It's who you know. Which is how I got an invitation from the Singapore High Commission to attend the reception to open the ASEAN Film Festival on Saturday.
That's the High Commissioner himself delivering his speech. The catering was excellent, and the people hospitable and friendly. I met the Philippine ambassador and consuls, which made me realise I had no idea why some countries have high commissions and others have embassies. Apparently it's all about whether the country concerned is a Commonwealth country. As far as I can work out New Zealand has a high commission when in another Commonwealth country, but an embassy in others. Anyway, it was a pleasant gathering and the films on offer looked interesting.
I saw Sandcastle on Saturday, and Four Sisters and a Wedding on Sunday. Sandcastle was excellent, and I learned a little about the history of Singapore. The second film was more of a comedy romp, from the Philippines - funny and entertaining. It was great to have the opportunity to see cinema from Asia - although the lovely Lighthouse shows lots of foreign language films they are all from European countries. And isn't it nice that it was a FILM festival, that word 'movie' didn't get a look in. The festival all took place at Te Papa, which is a place I always enjoy visiting.
And so another weekend all too soon draws to a close . . .
"Keep calm and love Wainui" is my favourite in a store called Join the Dots!
ReplyDelete