Gema Dari Menara (Echoes from the Minaret) Film Screening

Journey back to 1968 with Brunei Darussalam’s first feature film, Gema Dari Menara (Echoes From The Minaret). This compelling family drama, centred around a dutiful son and his rebellious siblings, serves as a cautionary tale against the growing secularisation of Bruneian society. Despite its moral undertones, the film offers a rare glimpse into the more liberal culture of pre-independence Brunei. Mostly unseen since its debut, Gema Dari Menara is a captivating time capsule that brings forgotten local stories to life on the big screen.

The film will be followed by a post-screening Q&A with Dr. Kathrina Mohd Daud, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, and moderated by Suraya Suhairi from Global Cultural Alliance.

The post-screening Q&A will be held in English.

Special thanks to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Negara Brunei Darussalam for granting permission to screen this film and to National Gallery Singapore for providing a copy of the film with English Subtitles.

This screening of Gema Dari Menara is part of The Idea of North 2024 – a four-day festival organised by Global Cultural Alliance to commemorate the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations between Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.