PULSE/DRIFT Shorts 3: Cloud Bodies

There will be five short films in this screening. Where rhythm becomes release. Across India, the Philippines, Singapore, and Myanmar, these shorts drift between body and atmosphere, tracing freedom, femininity, and transcendence through sound and moving image. Desi on the Dancefloor: Women at the forefront of India’s underground music communities (2021) Director: Mia Zur-Szpiro Runtime: 22 minutes Country: India Language: English Rating: PG13 Synopsis A documentary spotlighting the women driving India’s electronic music scene, where sound becomes a space for expression, spirituality, empowerment and defiance in a male-dominated culture. When the house lights come on (2023) Original Title: Abutan man tayo ng house lights Director: Apa Agbayani Runtime: 13 minutes Country: Philippines Language: Tagalog with English subtitles Rating: R21 Synopsis Glammed in glitter, a raver confronts aging and desire as music by Filipino DJ Obese Dogma channels the intoxication and melancholy of the dancefloor in Apa Agbayani’s short. Scenes at the Singapore River (2023) Director: Lam Li Shuen, Lin Htet Aung, Moe Myat May Zarchi, Mark Chua Runtime: 13 minutes Country: Singapore, Myanmar Language: Burmese, English with English subtitles Rating: PG Synopsis A live audiovisual performance along the Singapore River blending sound, text, and image by Lam Li Shuen, Mark Chua, Moe Myat May Zarchi, and Lin Htet Aung. Freedom of Clouds (2021) Original Title: လွတ်လပ်သောတိမ် Director: Moe Myat May Zarchi Runtime: 7 minutes Country: Myanmar Language: Burmese with English subtitles Rating: PG Synopsis Scored by the director herself, this experimental audiovisual poem draws on Taoist notions of flow, where visuals and sound shift in tandem like drifting clouds. The Cloud of Unknowing (2011) Director: Ho Tzu Nyen Runtime: 28 minutes Country: Singapore Language: English Rating: PG Synopsis Commissioned for the Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, this 13-channel installation envelops viewers in a sonic and visual meditation on clouds as symbols of mystery, revelation, and transcendence, with a score by Yasuhiro Morinaga.