Fridae

Following the presentation of Imagine Me and You last month, My Summer of Love is the second part of the double bill screenings for Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) and Cat Welfare Society (CWS).

Top pic: Natalie Press and Emily Blunt play teenaged lovers in My Summer of Love. Above: Attendees of the charity premiere will be one of the first to experience Golden Village's newest flagship cinema at VivoCity which opens officially on October 7, 2006. The largest in Singapore, the 15-screen cineplex occupies a stunning 90,000 sq feet of space, and boasts 2,173-seats. The film will be screened a new Stadium cinema - with radiused stadium seating, extra wide legroom and wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling screens.

The film is presented by W.Fridae, Fridae's soon to be launched women's portal, which will be Asia's largest lesbian web site. According to the latest figures by Nielsen//Net Ratings, Fridae currently boasts over 20,000 female registered users.

Based on a novel by Helen Cross, the romantic and darkly brooding tale chronicles the adventures of two teenage girls one summer in 1980s Yorkshire. Narrated by 15-year-old Mona (Natalie Press), she meets upper-class Tamsin (Emily Blunt) who was suspended from boarding-school for being a "bad influence." The pair's relationship quickly develops into a fiery romance as they retreat into a world they have created for themselves.

Press was named British Newcomer of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film Awards for her role in the film, and Blunt was most recently seen in The Devil Wears Prada.

The Los Angeles Times called it "a most provocative love story, about two people who will never forget each other, but not for anything like the reasons they initially imagine."

The film won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the 2005 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA) and Best New British Feature at the 2004 Edinburgh International Film Festival, while director Pawel Pawlikowski was recognised for his Outstanding Directorial Achievement in British Film at the 2004 Directors Guild of Great Britain the same year for his effort.

Hundred per cent of the proceeds will go to AWARE for its support, research and educational programmes and to the Cat Welfare Society. The last screening of Imagine Me and You raised S$3,000 for the two groups.

AWARE is a voluntary organisation that has been promoting equal rights for women in Singapore since 1985 and works to empower women through positive social change. The organisation also runs a Helpline at 1800 774 5935 between 3pm to 10pm on all working days as well as other services such as a Legal Clinic, Counselling and a Befrienders service. AWARE reaches out to about three thousand women every year through all the different services.

Corinna Lim Honorary Secretary of Aware said: "AWARE is delighted to work with Fridae once again, in support of this captivating coming of age art-house film that explores the blossoming relationship between two girls against the backdrop of the Yorkshire countryside. The femininity depicted is complex and even disturbing, as the female protagonists have to battle religion, patriarchal authority, and their inner demons."

The Cat Welfare Society is a non-profit organisation, run entirely by volunteers to improve the welfare of stray cats in Singapore.

Dawn Kua, CWS' director of operations said: "We thank Fridae for holding another movie premiere to benefit both AWARE and the Cat Welfare Society. We think that it is wonderful that Fridae has combined a lovely evening out with a means of contributing to societies like ours, that truly appreciate not only the funds but the support."

Today, the group aims to encourage people to help out with a Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) programme, whereby cats are sterilised and put back into the communities they come from where they are managed by residents who live there. This ensures that the cat population is managed and does not continue to grow, and is also a means by which residents help other residents in their estate by dealing with any cat related complaints they might have. Proceeds will fund sterilisation, educational material about the TNRM programme and adoption programmes.

My Summer of Love Singapore Premiere
Rating: R21 (Mature Theme)
Date: 16 October 2006 (Monday)
Time: 9 pm
Venue: GV VivoCity, No 1, Harbourfront Walk
Price: USD$20 (approx. S$30)
Book online

Tickets will be available on Tuesday, Oct 3, at the Two Queens Party @ Thumper (Ground Floor, Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road) from 10pm till late. For information and ticket reservations, call Rodin or Tiffany at 62762132 from 10am-7pm. If you are unable to attend the premieres but wish to make cash donations to AWARE and the CWS, you may do so through the Fridae Shop.