A Month of Hungry Ghosts
Encyclopedia
A Month of Hungry Ghosts is a 2008 film about the seventh-lunar-month Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore
. A Month of Hungry Ghosts is directed by Singapore-based American film director Tony Kern
and co-produced by Genevieve Woo
, a Singaporean television news anchor and producer
with Channel NewsAsia
, and Tony Kern. The film was released locally in Singapore on 7 August 2008. The film is distributed by Golden Village
Pictures, and premiered at Golden Village VivoCity
, Golden Village Plaza and Sinema Old School.
are opened and all the souls are set free to wander the Earth
. At this time, many spirit
s roam around trying to fulfill their past needs, wants and desires. These are the "hungry ghost
s". Numerous religious rituals and folk performances, like street operas, take place during the seventh lunar month in order to try and appease the spirits.
This film captures the seventh-lunar-month rituals in Singapore, a world-class centre of business and culture inhabited by many different immigrants from other Asian countries. While the hungry-ghost rituals originated in China and are still practised throughout South-east Asia in various forms, they are slowly dying out in many countries or may only be performed for several days of the month.
Singapore is unique in that the rituals are brought to life throughout the entire seventh lunar month. At the same time, the immigrants in Singapore have brought their own native rituals to the small island nation where the hungry-ghost month still thrives. A Month of Hungry Ghosts captures these rituals and performances throughout an entire seventh lunar month in Singapore.
-based artist MoShang
blends recorded sound samples from the streets of Asia with downtempo electronica for a unique sound.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. A Month of Hungry Ghosts is directed by Singapore-based American film director Tony Kern
Tony Kern
Tony Kern is a Singapore-based American film director, screenwriter, motion picture artist and film producer.Kern’s latest film A Month of Hungry Ghosts was released in Singapore on August 7, 2008...
and co-produced by Genevieve Woo
Genevieve Woo
Genevieve Woo Marn Huong is a Singaporean television journalist and news presenter with Channel NewsAsia, an English-language news network reaching more than 20 Asian countries and territories. She currently presents Asia Business Tonight, which airs between 10.30pm and 11.00pm from Mondays to...
, a Singaporean television news anchor and producer
News producer
A news producer is one of the most integral members of any news-production team. The news producer takes all the elements of a newscast and compiles them into a cohesive show....
with Channel NewsAsia
Channel NewsAsia
Channel NewsAsia is an English language pan-Asian news network based in Singapore and owned by MediaCorp. Started on 1 March 1999 based in Singapore by Television Corporation of Singapore, it was launched internationally on 12 February 2001 as the international broadcasting arm of Channel...
, and Tony Kern. The film was released locally in Singapore on 7 August 2008. The film is distributed by Golden Village
Golden Village
Golden Village is a cinema operator based in Singapore which is a joint venture by Golden Harvest of Hong Kong and Village Roadshow of Australia. It operates nine multiplexes and cineplexes in the country including a largest cineplex at VivoCity. It joined hands to open a cinema at Great World...
Pictures, and premiered at Golden Village VivoCity
VivoCity
VivoCity is the largest shopping mall in Singapore. Located in the HarbourFront precinct, it was designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Its name is derived from the word vivacity...
, Golden Village Plaza and Sinema Old School.
Plot
In parts of Asia each year, during the seventh lunar month, it is believed that the gates of HellHell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
are opened and all the souls are set free to wander the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. At this time, many spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s roam around trying to fulfill their past needs, wants and desires. These are the "hungry ghost
Hungry ghost
Hungry ghost is a Western translation of Chinese , a concept in Chinese Buddhism and Chinese traditional religion representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way....
s". Numerous religious rituals and folk performances, like street operas, take place during the seventh lunar month in order to try and appease the spirits.
This film captures the seventh-lunar-month rituals in Singapore, a world-class centre of business and culture inhabited by many different immigrants from other Asian countries. While the hungry-ghost rituals originated in China and are still practised throughout South-east Asia in various forms, they are slowly dying out in many countries or may only be performed for several days of the month.
Singapore is unique in that the rituals are brought to life throughout the entire seventh lunar month. At the same time, the immigrants in Singapore have brought their own native rituals to the small island nation where the hungry-ghost month still thrives. A Month of Hungry Ghosts captures these rituals and performances throughout an entire seventh lunar month in Singapore.
Music
TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
-based artist MoShang
MoShang
MoShang is a downtempo Musician and Music Producer originally from South Africa. He is referred to as the Sound Jeweler and has been living in Taiwan since 2003.-Early Life and Musical Background :...
blends recorded sound samples from the streets of Asia with downtempo electronica for a unique sound.