# Singapore International Film Festival

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore, founded in 1987.
The 35th Singapore International Film Festival took place from 28 November to 8 December 2024.

## History

Originally launched to give local audiences an opportunity to watch independent and non-commercial films, the festival is now recognized worldwide by film critics for its focus on Asian filmmakers and promotion of Southeast Asian films.
The SGIFF was founded by Geoff Malone and Mill Valley Film Festival board member L. Leland Whitney in 1987.
The 24th edition of SGIFF hekd in 2011 faced issues such as poor organisation and financial woes due to lack of sponsorships. Founder Geoffrey Malone also resigned as the chairman of the Board of Directors with Shaw Soo Wei, former Executive Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, taking over as the chairman.
The SGIFF went on a hiatus for the next two years and in 2013, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim announced the 25th edition of the SGIFF will be held in 2014 in combination with the Asia TV Forum and Market, Screen Singapore and the Asian Television Awards in a two-week event.
For the 33rd edition in 2022, the film #LookAtMe, directed by Ken Kwek, was originally scheduled to be screened at the SGIFF but was refused classification by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which effectively barred the film from being screened in Singapore for "its potential to cause enmity and social division". IMDA, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Home Affairs also stated that the pastor in the film engages "in an act prohibited by his professed religious faiths"; that the depictions of the pastor in the film are "suggestive of a real pastor in Singapore", and the allegations may be "perceived to be offensive, defamatory and contrary to the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act". However, even with the ban, SGIFF decided to include the film in its advertised line-up, though the film was marked as unavailable for screening.
For the 35th edition in 2024, the SGIFF was managed by a new general manager, Jeremy Chua. Local actress Rebecca Lim was named as SGIFF's first ambassador for the festival. Daniel Hui's film, Small Hours Of The Night, an official selection for the SGIFF was submitted for classification by IMDA for the festival but was refused classification by IMDA in November. The lack of classification for the film resulted it being unable to screen at the SGIFF. SGIFF programme director Thong Kay Wee continued to support the film and list it as an official selection.
| Edition | Year | Opening film | Closing film |
| 1st | 1987 | The Name of the Rose by Jean-Jacques Annaud | The Mission by Roland Joffé |
| 2nd | 1989 | The Glass Menagerie by Paul Newman | Testimony by Tony Palmer |
| 3rd | 1990 | The Children by Tony Palmer | Blue Steel by Kathryn Bigelow |
| 4th | 1991 | Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Dreams by Akira Kurosawa |
| 5th | 1992 | Raise the Red Lantern by Zhang Yimou | A Brighter Summer Day by Edward Yang |
| 6th | 1993 | The Trial by David Jones | Strictly Ballroom by Baz Luhrmann |
| 7th | 1994 | The Blue Kite by Tian Zhuangzhuang | The Scent of Green Papaya by Tran Anh Hung |
| 8th | 1995 | The Red Lotus Society by Stan Lai | Amateur by Hal Hartley |
| 9th | 1996 | The Confessional by Robert Lepage | Memories by Kōji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura and Katsuhiro Otomo |
| 10th | 1997 | Gabbeh by Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Breaking the Waves by Lars von Trier |
| 11th | 1998 | Hana-bi by Takeshi Kitano | Happy Together by Wong Kar-wai |
| 12th | 1999 | Ordinary Heroes by Ann Hui | The Hole by Tsai Ming-liang |
| 13th | 2000 | Monday by Sabu | The Wind Will Carry Us by Abbas Kiarostami |
| 14th | 2001 | Yi Yi by Edward Yang | Eureka by Shinji Aoyama |
| 15th | 2002 | Kandahar by Mohsen Makhmalbaf | What Time Is It There? by Tsai Ming-liang |
| 16th | 2003 | Chi-hwa-seon by Im Kwon-taek | Divine Intervention by Elia Suleiman |
| 17th | 2004 | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring by Kim Ki-duk | Goodbye, Dragon Inn by Tsai Ming-liang |
| 18th | 2005 | Steamboy by Katsuhiro Otomo | Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence by Mamoru Oshii |
| 19th | 2006 | Dunia by Jocelyne Saab | 4:30 by Royston Tan |
| 20th | 2007 | Sankara by Prasanna Jayakody | Opera Jawa by Garin Nugroho |
| 21st | 2008 | The Princess of Nebraska by Wayne Wang | Road to Dawn by Derek Chiu |
| 22nd | 2009 | Sincerely Yours by Rich Lee | Milk by Semih Kaplanoğlu |
| 23rd | 2010 | Mao's Last Dancer by Bruce Beresford | Dear Doctor by Miwa Nishikawa |
| 24th | 2011 | Red Light Revolution by Sam Voutas | Senna by Asif Kapadia |
| 25th | 2014 | Unlucky Plaza by Ken Kwek | In the Absence of the Sun by Lucky Kuswandi |
| 26th | 2015 | Panay by Cheng Yu-chieh | — |
| 27th | 2016 | Interchange by Dain Iskandar Said | — |
| 28th | 2017 | Angels Wear White by Vivian Qu | — |
| 29th | 2018 | Cities of Last Things by Ho Wi Ding | — |
| 30th | 2019 | Wet Season by Anthony Chen | The Truth by Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| 31st | 2020 | Tiong Bahru Social Club by Tan Bee Thiam | — |
| 32nd | 2021 | Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Edwin | — |
| 33rd | 2022 | Assault by Adilkhan Yerzhanov | — |
| 34th | 2023 | Tiger Stripes by Amanda Nell Eu | — |
| 35th | 2024 | Stranger Eyes by Yeo Siew Hua | — |

## Awards

The Silver Screen Awards Competition was introduced in 1991 to encourage advances in Asian film-making standards. Every year, a selection of Asian feature and short films take part in the competition. In 2014, the Southeast Asian Short Film category was introduced, replacing the Singapore Short Film category. The first Southeast Asian Film Lab was introduced in 2015.