Former film programmer David Lee, 45, said it was “already a miracle” The Projector lasted as long as it did, considering the high costs of running a cinema in Singapore.
He recalled organising a five-hour documentary screening with a Q&A some years ago, where the cinema didn’t charge extra despite running past closing time.
“Which commercial venue will let you do this (for) five hours way past closing time and not charge you an extra dime?” he said.
Independent cinemas, Mr Lee added, help shape the cultural identity of a city, as it does in global capitals like London and Tokyo. Singapore, too, needs a congregation space for the arts and culture, he said.
“I don’t think ever since The Substation … (has there) ever been another space that quite fills that niche for the misfit, if you will, for people who just want that independent space to champion whatever they’re working on,” he said.
The Substation, once a stalwart arts venue, left its Armenian Street home in 2021 after more than 30 years and later said it would shift from an arts centre to an arts company.
Mr Yap, the film podcaster, similarly described losing The Projector as “another blow to Singapore’s artistic soul”, after the steady loss of critical spaces to gather around art.
“It’s alarming to hear the news but we understand that keeping such spaces alive is a unique challenge in Singapore with its limited audience, lack of financial support for the arts, and seemingly diminishing interest in such experiences,” he said.
“When The Projector opened, it was like a light turned on in the cinematic landscape in Singapore, and it is now hard to imagine that landscape without it.
“The Projector as a physical space might disappear, but our memories of it won’t.”
