Contours of Being: Gladys Ng / Kimi Takesue

Drawing from the embodied experience of two elderly Asian men across two distinct cultures of Hawaii and Singapore, this programme traces the contours of a shifting masculinity – one where familiar ideas of strength, usefulness, and independence begin to subtly loosen, but still perseveres.

Together, the films trace how aging men inhabit domestic spaces not as sites of authority, but as places where roles evolve, where anatomical decline is quietly questioned, and where presence itself becomes the measure of connection.

My Father After Dinner 隔夜饭, 2014 by Gladys Ng

16min | G | English & Chinese with English subtitles

Centering around the traditional occasion of the family dinner in Singapore, Gladys Ng explores the figure of the silent provider, where care is inscribed alongside time and age on weather hands, faces and love.

95 and 6 to Go, 2016 by Kimi Takesue

85min | PG | English and Japanese with English subtitles

Grandpa Tom lives a full life – he smashes multiple pushups with ease, prepares his own elaborate meals, and conjures colourful critiques of movie scripts.

Yet against the backdrop of picturesque Hawaii, within the interiority of home lies a portrait of a man navigating grief, loneliness, independence, desire, and a body that refuses to cooperate. 

Funny, sassy and intimately lensed, 95 and 6 To Go explores ability and perseverance in the midst of a declining body.