AT LEAST once a week, members from a local movie club gather to catch a show – whether it is an arthouse film, an animation flick or a Hollywood blockbuster.

The Movie Club Singapore was founded in 2012 with the aim of helping expatriates find a circle of friends in a foreign land.

But it unexpectedly drew Singaporeans as well – they now make up about 60 per cent of the membership.

The club, which makes use of United States-based application and website Meetup, has 4,807 members to date, adding an average of 1,000 per year.

Anyone can join for free, register for any of the listed upcoming events, make pre-payment via i-banking and show up at an agreed location.

The club has five voluntary organisers or hosts who have developed their own styles.

One of them is Jacq Wong, who is self-employed and in her mid-30s.

She arranges meetups for animation films like Kung Fu Panda 3 and also often schedules weekday movies, which her fellow hosts joke can draw housewives and retirees.

A meetup is set up with the premise that people who join do not mind meeting others, said Ms Wong.

“You do get to meet people whom you don’t normally meet in your normal life because all kinds of people show up.”

About 85 per cent of the members are working professionals in their 20s to 30s, with two-thirds of them regulars, said Christopher Loh, a 38-year-old financial consultant by day and organiser for Hollywood blockbuster film outings by night.

He recalls the largest movie outing he hosted: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which drew more than 100 people, packed into one cinema hall.

Such large gatherings require careful planning and the members are split into more manageable groups.

The club usually holds its meetups at a restaurant and each host comes up with a unique way of identifying the group.

For example, Mr Loh has his Meetup group wear clothes of a certain colour.

They ask for individual billing and more than one restaurant is used if there is not enough space. Average attendances can range from 15 to 50 people for a popular film.

After the show, they will go for food and often drinks.

“Everybody loves movies,” said Vishesh Kumar, the 31-year-old head organiser of the club, who works in information technology.

Mr Loh added: “If the show is good, it’s a bonus. And if the show is bad, we can talk about it afterwards.”

And friendships form quickly. Said Ms Wong: “People who are otherwise strangers become good friends, and even relationships form and couples even get married.”

Asked if people use the meetup as a dating avenue, the organisers exchanged knowing looks but Mr Vishesh stressed: “It’s not for dating purposes.”

Instead, he said the club is for expats who do not know many people here, or Singaporeans whose work circles are small and do not have people to go out with.

Melvin Tan, a 24-year-old undergraduate who joined the club early last year after searching online for social platforms, said he likes it as the organisers “have a social objective in mind, encouraging moviegoers to socialise before and after the movie”.

Geraldine Baird, an advanced practice nurse who came here from the United States 31/2 years ago, said she was looking for “a social group with common interests” when she joined the club two years ago.

The 45-year-old said she has made about five good friends at the club, where there are “fun people to talk to”.

“It goes beyond the movie-watching,” said Ms Baird.

“Having no family to hang out here in Singapore, it does not feel as lonely any more,” she added.

The club welcomes new participants.

Find out more at www.facebook.com/MovieClubSingapore

Other movie options here

• Pop-up drive-in cinema Catch a free outdoor movie screening by MovieMob.

Launched in 2009 with the aim of bringing back the nostalgia of the old Jurong drive-in cinemas that were “a huge draw in the 1970s to 1985”, MovieMob has done more than 400 screenings in Singapore.

One such event was Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, at Biopolis Epicentre on March 4.

Updates for upcoming screenings are provided on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/apemoviemob

• Singapore Cult & Underground Film Festival 2016

The Singapore Cult & Underground Film Festival (Scuff) by film society Scum Cinema will screen four independent films from genres such as horror and comedy at The Projector at Golden Mile Tower from March 24 to 27.

Tickets are $13 each. For more information, visit scumcinema.com/events/scuff2016

lydialam@sph.com.sg

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A NEW breed of farmer is appearing in Singapore.

They are using high-tech and high-yield methods to transform their work from back-breaking labour into lucrative business.

From running indoor vertical vegetable farms – which grow crops in stacked layers, to raising fitter fish that are robust against aquatic diseases, farmers here are finding ways to overcome the limitations of traditional farming.

Sustenir Agriculture, for example, is an indoor farm which currently produces about 54 tonnes of vegetables a year – an output which its founders consider highly efficient for a 344 sq m space.

Grown in rolling racks less than 3m tall, the plants are packed together allowing for maximum light absorption. The modular design means the racks can be moved easily.

“Traditionally, when people look at vertical farms, they haven’t been looking at them from an urban standpoint,” said the farm’s co-founder Martin Lavoo.

“Especially if they are farms of gigantic size, most of them are in the outskirts of the city or in relatively rural areas. We wanted to look at how we can put this in the middle of city – say Raffles Place – delivering straight into the heart of demand.”

The farms’ controlled conditions also allow them to grow imported varieties such as the Tuscan kale.

“This means a lower carbon footprint – we won’t have to air-freight them from the United States or Europe,” said the other co-founder of Sustenir Agriculture, Benjamin Swan.

Since 2014, the farm has been producing vegetables such as kale and arugula.

Sustenir is based in an industrial facility in Admiralty.

Its vegetables absorb light from LEDs and are tube-fed with nutrients while carbon dioxide comes through the air-con ducts.

Before anyone can enter the area where plants are grown, they have to don a jumpsuit and take an air shower to remove dirt particles.

Vegetables are grown at temperatures between 14 deg C and 22 deg C.

It takes about two weeks for the produce to grow before it is harvested. This is about half the time needed for outdoor farms to grow vegetables under normal conditions, said Mr Swan. It is then sold to restaurants such as Salad Stop!.

While the vegetables sell for $19 per kilogram – about 10 per cent higher than it would cost businesses to buy from wholesalers – Mr Swan, 35, and Mr Lavoo, 29, said the quality is worth the price.

Mr Swan added that their vegetables can stay fresh for up to two weeks, as they are locally produced.

According to figures from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority released last year, 10,848 tonnes of leafy vegetables consumed here in 2014 were produced locally.

This means 12 per cent of Singapore’s total vegetable consumption that year was produced locally, up from 7 per cent in 2010.

Jonatan Lassa, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University who researches food and environmental security issues, said growing crops in a controlled environment can have several advantages, including a lower carbon footprint and less water wastage.

“The beauty of vertical farming is that the multiple is infinite,” said Mr Lavoo.

“We can go as many storeys up as we like. The sky is literally the limit.”

kcarolyn@sph.com.sg

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Cars have topped the consumer’s grouse list yet again.

The motorcar industry remained the top source of complaints for the fourth year in a row, according to statistics released by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) yesterday.

Complaints against the sector shot up 37.6 per cent last year to 2,907, with the majority of people unhappy over buying second-hand cars with defects, Case said.

About seven in 10 cases the association handled involved used cars.

Things were looking up, however, for timeshare companies, as the industry dropped out of the top 10 most complained about list for the first time in over a decade.

Timeshare quibbles fell from 869 in 2014 to 536 last year, a decrease of 38.3 per cent. The consumer watchdog attributed this to its efforts in tackling errant companies, including taking out injunctions against several players in recent years.

Rounding up the top three sectors with most complaints were electronics with 1,668 and beauty with 1,664, though both saw a slight dip over the previous year.

Several other sectors also saw a fall in grouses, including travel and mobile phones.

Entering the top 10 list for the first time was the clubs sector, with 623 reports lodged. About 90 per cent of these were against fitness clubs and mostly related to membership termination issues, Case said.

Overall, consumer complaints received by Case fell by 9.7 per cent to 22,319, though the number of filed cases went up 45.3 per cent to 2,006 last year. In filed cases, the consumer authorises Case to handle the dispute on their behalf.

The statistics were released at a carnival held by Case at Chinatown Point yesterday to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day, as well as Case’s 45th anniversary.

Case president Lim Biow Chuan said better consumer education and legislation has led to an overall drop in complaints and an increase in filed cases. “The lemon law has empowered consumers to feel that if I have a basis for my complaint, then I want Case to help push for my rights,” he noted.

The “lemon law” is an amendment to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act and the Hire Purchase Act that requires retailers to repair or replace a product found to be defective within six months of purchase or give a refund.

Mr Lim, who is also Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP for Mountbatten, said the long-troubled timeshare industry falling out of the top 10 complaint rankings was a cause for celebration.

The increase in motorcar grouses, however, is of concern, he added.

Noting that most complaints are related to second-hand cars, he said: “The reality is that second-hand cars are not so straightforward.

“A lot depends on the age of the car and the expectations of the buyer.

“So, we are still exploring with the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association (SVTA) to see what we can do to bring complaints down.”

SVTA president Michael Lim agreed, and said the association, which counts about 400 used-car dealers as members, is working with Case on education efforts for car buyers.

“We need to let people know what the lemon law is, what a warranty is and the importance of sending cars for inspection before buying,” he added.

tiffanyt@sph.com.sg

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The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has not decided who to field for the Bukit Batok by-election but there is a possibility that its secretary-general Chee Soon Juan may run.

The party wasted no time in staking its claim on the Bukit Batok constituency by walking the ground there the morning after MP David Ong’s resignation.

“We are going to not wait for the starting gun. We are going to start campaigning already and that’s going to be an important step for us,” party chief Dr Chee told media before he and other party members went on a walkabout around the constituency yesterday.

Dr Chee said the SDP had not decided who to field and was still considering all possible candidates, including himself.

SDP has not contacted other opposition parties. However, it is “happy” to discuss the matter if there is a need to do so, he added.

He said the SDP was “looking forward to a one-on-one contest with the PAP” but it had not heard from the other opposition parties with regard to their interest in the seat.

He pointed out that the SDP had contested Bukit Batok ward before it got roped into a GRC and also when it became a single seat constituency in the general election last year.

Dr Chee had said on Saturday that the SDP will be contesting the upcoming by-election in Bukit Batok SMC, after it was announced that Mr Ong of the People’s Action Party (PAP) had resigned and quit the party, where he had been a long-time member before being fielded in the 2011 General Election.

Mr Ong said the resignation was over “a personal indiscretion on my part which I deeply regret”.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, Berita Harian, Shin Min Daily News

Dr Chee said the resignation over an affair was an “unfortunate incident” and that the family’s wish for privacy at this moment should be respected.

He added that the party will raise the same issues it did at the GE, such as cost of living.

Several SDP candidates in last year’s general election were also present during the walkabout, including Sadasivam Veriyah who stood against Mr Ong in the 2015 general election.

He had 26.4 per cent of the votes while Mr Ong won more than 70 per cent in the three-way fight.

Independent candidate Samir Salim Neji was the third contestant.

ziliang@sph.com.sg

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