Shu Qi’s ‘Girl’ to Open Singapore Film Festival

The 36th Singapore International Film Festival has unveiled its full lineup, with international star Shu Qi‘s award-winning directorial debut “Girl” set to open the event, while Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta becomes the first-ever female recipient of the Cinema Honorary Award.

The festival will showcase over 120 films from more than 45 countries as part of the Singapore Media Festival hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority. SGIFF marks several historic firsts, including Mehta’s groundbreaking honor and Oscar-winning “Minari” actor Youn Yuh-jung as the first South Korean recipient of the Screen Icon Award.

Shu Qi, a regular collaborator of Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien with over 90 acting credits, will attend the opening alongside lead actor Bai Xiao-Ying and actor-singer 9m88. The film premiered in Venice and won Shu Qi the best director award at Busan.

The acclaimed actor is also in Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan’s “Resurrection,” which screens in the festival’s Undercurrent section for experimental filmmaking. She’ll participate in an In Conversation session with returning festival ambassador Rebecca Lim.

The festival’s local programming has expanded significantly, with more than 30 feature and short films by Singaporean filmmakers and co-producers. Doubling SGIFF’s local short film selection compared to last year, the festival will present these works across the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition and Singapore Panorama, a section dedicated to features and shorts reflecting the nation’s evolving social and cultural landscape.

Several world premieres headline the Singaporean slate. “Sandbox,” directed by James Thoo, is a mockumentary featuring Peps Goh, Benjamin Kheng, Estelle Fly, Nathan Hartono, Fauzi Azzhar and Oon Shu An. Also in Singapore Panorama features are documentary “At Home with Work” directed by Adar Ng and Dave Lim, “The Old Man and His Car” by Michael Kam and “Coda” by Jac Min, a Singapore-Japan co-production. In the extensive selection of Singaporean shorts, veteran actor Qi Yuwu makes his directorial debut with the short film “Cendol,” starring Sharon Au.

The festival’s Asian Feature Film Competition has expanded in a significant evolution beyond emerging directors to include filmmakers at every stage of their careers, with Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel serving as jury head. The competition lineup presents a vibrant cross-section of regional cinema featuring 10 titles.

From Japan, Yuriyan Retriever’s “Mag Mag” played at Beyond Fest, Sitges Film Festival and the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal. Tan Siyou’s “Amoeba,” a Singapore co-production, played at Toronto, while Thailand’s Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke brings “A Useful Ghost,” which won the Grand Prize at Cannes Critics’ Week.

India’s Rohan Parashuram Kanawade competes with “Cactus Pears,” which won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance – the first Indian fiction film to achieve this honor. Compatriot Tribeny Rai’s Indo-Korean co-production “Shape of Momo” played at Busan, where it won the Taipei Film Commission Award and Songwon Vision Award, and also played at San Sebastián’s New Directors section.

Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s “Human Resource” played at Venice’s Horizons section, Busan, Vancouver and the BFI London Film Festival.

Japan’s Sho Miyake presents “Two Seasons, Two Strangers,” which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno and played in competition at Busan. Sri Lanka’s Lalith Rathnayake competes with “Riverstone,” which won best script and best cinematography at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s Asian New Talent section.

From China, Chen Deming’s documentary “Always” played at CPH:DOX, where it won the main prize, and also received the best film award at Jeonju.

Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri’s “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit,” a Tajikistan-UAE co-production, played at Busan and won the inaugural IFFI Vision Asia Award. The film also played at the BFI London Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival, and has been selected as Tajikistan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.

Deepa Mehta will receive the Cinema Honorary Award, and participate in In Conversation session. The festival will also showcase her acclaimed Elements trilogy – “Fire” (1996), “Earth” (1998) and “Water” (2005) – alongside “Funny Boy” (2020) in the Deepa Mehta in Focus retrospective as part of the festival’s Landmark section dedicated to newly restored classics.

Introduced in 2014, the Cinema Honorary Award celebrates filmmakers who have made exceptional and enduring contributions to Asian cinema. Past recipients include Japan’s Takashi Miike, Indonesia’s Garin Nugroho, and Iran’s Jafar Panahi in 2024.

“I am pleased to receive the Cinema Honorary Award from the Singapore International Film Festival,” said Mehta. “Previous recipients of this accolade include filmmakers I really admire, and it is meaningful to be counted among them. We are living in uncertain times, where the general mantra in the geopolitical world, especially in art institutions, reverberates with what is politically correct. This vulnerability of the arts makes those of us involved in the creation and preservation of cinema more alert than ever as to the importance of our unique voices, ensuring they are not diluted by autocratic demands.”

Youn Yuh-jung will receive the Screen Icon Award and also take part in an In Conversation session.

The festival’s Foreground section will feature a special presentation of “This City Is A Battlefield (Perang Kota),” welcoming Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya and lead actors Chicco Jerikho, Ariel Tatum and Jerome Kurnia. The seven-country co-production includes Singapore. The section opens with “Arco,” a hand-drawn animated feature co-presented with the vOilah! French Film Festival, with animator Adam Sillard in attendance.

The female-driven Landmark section expands from the Deepa Mehta showcase to include restored classics that trace a cinematic lineage of women who transformed Asian cinema. “The Arch” (1968) by T’ang Shushuen, Hong Kong’s first female film director, had its 4K restoration premiere at Cannes Classics earlier this year. “Gehenu Lamai (The Girls)” (1978) by Sumitra Peries, Sri Lanka’s first female filmmaker, also received a 4K restoration that premiered at Cannes Classics. “The Razor’s Edge” (1985) by Jocelyne Saab, Lebanon’s pioneering female filmmaker, rounds out the showcase.

“At its heart, the film offers an intimate, autobiographical perspective, capturing the teenage struggles of living and surviving in a hostile adult world, while examining questions of identity, resilience and self-discovery,” said SGIFF Programme Director Thong Kay Wee about the opening film. “As a powerful gateway into the festival’s wider slate, ‘Girl’ invites audiences to connect personally with films that do not shy away from difficult, challenging topics, while reaffirming the festival’s commitment to programming works that embrace raw, human and authentic storytelling.”

SGIFF is in active discussions with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth to include eligible local film programs under the SG Culture Pass, a nation-wide scheme to enhance Singaporeans’ access to local arts and heritage experiences. The festival’s industry platform, SGIFF Industry Days, will also return following its successful inaugural edition in 2024.

The Singapore International Film Festival runs from Nov. 26-Dec. 7.