Singapore International Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup, Including Gala Presentations For ‘The Fable’ and ‘The Unseen Sister’

The 35th edition of the Singapore International Film Festival has unveiled its full lineup, which features 105 films from 45 countries, with 80% of the selections hailing from Asia.

Held from 28 November to 8 December, the festival will hold special gala presentations for two films, The Fable and The Unseen Sister, with selected talents from each film in attendance.

International highlights this year include the horror-comedy Nightbitch featuring Amy Adams, The Shrouds by David Cronenberg, Grand Tour by Cannes-award winning director Miguel Gomes, and a newly restored version of Bong Joon-ho’s debut feature Barking Dogs Never Bite, which will have its international premiere at SGIFF.

The festival will also present the Screen Icon Award, which recognises exceptional Asian talents, to Yang Kuei-mei and Lee Kang-sheng.

For the first time, each festival section will have an opening film that embodies the spirit of its category, with all of them hail from the Asian region.

They include Cambodian filmmaker Polen Ly, whose debut documentary feature Until the Orchid Blooms — a piece that explores the ecological threat posed by a hydroelectric dam — will open the Standpoint section. Eric Khoo’s Spirit World, which stars Catherine Deneuve will open the Horizon section and Dương Diệu Linh’s Don’t Cry, Butterfly will open the Foreground section.

There will also be three world premieres of Singaporean films, including The House of Janus from Ong Keng-Sen, who made the local 1996 cult classic Army Daze.

Wong Chen-Hsi will present her sophomore feature, City of Small Blessings, an adaptation of Simon Tay’s novel that tackles themes of displacement and urban change. Al Awda, by Jason Soo, a non-fiction work based on his 2018 experience sailing on a ship of the same name to deliver aid to Palestinians affected by the blockade of Gaza, will also screen at the festival.