MISSION TO ENGAGE

Filmmaker HE SHUMING crafts his stories of human connection with the aim of sparking the magic of cinema.

- JENNIFER CHEN

"When was the last time you went to the cinema to watch a film?" asks filmmaker He Shuming. Good question. Viewing habits have changed so much since the introduction of streaming services that the one activity where strangers congregate to share a cultural experience is increasingly on the wane, and along with it, the ecosystem.

In Singapore, cinema attendance has halved from 22.1 million in 2013 to 10 million last year, with Cathay, Filmgarde and EW cineplexes among the casualties of that decline. He has his own way of processing the industry's throes.

Commissioned by French luxury house Cartier to produce a work for its Trinity 100 exhibition this July, he presented a short, Matinee at Three, about the evocative power of cinema.

The 39-year-old filmmaker shot to fame last year when his debut feature Ajoomma was nominated for four Golden Horse Awards, for best new director, best original screenplay, best supporting actor Jung Dong-hwan, and best actress Hong Huifang.

The award is considered the Oscars of the Chinese film industry. In fact, He was on tour to promote Ajoomma last year when he got the call from Cartier. His headspace then was occupied with dwindling cinema audiences and cineplex closures, so when he was offered the opportunity to interpret the idea of Trinity, Cartier's three-band ring, He channelled his angst into art and used the medium to immortalise his subject.