After two pandemic-affected editions of the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), the country's longest-running film festival is back with a stunning list of 101 independent films from 55 countries. As the world continues adapting to a truly new normal, the 33rd edition of SGIFF focuses on discovering fresh and inclusive perspectives in a bid to demonstrate human connectedness and function as a vehicle of progress.#
Celebrating New Perspectives
Opening this year's Festival is Assault, a darkly comic, absorbing thriller that depicts the farce and fault lines in a society ruled by the insecurities of men. Directed by Adilkhan YERZHANOV, a major figure in Kazakh cinema, Assault premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Yerzhanov first gained prominence following his breakout feature The Owners (2014), which premiered at Cannes and was nominated for Best Asian Feature at SGIFF; he went on to make acclaimed films like The Plague at the Karatas Village (2016), The
Gentle Indifference of the World (2018) and A Dark, Dark Man (2019), some of which screened at SGIFF. Assault is also the Festival's first-ever Central Asian opening film.
“I have been an avid follower and friend of the Festival for close to a decade and am humbled that ‘Assault' has the privilege of not only being this year's opening film but to be the first-ever Central Asian film to headline SGIFF. Casting an irreverent look at social and political crises, we hope that Assault greatly resonates with the festival's audience, allowing them to ponder on the impact of such events on society and on the individual. I hope that the film can spark more conversation amongst festival-goers and look forward to discussing more with them during the festival,” shares Yerzhanov. SGIFF will also be hosting an exclusive In Conversation session under our Forum programme with Yerzhanov himself and his long-time producer, Olga Khlasheva. Goliath, Yerzhanov's other acclaimed film of the year will also be presented at the festival this year.
This year's Asian Feature Film Competition presents 9 new films by directors making their first to third features, of which three films were developed and nurtured at previous editions of the festival's Southeast Asian Film Lab (SEA FL). Presenting their debut features for the first time in Singapore, alumni Thai director, Sorayos PRAPAPAN will be showing Arnold is a Model Student, a lighthearted satire highlighting Thailand's recent Bad Student movement; while Filipino writer-director Martika Ramirez ESCOBAR, introduces psychological comedydrama film Leonor Will Never Die. SEA FL 2017 alumni Makbul MUBARAK also makes his dazzling debut with the Indonesian political drama Autobiography, a co-production with collaborators from Indonesia, France, Germany, Poland, Singapore, Philippines and Qatar.
For the 33rd SGIFF, half of the diverse festival line-up sits across six curated programme sections that aim to spark the audience's curiosity and interest —
Altitude
Altitude platforms important new works by some of the most established filmmakers today.
- The Novelist's Film is the 27th feature by South Korean filmmaker HONG Sang-soo whose work explores everyday life and human interaction in subtly profound ways. The Novelist's Film premiered at the Berlinale where it won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. In this work of startling intimacy, a novelist's affinity with a younger actress leads to a film collaboration.
- No Bears is by acclaimed Iranian director Jafar PANAHI whose films are known for their humanistic perspective on life in Iran. Though he was banned from leaving the country and barred from filmmaking since 2010, he hascontinued to find ways to create fresh, award-winning works. He was ordered to serve a six-year prison sentence
in July 2022. - Alcarràs is the sophomore feature of Spanish filmmaker Carla SIMÓN. The film won the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlinale and became the first Catalan-language film to receive this award.
Horizon
Horizon scopes out strong festival discoveries and films of eclectic perspectives from all over the world.
- Divine Factory is an observational documentary tackling the topics of religion, labour and capital, by Filipino filmmaker Joseph MANGAT. This is his feature debut, which was a recipient of Tan Ean Kiam Foundation- SGIFF Southeast Asian Documentary (SEA-DOC) Grant.
- A Long Journey Home by young Chinese director ZHANG Wenqian makes its Asian premiere at SGIFF. This is her feature debut, which was awarded the jury prize in the Burning Lights Competition at Visions du Réel.
- Stone Turtle by Malaysian director, writer and producer WOO Ming Jin is a spellbinding island folk horror. Stone Turtle won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Locarno Film Festival in 2022.
Foreground
Foreground spotlights genre favourites and cinematic attractions of the year.
- World War III by director Houman SEYEDI will be making its Southeast Asian premiere after winning the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor and Orizzonti Award for Best Film at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. The film was also
selected as the Iran entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. - Premiering in Southeast Asia, The Abandoned was directed and co-written by TSENG Ying-Ting and stars Golden Horse Award winner Ethan Ruan as well as Golden Horse Award nominee Janine Chang in this dynamic crime thriller.
- Nocebo by Irish filmmaker Lorcan FINNEGAN is an Irish- Filipino psychological thriller starring Eva Green, Mark Strong and Filipino actress Chai Fonacier. Nocebo will be making its Singapore premiere.
- The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra is the first feature film by South Korean director PARK Syeyoung. A quirky, melancholy body horror that mixes genre kicks with playful formalism as it follows the life of a mattress-dwelling fungus. The film won 3 awards at the 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, including the Korean Fantastic Audience Award, and will be making its Southeast Asian premiere at SGIFF.
Undercurrent
Undercurrent charts exciting directions and bold expressions in cinema today, affirming imaginative treatments of the moving image.
- All The Things You Leave Behind by Thai filmmaker Chanasorn CHAIKITIPORN and The Unburied Sounds of a Troubled Horizon by Vietnamese filmmaker Tuan Andrew NGUYEN will both make their Asian premieres at SGIFF. Both are politically charged films that take a localised look at the lasting impact of war.
- Unidentified is a hilarious, moving, and whimsical speculative fiction piece that tackles the idea of belonging by Korean-Canadian filmmaker Jude CHUN and Eventide is a single-shot landscape short film by Los Angeles-based visual artist Sharon LOCKHART that experiments with the rich sonic and visual resources of the night to evoke both wonder and mourning.
- De Humani Corporis Fabrica is an immersive, visceral journey through the structures and pathologies of human and medical bodies in the 21st century. A collaboration between anthropologists and visual artists Véréna PARAVEL and Lucien CASTAING-TAYLOR, De Humani Corporis Fabrica premiered at Cannes in the Directors' Fortnight section.
Standpoint
Standpoint showcases new international works that present strong attitudes of personal, social and political consequences.
- A House Made of Splinters by Danish documentary filmmaker Simon LERENG WILMONT is a sobering window into the little lives and high hopes of three children seeking refuge at a temporary shelter in eastern Ukraine. This is the film's Asian premiere.
- I Didn't See You There is the feature debut of American filmmaker Reid DAVENPORT, who makes films about disability from an overtly political perspective. The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and won Best Directing in the US Documentary Competition.
- We Don't Dance For Nothing is Chinese-Greek director and producer Stefanos TAI's feature debut. He was inspired by the memories of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong who number some 400,000.
- Myanmar Diaries by The Myanmar Film Collective premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlinale where it won the Documentary Award. The Collective consists of young Burmese filmmakers and European film professionals who continue making films as creative resistance in the wake of the military coup.
Domain
Domain focuses on a sphere of activity and knowledge in cinema. This year, guest programmer Róisín Tapponi presents a selection of film and video works from South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), her area of specialisation.
This special programme approaches themes of rurality, labour and land in South West Asia & North Africa (SWANA), celebrating those who continue to care, nurture and hold their community, without letting go. Guest programmed by Róisín TAPPONI, Founder & CEO of Shasha Movies, the first independent streaming service for South-West Asian and North African cinema, the selection of films invites the audience to consider land and the places we call home on a conceptual level. Tapponi is also the Founder of Habibi
Collective, ART WORK Magazine and Independent Iraqi Film Festival (IIFF).
- Foragers by Jumana MANNA (with Hybrid Q&A) is an important commentary on the extent of the Israeli occupation of Palestine – where violence is not only physical, but also cultural.
- An established Lebanese filmmaker, Ali CHERRI presents his first feature The Dam (with Hybrid Q&A), a political fable that explores the power of imagination. The film premiered at Cannes Directors' Fortnight.
The beloved Singapore Panorama section will span 26 films including two feature films that will make their World Premiere at SGIFF. These are Absent Smile (几时回来)by celebrated visual artists John CLANG and Lavender CHANG, Before Life After Death by filmmaker Anshul TIWARI. Geylang directed by Boi KWONG will also be making its Southeast Asia Premiere at the festival. A unique Virtual Reality double bill will also be part of the short film programme, featuring The Seven Step Verse by documentary filmmaker Ella RAIDEL and In times like these… by multidisciplinary creatives Jevon CHANDRA, CHEN Yanyun, Corentin DERBRE and Alex SCOLLAY.
