SGIFF 2021 Returns to Cinema-Only Format With More Than 100 Films Featured2 min read

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From 25 November to 5 December 2021, the Singapore International Film Festival 2021 will present a diverse lineup of 130 films by filmmakers from around the world.

Headlining the festival’s 32nd edition is Indonesian filmmaker Edwin’s Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash. The black comedy has been making waves since winning the top prize at Locarno Film Festival 2021. 

Presented alongside the opening film is this year’s festival-commissioned short Dreaming by Nelson Yeo, who won Best Singapore Short Film at the 2020 Silver Screen Awards for his work Here Is Not There. The 15-minute film looks at the reunion of three old friends that reignites a love triangle.

Curated by newly appointed Programme Director Thong Kay Wee, the festival will feature anticipated works including Royston Tan’s 24, Tan Chui Mui’s Barbarian Invasion, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Memoria. 

Joining the festival’s strong representation of Southeast Asian cinema are acclaimed international titles that have made waves over the past year, most of which will be making their Southeast Asian premiere at SGIFF 2021. These include Celine Sciamma’s Petite Manan, Asghar Fahadi’s A Hero, Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion Award-winner Happening, and Arthur Harari’s Onoda: 10,000 Night in the Jungle.

Kay Wee shares that his goal for his inaugural festival line-up was to build on the festival’s legacy while introducing fresh perspectives to excite existing and new audiences. As such, the lineup will be presented across five new sections, expressed by different positionings, to better profile the films based on the nature of their content. 

The Singapore Panorama will also be making its return, showcasing the latest feature and short films from Singapore’s filmmakers.

Full details on the festival lineup and more information on ticket purchases will be released on SGIFF.com soon. Ticket sales will begin 9 November, 12pm, with priority sale tickets for SGIFFriends from 8 November, 12pm.

The festival will be hosted across multiple festival venues, with screenings at Filmgarde Bugis+, Carnival Cinema at Golden Mile Tower, Golden Village Grand, Oldham Theatre, National Museum of Singapore, and Shaw Lido; talks and panels will be held at The Arts House and The Projector; and Film Academy sessions at LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Technological University and WILD RICE.