In August we wrote, “Ultimately, “‘Shirkers‘ is a film that should be experienced more than explained. That sounds like a cop out, but it’s an inspiring documentary about the process of filmmaking, the love of outsider art, but also a cautionary tale about trust and shadiness in the filmmaking world.”
READ MORE: ‘Shirkers’ Is A Love Letter To Renegade Filmmaking And The Ghosts Of The Past [Review]
A film, that was thought to never see the light of day, has now been brought to life through a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award. Since then, it has been screened at the North Bend Film Festival and is now coming to you exclusively through Netflix who have really upped their game with documentary acquisitions over the last few years.
The trailer for “Shirkers” is gripping. It is edited in a way that an episode of “Forensic Files” or “60 Minutes” would be teased to the public. It has an air of mystery, you feel a sense of anxiety, and it pulls you into the story. Directed, written and produced by Sandi Tan, the film features interviews and footage from her time shooting the original movie.
“Shirkers” launches globally on Netflix on October 26 and in limited theatrical release. Here is the official synopsis:
Shirkers was a Singapore-made 1992 cult classic from teenage friends Sandi Tan, Jasmine Ng and Sophie Siddique -or it would have been, had the 16mm footage not been stolen by their enigmatic American collaborator Georges Cardona. More than two decades after Cardona disappeared, Tan, now a novelist in L.A., returns to the country of her youth and to the memories of a man who both enabled and thwarted her dreams. Magically, too, she returns to the film itself, revived in a way she never could have imagined.