Private Project

Paper Roof

Paper Roof is about two young sisters running way from trouble at home to build a cardboard house together. However, reality soon catches up with them and threatens to put an end to their escapade.

  • Judith Tong
    Director
    Matilda
  • Judith Tong
    Writer
  • Evon Kua
    Producer
  • Zhang Zhirou
    Key Cast
  • Lee Min Xin
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Children, Family, Adventure, Sisters, Siblings, Kids, Asian, Girls, Live-action, Drama
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 23 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 20, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Singapore
  • Country of Filming:
    Singapore
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 2K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Tribeca Film Festival
    New York City
    Singapore
    April 19, 2018
    World
    Official Selection, Nominated for Student Visionary Award
  • Busan International Shorts Film Festival
    Busan
    Korea, Republic of
    April 27, 2018
    Asian
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Judith Tong

Armed with a background in Mass Communication, Judith’s deep-rooted interest and passion in sharing stories has allowed her to cross paths with individuals from different walks of life. She dreams of becoming a catalyst for unheard voices to tell their stories in future. She is new to the craft of directing films and sees her thesis film, Paper Roof as an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone of pursuing film producing. Upon graduation, she hopes to dabble with film distribution regionally, and eventually produce a feature. She holds dear to her heritage and is especially drawn to Asian cinema. When not dabbling with film, she can be found exploring nooks and crannies of her island home and throwing together ingredients in her kitchen.

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Director Statement

Our film highlights the intricacy of sisterly relationships and sees the world through the eyes of the children, and how they take things into their own hands when faced with family problems.

In modern day Singapore where so many things, like technology and social media are constantly vying for our attention, I want to highlight a prevailing issue of children experiencing emotional neglect at home. Parents often spend long hours at work and leave their children to the hands of grandparents, domestic helpers or even by themselves.

There has always been a constant struggle for kids to have their thoughts heard by their parents, especially in our Asian context. Through this film, I wish to share the unheard voices of children and shed light on this societal issue. Over the past seven months, I interviewed close friends and strangers who have experienced forms of emotional neglect at home. Some of them also share interesting relationships with their sisters, and I used them as inspirations to weave genuine moments into the story.