SINGAPORE, Oct 20 — Organisers of the 26th edition of Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) have announced this year’s final line-up that sees 146 feature and short films from 51 countries.
Following its highly successful comeback last year that saw an audience draw of more than 10,000, this year, South-east Asia’s longest-running international film platform will be held from November 26 to December 6 with a continued focus to celebrate independent cinema in the region, telling the Asia story in film.
Selected from an initial list of more than 1,400 entries submitted this year, the line-up will include five world premieres, four international premieres and 18 Asian premieres for feature films.
A special programme this year is the section called “Between Visible and Invisible: Alternative Vision of Chinese Independent Documentary,” which gives depth to Asian cinema. The contemporary independent documentaries featured here — such as “Li Wen at West Lake,” “A Young Patriot” and “The Vanishing Spring Light” — stem from the lineage of retaliation to state-controlled media guidelines that was prevalent in the late 1980s.
Now, Audiences will be able to observe how these underground film-makers confront reality with a bare and direct observational style, and through the voice of the minorities, provide alternative and microcosmic views of China to the world.
SGIFF’s festival director, Zhang Wenjie said: “We are now at the crossroads of a very exciting time for independent cinema and SGIFF meets the growing demand by bringing together a rich mix of film-makers and showcasing their works ... (These films) also reflect the relevance of the festival in giving a voice to these independent storytellers, while identifying fresh approaches and innovation in the film-making industry.”
Keeping it local has always been one of the main thrusts of the SGIFF and this year, on top of the two iconic Singapore films leading the line-up for the Classics segment of the SGIFF (Eric Khoo’s “Mee Pok Man” and Yonfan’s “Bugis Street Redux”), is a slew of other local offerings.
Khoo’s highly anticipated erotic drama “In the Room” will be making its Singapore premiere in the Special Presentation section; while the Singapore Panorama section, which was established in 2008, includes 13 film offerings this year.
The films include Singapore’s multi-disciplinary artist Ng Xi Jie’s world premiere of her first feature film, “Singapore Minstrel,” which offers a glimpse into the art of busking in the metropolitan city through the eyes of Roy Payamal, a stalwart of Singapore’s busking scene; Green Zeng’s “The Return,” which was the first feature-length Singapore film selected for competition at the Venice International Film Festival; and the world premiere of Eva Tang’s “The Songs We Sang,” the first feature-length documentary about the local music movement called xinyao.
“I remember watching ‘Mee Pok Man’ all those years ago,” said Zhang. “That was the film that gave me hope for the Singapore film industry. Can you imagine — no Singapore feature films were being made back then? I’m glad that we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of Eric’s groundbreaking film at the festival.”
As for the opening film, Panay, by directors Cheng Yu-Chieh and Lekal Sumi of Taiwan, which makes its international premiere on the back of an Audience Choice Award win at the 2015 Taipei Film Festival; the festival’s executive director Yuni Hadi said: “I’m especially excited about the opening film, as it sets the tone for the entire festival.”
Panay chronicles the predicaments faced by Taiwan’s indigenous communities on land rights and stars singer-songwriter Ado Kaliting Pacidal and award-winning actor Bokeh Kosang, supported by a young cast of first-time actors.
Staying true to its mission of nurturing and championing local and regional talents, SGIFF will continue to connect industry players and festival goers, facilitate conversations on filmmaking and foster greater appreciation towards independent cinema. Added to the initiatives launched last year — Southeast Asian Film Lab, Youth Jury & Critics Programme, along with a South-east Asian Short Film category in its Silver Screen Awards — is the new Audience Choice Award, which was created to recognise the growing desire by festivalgoers for greater involvement.
Audiences can now vote for their favourite feature film from the various sections, including the Asian Feature Film Competition Films as part of Silver Screen Awards. The winning Audience Choice film will be announced during the Silver Screen Awards, which will be held at Marina Bay Sands on December 5. It will also be shown again, together with the Best Asian Film on the last day of the festival (in place of the closing film).
Speaking of new awards, the Silver Screen Awards will also see the introduction of the Cinema Legend Award. Its first recipient is movie star Michelle Yeoh, who will hold an In Conversation session on December 6 at the ArtScience Museum. In addition, SGIFF will continue to provide festival goers with the opportunity to learn first-hand from the directors-in-attendance and guest film-makers such as Terence Chang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Mohsen Makhmalbaf as they share their experiences and insights at various masterclasses and talks.
“The core of a film festival is the community. The SGIFF has grown hand-in-hand with the local, regional and wider film community over the past 25 editions, taking on various roles such as providing the platform for filmmakers to reach out, have their voices heard and be recognised, nurturing the next generation of film community and inspiring the discovery of independent cinema,” said Yuni. “It is timely that we now also take on the role of a facilitator in encouraging our film-loving audience to play a more active role in their festival experience, be it to vote for their favourite feature film or join in the discussions with our directors and film-makers.
“We look forward to a more diverse voice, generation of new ideas and a synergistic effort by the community to bring SGIFF and its independent spirit forward.” — TODAY
*Tickets for the festival go on sale tomorrow from SISTIC.
