In the 1960s and 70s, Shaw Bros (run by the legendary Run Run Shaw) was the biggest studio in Hong Kong. It was a major cultural, financial and economic player, bigger than just studio back lots and film reels. Still owned by the Shaw Organization, the fact that international film companies were leading the charge on big urban development projects in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong reveals the extent to which a studio like Shaw Brothers transcended its boundaries as a film production house in the 1960s and 70s. Completed in 1975 it housed one of if not the largest cinema in Singapore at the time. And just a bit further down Beach Road is Shaw Towers, which was also part of the initial Golden Mile concept. It is now often considered an eyesore and a den of debauchery filled with Thai karaoke bars, but the area is rich in Singapore’s urban and architectural history. Heavily influenced by the Brutalist style, many of the developments on Golden Mile had shops, apartments, restaurants - and movie theaters. The Projector is housed in Golden Mile Tower, an integrated mixed use development dreamed up by Singapore’s Housing and Development Board in the 1960s and 70s to jump-start growth along an envisioned Golden Mile on Beach Road.

I once watched a 3-hour documentary about Britain’s National Gallery at the Projector, which I would only recommend if you are suffering from a terminal brain disease. While I enjoy ducking out of the heat to catch a film at a Golden Village cineplex, they won’t be screening the same kind of offbeat fare you can find at The Projector. If you happen to be in Singapore and find yourself in the mood for an independent film, you should make your way down to Beach Road and check out what’s playing at The Projector.

Shaw brothers films