Experiencing Interruptions?

Limbo

Unaware of his state of consciousness, an only child from a superstitious family finds himself digging a grave for his dead father.

  • Ashraf Arshad
    Director
  • Khalid Sukaimi
    Writer
  • Ashraf Arshad
    Writer
  • Liyana Khalid
    Producer
  • Joshua Chua
    Cinematographer
  • Nuryn Adryana Halim
    Production Designer
  • Chui Lei
    Editor
  • Sufi Khal
    Location Sound Recordist
  • Hakim Karim
    Audio Post Supervisor
  • Kristen Sylvia Pal
    1st Assistant Director
  • Khairel Asyiq
    Gaffer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 57 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 7, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Singapore
  • Country of Filming:
    Singapore
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Lasalle College of the Arts
  • Singapore International Film Festival

    Singapore
    November 30, 2021
    World
    Official Selection
  • Tirana International Film Festival
    Tirana
    Albania
    September 28, 2022
    International
    Official Competition
  • Dreamers of Dreams Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    November 10, 2022
    UK Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Ashraf Arshad

Ashraf Arshad’s research and interest lie within aesthetic discourses and the dissolving of subject-object dialectics through cinematic works of magical realism. Like in any expression of art, he also believes that the language of film is boundless and interpersonal. Enthralled by open-ended and symbolic narratives, his body of works traverses the line between realism and fantasy and can be characterized by a common dismissal of the expository. His recognized directorial works include Limbo (2021) which screened at the 32nd Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) and Goldfish (2016) which featured as one of the 20 short films in 20/20: The Temasek Short Film Project.

Ashraf also takes respite in producing for filmmakers he sees building a rapport with, connecting visionaries with the resources they need so that they can tell the next compelling story. He will soon be graduating from the BA(Hons) Film programme in Lasalle College of the Arts

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Director Statement

Limbo is primarily a film which seeks to explore the dream state of an individual. The dream, for me, is usually steered by a highly loose narrative that contains elements of the individual’s daily experience as well as one’s feelings and emotions. Sometimes, emotions that are repressed also reveal themselves to the individual in dreams and create a new found consciousness.

I was largely inspired by the works of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Yorgos Lanthimos when creating the story with my writer. They both deal with surrealistic-like environments that I take interest in. On one end of the spectrum, is a filmmaker whose lucid-dream cinema feels very sedated, evoking different states of consciousness and on the other end, is a filmmaker who engages the audience with compelling stories out of bizarre environments and circumstances.

In the film, topics about religion and death become entwined as well when the main character, Fai, seeks to understand what happens after someone dies.