The Singapore International Film Festival will open its 37th edition on Oct. 21 with a renewed focus on cultivating tomorrow's audiences and expanding access to diverse international cinema. The festival runs through Nov. 1.
Bollywood star Aamir Khan will receive SGIFF's Screen Icon Award and attend a special 25th-anniversary screening of his Oscar-nominated 2001 film Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India alongside its director Ashutosh Gowariker. Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda, known for films including Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters, will receive the festival's Cinema Honorary Award.
Making Cinema Accessible to Young Viewers
The festival's introducing Junior Explorers, a section designed for younger audiences that includes relaxed, sensory-friendly screenings. It opens with the stop-motion animated film Brave Cat, directed by Oscar winner Gabriel Osorio and produced by Punkrobot Studio.
SGIFF executive director Jeremy Chua said he was particularly looking forward to introducing younger viewers to the festival. "I watched everything as a child, blockbusters, nature documentaries, cartoons, without knowing I was building a database of references and eventually a point of view," he said. "That's where self-expression and the confidence to defend your own opinions take shape. This is tomorrow's audience whom we wish to cultivate."
The opening film is the South Korean political thriller The Assassin(s), starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho. Director Hur Jin-ho and cast members Shim Eun-kyung and Park Sung-hoon will attend the opening.
Supporting Singapore's Creative Community
The festival will spotlight more than 25 Singapore productions and co-productions that have travelled to major international film festivals. Among them is Singapore director Ang Geck Geck's Ah Girl. Ang won the Youth Jury Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, while nine-year-old lead actress Ong Xuan Jing subsequently won Best Actress in the Young Cinema Competition at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The film also travelled to festivals in Toronto and Melbourne.
Nelson Yeo's genre-blending wuxia feature The House On The Moon premiered in the main competition at the Locarno Film Festival, while Singapore producer Tan Si En co-produced Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada's Nagi Notes, which premiered in competition at Cannes. Anthony Chen's Giraffe Pictures is also represented through Four Seasons In Java, directed by Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini.
The SGIFF Film Fund is returning after a hiatus, with two grants supporting Southeast Asian filmmakers. SEA-SHORTS will support emerging short-film filmmakers, while SEA-DOC will focus on feature documentaries that have reached the later stages of editing or post-production. Applications for both run from Nov. 5 to Dec. 5.
Expanding Industry Access and Education
SGIFF Pro is expanding this year with Parallax, a free public programme of talks and demonstrations exploring filmmaking and immersive technology; Off Campus, which connects students with the film industry; and the Pitching Forum for Singapore and international co-productions.
This year's speakers in SGIFF's In Conversation With series include Khan and Koreeda, along with South Korean actress Shim Eun-kyung, Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Chan and Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong. Other filmmakers and industry figures attending include South Korean filmmaker Yim Soon-rye, Japanese director Koji Fukada, cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa and Hong Kong filmmaker Jacob Cheung.
Koreeda's latest film, Look Back, will make its Southeast Asian premiere at SGIFF. The live-action film, adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto's one-shot manga, follows two girls whose shared passion for drawing manga develops into a friendship as they grow up.
SGIFF programme director Thong Kay Wee said bringing such a wide range of international cinema to Singapore involves coordinating filmmakers, schedules and licensing across countries. "We are driven by our ambition to bring as broad a spectrum of cinema as possible to Singapore so our local audience gets the rich exposure they deserve," he said. "Coordinating across time zones, tight schedules, and complex licensing isn't just a logistical puzzle – it's a labour of love."
SGIFF's Undercurrent section will open with three live performances combining moving images with other art forms: Taiwanese puppetry in Corporeal Forms: Four Stories, live video gaming in The Compression Zone, and analogue film and live music in Imagination + The Rest Is My Ghost.
Early-bird presales for SGIFF begin at noon today, with general ticket sales starting at noon on Sept. 28. Singaporeans can also use SG Culture Pass credits for eligible local film programmes during general ticket sales.
Why This Matters:
SGIFF's expansion of youth programming and sensory-friendly screenings reflects a recognition that access to cultural experiences shouldn't be limited by age or sensory needs. The festival's commitment to showcasing Singapore productions alongside international cinema creates opportunities for local filmmakers to gain recognition while exposing audiences to diverse storytelling traditions. The return of the SGIFF Film Fund and expansion of industry programmes like Off Campus and the free Parallax talks demonstrate investment in developing the next generation of Southeast Asian filmmakers and connecting students to professional opportunities. By making tickets available through SG Culture Pass credits, the festival removes financial barriers that might otherwise prevent Singaporeans from accessing international cinema. These efforts to cultivate tomorrow's audiences and support emerging creators help ensure that film culture remains vibrant, inclusive and accessible to communities who've historically had less access to international arts programming.