Documentary Film ShirkersWon [23]
Golden Reel Awards February 17, 2019 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Documentary Lawrence Everson and Cindy Takehara FerruccioNominated [24]
Gotham Independent Film Awards November 26, 2018 Best Documentary ShirkersNominated [25]
Audience Award ShirkersNominated
Independent Spirit Awards February 23, 2019 Best Documentary Feature Sandi Tan, Jessica Levin, and Maya E. RudolphNominated [26]
International Cinephile Society Awards February 3, 2019Best DocumentaryShirkersNominated [27]
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards December 9, 2018 Best Documentary/Nonfiction Film ShirkersWon [28]
National Society of Film Critics Awards January 5, 2019 Best Non-Fiction Film ShirkersRunner-up [29]
Online Film Critics Society Awards January 2, 2019 Best Documentary Film ShirkersNominated [30]
Peabody Awards May 18, 2019DocumentaryShirkersNominated [31]
Philadelphia Film Festival Awards October 28, 2018Best Documentary FeatureShirkersWon [32] [33]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards December 9, 2018Best DocumentaryShirkersNominated [34]
Seattle Film Critics Society Awards December 17, 2018 Best Documentary Feature Sandi TanNominated [35]
Sundance Film Festival January 27, 2019 World Cinema Documentary Directing AwardSandi TanWon [36]
Women Film Critics Circle Awards December 11, 2018Best Documentary by or About WomenShirkersRunner-up [37]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirby Dick</span> American film director, producer, and screenwriter

Kirby Bryan Dick is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best known for directing documentary films. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith (2005) and The Invisible War (2012). He has also received numerous awards from film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David France (writer)</span> American journalist and filmmaker (born 1959)

David France is an American investigative reporter, non-fiction author, and filmmaker. He is a former Newsweek senior editor, and has published in New York magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, GQ, and others. France, who is gay, is best known for his investigative journalism on LGBTQ topics.

<i>Last Days in Vietnam</i> 2014 film by Rory Kennedy

Last Days in Vietnam is a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Heineman</span> American documentary filmmaker

Matthew Heineman is an American documentary filmmaker, director, and producer. His inspiration and fascination with American history led him to early success with the documentary film Cartel Land, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, and won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<i>O.J.: Made in America</i> 2016 American documentary

O.J.: Made in America is a 2016 American documentary, produced and directed by Ezra Edelman for ESPN Films and their 30 for 30 series. It was released as a five-part miniseries and in theatrical format. O.J.: Made in America premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2016, and was theatrically released in New York City and Los Angeles in May 2016 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It debuted on ABC on June 11, 2016, and aired on ESPN.

<i>Whose Streets?</i> 2017 American film

Whose Streets? is a 2017 American documentary film about the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson uprising. Directed by Sabaah Folayan and co-directed by Damon Davis, Whose Streets? premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, then was released theatrically in August, 2017, for the anniversary of Brown's death. It was a nominee for Critics' Choice and Gotham Independent Film awards.

<i>Wont You Be My Neighbor?</i> (film) 2018 documentary film directed by Morgan Neville

Won't You Be My Neighbor? is a 2018 American documentary film about the life and guiding philosophy of Fred Rogers, the host and creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, directed by Morgan Neville. The trailer for the film debuted on what would have been Rogers' 90th birthday, March 20, 2018.

Sandi Tan is a film critic, writer, and filmmaker. After attending the University of Kent, she wrote as the film critic for The Straits Times from 1995 to 1997 before attending Columbia University's film school and earning a Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting. Her first short film, Moveable Feast, was her entry in the 1996 Singapore International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Higher Ground Productions</span> Media production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama

Higher Ground Productions, also known simply as Higher Ground, is an American production company which was founded in 2018 by former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

<i>Apollo 11</i> (2019 film) 2019 documentary film

Apollo 11 is a 2019 American documentary film edited, produced, and directed by Todd Douglas Miller. It focuses on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first spaceflight to land humans on the Moon. The film consists solely of archival footage, including 70 mm film previously unreleased to the public, and does not feature narration, interviews, or modern recreations. The Saturn V rocket, Apollo 11 crew, and Apollo program Earth-based mission operations engineers are prominently featured in the film.

<i>Honeyland</i> 2019 Macedonian documentary

Honeyland is a 2019 Macedonian documentary film that was directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov. It portrays the life of Hatidže Muratova, a lonely beekeeper of wild bees who lives in the remote mountain village of Bekirlija and follows her lifestyle before and after neighbors move in nearby. The film was initially planned as a short film documenting the region surrounding the river Bregalnica but its area of focus changed when the directors met Hatidže. Honeyland received its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on 28 January and it has grossed $1,315,037.

<i>Time</i> (2020 film) 2020 American film

Time is a 2020 American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley. It follows Sibil Fox Richardson and her fight for the release of her husband, Rob, who was serving a 60-year prison sentence for engaging in an armed bank robbery.

City So Real is an American documentary miniseries directed by Steve James, revolving around the 2019 mayoral election in Chicago, Illinois, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and social upheaval following the murder of George Floyd. It consists of 5 episodes and premiered on October 29, 2020, on National Geographic.

<i>Flee</i> (film) 2021 animated documentary film

Flee is a 2021 independent adult animated documentary film directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen. An international co-production with Denmark, France, Norway, and Sweden, it follows the story of a man under the alias Amin Nawabi, who shares his hidden past of fleeing his home country of Afghanistan to Denmark for the first time. Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau serve as executive producers and narrators for the English-language dub version.

<i>Summer of Soul</i> 2021 documentary film by Questlove

Summer of Soul is a 2021 American independent documentary film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in his directorial debut. It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2021, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary categories. It had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. by Searchlight Pictures on June 25, 2021, before expanding and being released for streaming on Hulu the next weekend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucas Celler</span> American documentary film editor

Lucas Celler is an American documentary film editor, director, photographer and motion designer. He is best known for his work on Shirkers and Claydream.

<i>Navalny</i> (film) 2022 American film

Navalny is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher. The film revolves around Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and events related to his poisoning. It was produced by HBO Max and CNN Films. The film premiered on January 25, 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received critical and audience acclaim and won the Audience Award in the US Documentary competition and the Festival Favorite Award. It also won the Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards, won the award for Best Political Documentary at the 7th Critics' Choice Documentary Awards and picked up best documentary at the 76th BAFTA awards ceremony.

<i>The Territory</i> (2022 film) 2022 film

The Territory is a 2022 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Alex Pritz. It follows a young Indigenous leader of the Uru-eu-wau-wau people fighting back against farmers, colonizers and settlers who encroach on a protected area of the Amazon Rainforest. Filmed on location in Brazil from 2018 to 2020, the film utilizes almost exclusively on-the-ground, primary source material, including footage produced directly by the Uru-eu-wau-wau. Darren Aronofsky serves as a producer under his Protozoa Pictures banner.

<i>Fire of Love</i> (2022 film) 2022 film

Fire of Love is a 2022 independent documentary film about the lives and careers of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. Directed, written, and produced by Sara Dosa, the film had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2022, where it won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award. It was released on July 6, 2022, by National Geographic Documentary Films and Neon. It received acclaim from critics, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 95th Academy Awards.

Jasmine Ng Kin Kia is a Singaporean film director. She is known for co-directing the feature film Eating Air, the documentary film Pink Paddlers and the short film Moveable Feast. She is also a part-time film lecturer at the National University of Singapore.

References

  1. ↑ "Shirkers". sundance.org. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  2. ↑ Lui, John (1 March 2018). "Sandi Tan's award-winning documentary Shirkers to stream on Netflix". The Straits Times . Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Linden, Sheri (23 January 2018). "'Shirkers': Film Review (Sundance 2018)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  4. ↑ Halligan, Fionnuala (22 January 2018). "'Shirkers': Sundance Review". Screen International . Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  5. ↑ Sharf, Zack (2018-10-18). "2018 Gotham Awards Nominations: 'The Favourite' and 'First Reformed' Lead the Pack". IndieWire. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  6. ↑ Kain, Erik (October 4, 2018). "Here Are All The TV Shows And Movies Coming To Netflix In October (2018) And What To Watch". Forbes. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  7. ↑ Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper 26/10/2018; TV Guide section; Page 9
  8. ↑ Keeley, Pete (13 November 2018). "How a "Shape-Shifter" Director Hijacked a Teen Film for More Than 20 Years". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper 26/10/2018; TV Guide section; Page 9
  10. ↑ "Shirkers: a movie mystery 25 years in the making". the Guardian . 20 October 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Cardona, Georges (1995). About Burma/Myanmar. Singapore: A & B Co. ISBN   9810074174. OCLC   41357880.
  12. ↑ "MISSING: Georges Cardona". georges.cardona.free.fr. 2001-08-10. Retrieved 4 May 2021. vétéran de la guerre du Vietnam
  13. ↑ "special issue: Professional Super-8" (PDF). American Cinematographer. 56 (11). Hollywood, California: ASC Holding Corp. November 1975. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  14. ↑ Luers, Erik (February 2, 2018). "'Shirkers': How a Filmmaker Reclaimed her Lost Work and Turned It into a Sundance-Winning Doc". Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  15. ↑ Arceneaux, Bill (1 January 2019). "From Shirkers, Then Back to NOLA: An Interview with Stephen Tyler". Big Easy Magazine. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "Shirkers (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Shirkers Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  18. ↑ Allen, Nick (February 5, 2018). "Sundance 2018: Shirkers, Generation Wealth, Colette". RogerEbert.com.
  19. ↑ "2018 EDA Award Nominees". Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  20. ↑ Whittaker, Richard (December 28, 2018). "Austin Film Critics Release 2018 Awards Nominee Lists". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  21. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (January 11, 2019). "Hale County This Morning, This Evening Earns Top Prize at Cinema Eye Honors". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  22. ↑ Kilkenny, Katie (January 3, 2019). "The Favourite, Pose, Killing Eve Lead Dorian Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  23. ↑ "2018 FFCC Award Winners". Florida Film Critics Circle. December 21, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Motion Picture Sound Editors Announces 66th Annual Golden Reel Award Nominees". SHOOTonline. January 18, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  25. ↑ Lewis, Hilary; Crist, Allison (November 26, 2018). "The Rider Tops Gotham Awards; Full Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  26. ↑ "34th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced". Film Independent. November 16, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  27. ↑ Stevens, Beth (January 20, 2019). "Zama Awaits its Fate, While Burning Catches Fire at ICS Awards". International Cinephile Society . Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  28. ↑ Pond, Steve (December 9, 2018). "Roma Is the Year's Best Film, Say Los Angeles Film Critics". TheWrap. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  29. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 5, 2019). "National Society Of Film Critics Names Chloe Zhao's The Rider As Best Picture". Deadline. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  30. ↑ Neglia, Matt (December 26, 2018). "The 2018 Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) Nominations". NextBestPicture. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  31. ↑ Petski, Denise (April 9, 2019). "Peabody Award Nominations For TV & Digital Media Unveiled; Ronan Farrow To Host Trophy Show". Deadline. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  32. ↑ Tustin, Kevin (October 28, 2018). "Philadelphia Film Fest, Day 10: The Home Stretch". Delaware County Daily Times . Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  33. ↑ "27th Philadelphia Film Festival". Philadelphia Film Society. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  34. ↑ "SFBAFCC 2018 Awards". San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  35. ↑ "The Favourite Leads the 2018 Seattle Film Critics Society Nominations". Seattle Film Critics Society. December 10, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  36. ↑ "2018 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced". Sundance Institute. January 27, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  37. ↑ Neglia, Matt (December 11, 2018). "The 2018 Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) Winners". NextBestPicture. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.