A Girl Missing
Directed by Kōji FukadaJapan, France / 111 mins / Rating TBC
When public opinion is easily swayed by mass media, one woman’s involuntary involvement in a kidnapping quickly puts her on public trial.
A Short Film About the Indio Nacional
Directed by Raya MartinPhilippines / 96 mins / PG
Playing with the silent film form, Raya Martin’s debut feature film is an awakening into his country’s political and cultural past.
A Sun
Directed by Chung Mong-hongTaiwan / 155 mins / NC16 - Some Violence and Coarse Language
A gripping and precise story about a family of four dealing with the aftermath of the incarceration of their son.
Accept the Call
Directed by Eunice LauSingapore, USA / 83 mins / Rating TBC
Following his son’s close brush with ISIS, a Somali immigrant father seeks to understand the forces that push one towards terrorism.
ADAM
Directed by Shoki LinSingapore / 19 mins / PG
Tired of his turbulent family life and caught between identities, Adam seeks out an alternative arrangement in hopes of finding his place.
Africa
Directed by Oren GernerIsrael / 82 mins / Rating TBC
Retirement is tough, as an Israeli man learns in this docu-fictional study of wounded masculinity and the anxiety of ageing.
And Then We Danced
Directed by Levan AkinSweden, Georgia, France / 106 mins / Rating TBC
Shot in secrecy under the protection of bodyguards, this coming-of-age romance is a rare celebration of Georgia’s LGBTQ community.
Babyteeth
Directed by Shannon MurphyAustralia / 117 mins / Rating TBC
Smothered with parental affection, a cancer-stricken teenager seeks a way out of her despairing world with a small-time drug dealer.
Bacurau
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano DornellesBrazil, France / 132 mins / M18 - Violence and Sexual Scenes
Brazil’s question of who should be spared from political persecution looms large today, and Bacurau strikes with an ambitious solution.
Balloon
Directed by Pema TsedenChina / 102 mins / Rating TBC
Two children innocently mistake condoms for balloons and this pushes their family to discover the balance between religion and family planning.
Bank Robbery
Directed by Pang Ho-CheungHong Kong / 5 mins / PG
Pang Ho-Cheung showcases his directing and acting chops at an early age in this adorable kiddie crime caper.
Birth of Golden Snail
Directed by Chulayarnnon SiripholThailand / 20 mins / Rating TBC
Banned at the Thailand Biennale Krabi 2018, this film is based on the history of Khao Kha Nab Nam, Krabi. Filled with fantasy and historical facts, it treads the line between fiction and folklore.
Blessed Land
Directed by Phạm Ngọc LânThailand / 20 mins / Rating TBC
In a long-forgotten cemetery, a woman and her son look for her late husband’s grave only to be lost in a myriad of gravestones and dreams of a future where luxury replaces memory.
Bombay Rose
Directed by Gitanjali RaoIndia, France, UK, Qatar / 93 mins / Rating TBC
Gitanjali Rao's Bombay Rose is a stunning animated epic that sees love emerge from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai’s streets.
Breathless Animals
Directed by Lei LeiUSA / 68 mins / PG
China’s recent history is retold through personal artefacts, and the animals visiting a woman’s dreams.
Bura
Directed by Eden JunjungIndonesia / 12 mins / PG13 - Some Disturbing Scenes
In the thick of the 1998 political tension in East Java, Indonesia, a guard leaves his post despite rumours of ninjas terrorising the town at night, to meet with his lover.
California Dreaming
Directed by Sreylin MeasCambodia / 16 mins / M18 - Mature Content
Two women of different backgrounds encounter one another at an oceanfront resort. They then discover a hidden bond that allows them to escape from their realities.
Cobalt Blue
Directed by Aung PhyoeMyanmar / 27 mins / PG
In Yangon ‘98, a young boy and his mother await the return of his father to relocate. On their last night, the boy tries to grasp the relationship between his mother and their neighbour.
Coming Home Again
Directed by Wayne WangUSA, South Korea / 88 mins / Rating TBC
Seamlessly alternating between past and present, Coming Home Again is a man's journey with his mother’s illness told through food.
Deerskin
Directed by Quentin DupieuxFrance / 77 mins / R21 - Violence and Coarse Language
In this stripped-down absurdist dark comedy, a 100% deerskin jacket compels a man to do strange things, such as making films.
Diary of Cattle
Directed by Lidia Afrilita, David DarmadiIndonesia / 18 mins / PG
A herd of cattle has made a man-made waste landfill their home. They call plastics their resting pasture, wooden bark amidst foliage their food, and the scenic trash mountain their graveyard.
Director Pang's Mom Singing
Directed by Pang Ho-CheungHong Kong / 2 mins / PG
A series of captured vignettes featuring Pang’s mother’s lively renditions of pop songs in Cantonese.
Dossier of the Dossier
Directed by Sorayos PrapapanThailand / 18 mins / Rating TBC
A director and a producer are working on the dossier of their new film, hoping to get funding from a potential investor. What happens next leads to questions about the dreams and realities of making their film.
Downton Abbey
Directed by Michael EnglerUK / 123 mins / Rating TBC
The Crawleys are back and they have been expecting us! We are cordially invited to join them in the grand and magnificent Downton Abbey.
Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains
Directed by Gu XiaogangChina / 154 mins
Four brothers face their futures as their mother succumbs to dementia in a provincial Chinese city, itself dramatically changing.
Escape Velocity II
Directed by Zai TangSingapore / 10 mins / Exempted from Classification
Escape Velocity II is an experiential experiment that brings the wild ethereal voices of Singaporeans to life through animation and sound visualisation. The film seeks to bridge human and non-human worlds.
First Love
Directed by Takashi MiikeJapan / 107 mins / M18 - Violence and Coarse Language
Takashi Miike’s latest thriller is a tale of star-crossed lovers, punctuated with his usual frenzy of blood, guns, and gangsters.
Flowers of Shanghai
Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsienTaiwan, Japan / 113 mins / PG13 - Smoking Scenes
Hou Hsiao-hsien brings together a star-studded cast with Tony Leung and Carina Lau in this fin de siècle 19th century Shanghai film.
Focus Panel: Stories We Tell: Myth, Dreamscape and Memories in Southeast Asian Cinema
Spanning styles and genres, this panel discussion offers insights into their work and the breadth of storytelling.
Gallery
Directed by Vo Anh VuVietnam / 19 mins / NC16 - Some Nudity
Amidst urbanisation, the lives and fates of various individuals converge inside a dingy washroom where dirty dishes, food waste and personal items lay scattered.
Hello Ahma
Directed by Tan SiyouSingapore, USA / 16 mins / PG
New to America, a young Singaporean girl is unable to return home to attend her grandmother’s funeral. She tries to understand life and death while searching for her grandmother’s reincarnation in a turtle.
Hey U!
Directed by Vũ Minh NghĩaVietnam / 22 mins
While going through a midlife crisis with a nagging wife and dying mother-in-law, Hien discovers he has a tumour. He then tries to break free from the mundane and strives for a different life.
HIEU
Directed by Richard VanVietnam, USA / 24 mins / TBC
To cope with his failure, Hieu goes to his ex-wife’s home to seek solace. While there, Hieu and his family come to terms with their dysfunctionality through their disagreements and annoyances.
I Dream of Singapore
Directed by Lei Yuan BinSingapore / 78 mins / Rating TBC
Lei Yuan Bin tells a tale of modern-day slavery in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, in this heartfelt fly-on-the-wall documentary.
I’m Not Your F***ing Stereotype
Directed by Hesome ChemamahThailand / 29 mins / Rating TBC
As a Muslim girl from Southern Thailand, Maryam falls prey to racism in school. She begins spiralling into an identity crisis, and starts resenting her name, religion and birthdate.
In Bloom
Directed by Nguyen Duy AnhVietnam / 12 mins / Rating TBC
If a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, would Mr Binh’s community treat him in the same way once they learn the truth about his partner and him?
In Conversation: Barney Burman
Leading make-up artist Barney Burman will be discussing his works in films and television and the significance of make-up effects.
In Conversation: Nina Wu
Director and cast of Nina Wu will share their inspiration behind the film as well as their opinions on the issues it brings up.
In Conversation: Stone (石头)
In this intimate session, Stone will discuss his transition from musician to acting and the different demands of both.
Incantation
Directed by Yeo Siew HuaSingapore / 6 mins / Rating TBC
A dance of rhythm and rituals comes to play in Yeo Siew Hua’s new film after A Land Imagined.
Invisible Stories
Directed by Ler JiyuanSingapore / 66 mins / Rating TBC
Invisible Stories shines light into dark corners, and tells untold stories from the heartlands of a fictional neighbourhood in Singapore.
Krabi, 2562
Directed by Ben Rivers, Anocha SuwichakornpongUK, Thailand / 93 mins
Time melds in this multidimensional story of Krabi’s landscape where prehistoric and contemporary worlds collide.
Lanny
Directed by Chuah Jie XieMalaysia, Taiwan / 27 mins / Rating TBC
Following the death of a young girl’s beloved grandmother and pet, she is to relocate to the city with her parents despite their estrangement. While being told how to think, feel and behave by her parents, she reveals love in its rawest form.
Last Night I Saw You Smiling
Directed by Kavich NeangCambodia, France / 78 mins / PG
This film, part poem and past artefact, presents the life and memories of an architectural and social landmark in Cambodia.
Les Misérables
Directed by Ladj LyFrance / 102 mins / Rating TBC
Tensions run high between residents and the police in this explosive portrait of the Montfermeil district where regular rules do not apply.
Lián
Directed by Darren TeoSingapore, USA / 15 mins / Rating TBC
Lián and her family are stowaways on a ship, hiding in one of the containers. One day, Lián heads out secretly and discovers that the vessel has docked ahead of schedule. She now has to overcome language barriers and deceit to save her family.
Lucky7
Directed by Sun Koh, K. Rajagopal, Boo Junfeng, Brian Gothong Tan, Chew Tze Chuan, Ho Tzu Nyen, Tania SngSingapore / 84 mins / R21 - Sexual Content
A landmark omnibus of seven shorts, with one catch: each director is only aware of what happens in the preceding short’s final minute.
Marriage Story
Directed by Noah BaumbachUSA / 136 mins / Rating TBC
Shot on 35mm film, Marriage Story is an incisive and compassionate portrait of a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Mary, Mary, So Contrary
Directed by Nelson YeoSingapore / 15 mins / PG - Some Frightening Scenes
Repurposing and manipulating classic film footage and the filmmaker’s personal footage, the film weaves a phantasmagoric narrative of a Chinese lady named Ma Li who dreams she is a Caucasian named Mary.
Matthias & Maxime
Directed by Xavier DolanCanada / 119 mins / Rating TBC
A beautifully poignant dance of yearning and inhibitions; two childhood friends are forced to face their feelings for one another.
Memories of Murder
Directed by Bong Joon-hoSouth Korea / 127 mins / M18 - Sexual Scenes
A small town is eclipsed by a series of murders. With dead leads and corrupt cops, can one detective catch the elusive killer?
Midnight Traveler
Directed by Hassan FaziliUSA, Qatar, UK, Canada / 86 mins / PG13 - Some Coarse Language
Using three iPhones, a family chronicles their perilous flight to freedom over three years in this refugee story told from within.
Monos
Directed by Alejandro LandesColombia, Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Uruguay, USA / 103 mins / M18 - Sexual Scene
Madness descends on a squad of child soldiers guarding a hostage. This fever dream of a film is Lord of the Flies on psychedelics.
Mysterious Object at Noon
Directed by Apichatpong WeerasethakulThailand / 83 mins / Rating TBC
Indexing a geography of collaboration, the film crew travels across Thailand to piece together a story in Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s debut film.
Nina Wu
Directed by Midi ZTaiwan, Malaysia, Myanmar / 103 mins / Rating TBC
A bit-part actress’ sanity is pushed to its limit, thanks to the trauma she endures after scoring a hard-earned lead role.
No One is Crazy in This Town
Directed by Wregas BhanutejaIndonesia / 20 mins / Rating TBC
A hotel owner orders Marwan and his team to remove the mentally ill people from the streets, and cast them into the forest so as not to disturb his guests. However, Marwan has another plan.
No. 7 Cherry Lane
Directed by YonfanHong Kong, China / 125 mins / Rating TBC
Forbidden desires play out in 1960s Hong Kong as a young man finds himself in love with a woman way out of his league.
Not a Time to Celebrate
Directed by Anucha BoonyawatanaThailand / 6 mins / PG13
This lighthearted, self-referential film about the harsh reality of filmmaking serves as an encouragement to all filmmakers alike.
Passed by Censor
Directed by Serhat KaraaslanTurkey, Germany, France / 95 mins / Rating TBC
The boundary between fiction and reality is blurred for a prison guard who insists he is about to uncover a domestic conspiracy.
Piece of Meat
Directed by Jerrold Chong and Huang JunxiangSingapore / 12 mins / PG13 - Some Sexual References
Enslaved in a surreal world of living objects, a lamb cutlet does whatever it takes to make ends meet.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Directed by Céline SciammaFrance / 119 mins / Rating TBC
Highly acclaimed and awarded at the recent Cannes Film Festival, this French period romance is a precise story of forbidden love, freedom and memory.
Producers Network Talk – Southeast Asian Stories on a Global Stage
In this in-depth panel discussion, industry experts will explore and discuss Southeast Asian Films in a crowded market place.
Revolution Launderette
Directed by Mark Chua, Lam Li ShuenSingapore, Japan / 71 mins / Rating TBC
Against existential despair and misfortune, Tomo is determined to beat his joke of a life to the punchline.
Ride Your Wave
Directed by Masaaki YuasaJapan / 96 mins / Rating TBC
Reminiscent of Your Name, this romance anime catches a new couple in a riptide of young love, old memories and plenty of surfing.
Saturday Fiction
Directed by Lou YeChina / 127 mins / Rating TBC
Iconic actress Jean Yu returns to Shanghai, ostensibly to appear in a play directed by her former lover. But what is her true aim?
Scales
Directed by Shahad AmeenUAE, Iraq, Saudi Arabia / 74 mins / Rating TBC
A young girl defies her village’s harsh and chauvinistic traditions to prove her worth in this stunning mythical tale.
Send Me to the Clouds
Directed by Teng CongcongChina / 99 mins / Rating TBC
A cancer-stricken journalist seeks a life-changing sexual experience before her major surgery in this humorous feminist dramedy.
Sg Originals: So, What Happens after Your First Film?
Three filmmakers come together and share about their first film journies, pitfalls, lessons learnt and future plans.
short/cut
Directed by Ostin FamVietnam, USA / 13 mins / Ranking TBC
Mae believes that unlike what her long black locks suggests, beauty is found in short hair. In desperation, she defies all odds to attain her desired crown of beauty.
SICK
Directed by Zaw Bo Bo HeinMyanmar / 30 mins / Ranking TBC
Aung Naing’s health is deteriorating, and he has to be transferred to a hospital due to inadequate facilities at the local health centre. While his friend is desperately searching for the money needed, he is losing the will to live.
Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue
Directed by Mouly SuryaIndonesia / 4 mins / PG
The celebration of a traditional wedding reveals glimpses of gender roles in this lush short film by Mouly Surya.
Soul
Directed by Emir EzwanMalaysia / 82 mins / PG13 - Some Violence and Horror
A family fights for their souls when caught in the warpath of a vengeful forest spirit ripped straight from Malaysian mythology.
Star Trek
Directed by J.J. AbramsUSA / 187 mins / PG - Some Violence
Despite the ubiquity of CGI and special effects, make-up remains the cornerstone of futuristic sci-fi films like Star Trek.
Stay Awake, Be Ready
Directed by Pham Thien AnVietnam, South Korea, USA / 14 mins / PG13 - Some Coarse Language
On a street corner, a mysterious conversation takes place among three men at a street stall. Meanwhile, a traffic accident occurs, and the night brings forth a multicoloured frame of reality.
Still Standing
Directed by Tan Wei TingSingapore / 20 mins / Rating TBC
When uniformed high-rise housing began sprouting in post-independence Singapore, a local architect brought the "kampong spirit" back into the city sky by coming up with the Pearl Bank Apartment.
Summer Exercise
Directed by Pang Ho-CheungHong Kong / 11 mins / M18 - Nudity and Some Violence
A young student goes to extreme lengths to avoid doing his homework in Hong Kong’s summer of ‘99.
Sunday
Directed by Kris OngSingapore / 13 mins / R21 - Sexual Scene
A young woman with a full body rash is driven to violence during a forbidden encounter with her sister’s boyfriend.
Swallow
Directed by Carlo Mirabella-DavisUSA, France / 94 mins / M18 - Sexual Scene
A housewife begins eating tiny objects in this psychodrama with a dash of body horror. Best seen on an empty stomach.
Sweet, Salty
Directed by Duong Dieu LinhVietnam / 18 mins / PG13 - Some Coarse Language
Ha, who is 40 and pregnant, decides to confront her husband’s secret lover but the showdown leads to a sticky situation that leaves her with a bittersweet realisation.
Synonyms
Directed by Nadav LapidFrance, Israel, Germany / 123 mins / R21 - Sexual Scenes and Nudity
In an era of migratory anxiety, how does one shed the old self? With stubborn persistence, an Israeli man is determined to become French.
Takashi Miike Masterclass
In this masterclass, we will look into Miike’s illustrious career as a cult favourite, and find out how he stays true to his visions.
The First Adventure of the Three Gangsta Bears
Directed by Pang Ho-CheungHong Kong / 20 mins / NC16 - Some Violence
A hopeful family-run movie company gets more than bargained for whilst shooting a tribute to their favourite genre.
The Future of Cinema - Storytelling Through Episodes
The Future of Cinema Forum brings together filmmakers and commissioners to address some of the latest developments and varying forms of storytelling.
The Graduation of Edison
Directed by Pham Hoang Minh ThyVietnam / 21 mins / Rating TBC
Minh lives in a village where every child is born with a tree on their heads, except for him. On graduation day, students who have turned 18 will get their tree cut to signify adulthood. Problems arise when Minh’s sister decides to keep hers.
The Kamagasaki Cauldron War
Directed by Leo SatoJapan / 115 mins / Rating TBC
An ensemble of down-and-outs brings this boisterous comedy to a rolling boil on the surface of urban Japan.
The Lighthouse
Directed by Robert EggersUSA / 110 mins / M18 - Sexual Scenes and Nudity
The Lighthouse is a theatrical sea shanty, charting acclaimed actors Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe's descent into madness.
The Missing Picture
Directed by Rithy PanhCambodia, France / 92 mins / Rating TBC
Acclaimed filmmaker Rithy Panh recounts his life story under Pol Pot’s regime through mesmerising animation and archival footage.
The Science of Fictions
Directed by Yosep Anggi NoenIndonesia, Malaysia, France / 106 mins / M18 - Sexual Scene
This dreamy film explores the moon landing conspiracy set in an Indonesian village and the effects of historical negationism.
The Tree House
Directed by Truong Minh QuýVietnam, Singapore, Germany, France, China / 84 mins / PG13 - Brief Nudity
A highly conceptual film that thoughtfully frames the spectrum within binaries of life and death, and then and thereafter.
The Tree Remembers
Directed by Lau Kek-HuatTaiwan / 89 mins / Rating TBC
Set in Malaysia, this documentary surveys the roots of racism from pre-colonisation to present-day modernisation.
The Truth
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-edaFrance, Japan / 106 mins / Rating TBC
Hirokazu Kore-eda directs Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche as mother and daughter after his award-winning Shoplifters (2018).
The Two Popes
Directed by Fernando MeirellesUK, Italy, Argentina, USA / 125 mins / Rating TBC
In a divisive world, can the Holy Father and his future successor agree to disagree in a theological spar?
The Wild Goose Lake
Directed by Diao YinanChina, France / 113 mins / Rating TBC
Award-winning director of Black Coal, Thin Ice returns with another inventive interpretation of gritty neo-noir.
Unteachable
Directed by Yong Shu LingSingapore / 77 mins / Rating TBC
Academic streaming may soon be gone, but rhetoric seems to trickle less easily into reality in this insight to Singapore’s education system.
Verdict
Directed by Raymund Ribay GutierrezPhilippines / 126 mins / Rating TBC
A woman presses charges against her abusive husband after being brutally assaulted, but finds justice is a bigger battle to fight.
Vitalina Varela
Directed by Pedro CostaPortugal / 124 mins / PG
Winner of the Golden Leopard at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, Vitalina Varela is a profound letter to Lisbon’s Cape Verdean immigrants.
Vivarium
Directed by Lorcan FinneganRepublic of Ireland, Belgium, Denmark / 98 mins / Rating TBC
The Twilight Zone meets Black Mirror in this suburbian tale of domesticity that would implore one to rethink those ten-year plans.
Watermelon Baby
Directed by Liao JiekaiSingapore, Japan / 15 mins / PG
While Tamaki’s partner Sui was away for the summer, she consumed a watermelon seed and began growing a watermelon in her body. They make a promise to eat the ripe watermelon together.
Wet Season
Directed by Anthony ChenSingapore / 103 mins / M18 - Mature Theme and Sexual Scene
Anthony Chen returns with a stunning coming-of-(middle)-age drama, where the desires of a woman parallel that of an adolescent in an intimate yet precarious setting.