31st Singapore International Festival is ongoing

The 31st Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) opened on Thursday, November 26, and will run until December 6. The festival opened with the local satirical comedy, Tiong Bahru Social Club.

Interestingly, this year’s festival is holding in a hybrid format, with cinema and online film screenings. It is also being staged with a slimmer selection although the festival still retains its core objective of bringing outstanding movies from world cinema to festivalgoers.

Also, the films of 2020 were carefully selected to reflect current times and realities through bold views and imaginative storytelling. The films also emphasised themes such as the desire for change and identity. The festival secretariat had earlier in the week released a list of films that will on showcase. The list indicates that this year’s edition will feature 70 films from over 49 countries. Also, the festival has been split into six categories: Asian Feature Competition, Southeast Asian Short Film Competition, Singapore Panorama, Asian Vision, Cinema Today, and Moonlight Cinema.

However, seven feature films including, Japanese psychological drama A Balance, Georgian film Beginning, Chinese arthouse film The Cloud In Her Room, gritty Indian flick Milestone, experimental Malaysian coming-of-age film No Love For The Young, Iranian slow-burn drama The Wasteland, and Tiong Bahru Social Club will compete in the biggest category of the festival, Asian Feature Competition. Similarly, the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition will feature 17 short films from across the region.

Four Singapore films, including The Smell Of Coffee and Here, Is Not There, are competing. Information and updates on the full film line-up and ratings can be sourced at sgiff.com