Discoveries from Singapore World Cinema

How is Singapore's identity constructed in Singapore cinema?

Based on a true story, "Pid pokati mai" is a reflection on human life during the Covid-19 pandemic and, also, under the Emergency Decree. "Pid pokati mai" follows many characters from different scenarios who share the same awkward situation.

Wrong Chef, My Mother-in-law, Kewat Travel Agent

An anthology of five short films by local filmmakers, each offering a unique perspective on living with dementia in Singapore.

This documentary from National Geographic reveals how Singapore's Changi Airport is pulling out all the stops to elevate the flight experience from the moment a passenger steps into the terminal using nature, art, and technology.

A live audiovisual performance along the Singapore River blending sound, text, and image by Lam Li Shuen, Mark Chua, Moe Myat May Zarchi, and Lin Htet Aung.

During a heated confrontation with her domestic helper, Maria, Amy discovers the truth behind her daughter’s disappearance. A short psychological drama that touches on the themes of grief and culpability.

1957 / Belantara / Adventure in the Jungle / S. Ramanathan / Malay Film Productions

The sounds of construction pervade Singapore’s neighbourhoods. One afternoon, a man wakes up to his fiancee starting to smoke again. Their conversation about it delves into a general unhappiness over their wedding photography, when a moment of her silliness becomes a moment of judgment by him. Talking about photography in general, the two of them come to terms with the nature of their relationship. They decide to call off their engagement. Months later, she makes their bed and sits alone.

1955 / Elephant Girl (Gadis Liar) / – / Eddy Infante / Shaws, Malay Film Productions

"This young gentleman talks to you from far Singapore, half way 'round the world." From the Fox Movietone News Collection, filmed in 1930, a Chinese boy, speaking English, introduces himself and his sister, then attempts to dispel some common American stereotypes about the Chinese. Fox Movietone News Story 5-769.

Chancre – a painless ulceration formed during the primary stage of syphilis. A transmission and transmutation of a memory couched in shame. This essay video is bookend with performance documentation from the re-enactment of Brother Cane in Chicago, 2011. Featuring excerpts from The Writings of a Savage by Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), Malay Magic (1900) by Walter William Skeat and T.S. Eliot's Fragment of an Agon (Sweeney Agonistes).

A detective investigates a series of murders while dealing with her own chequered past.

A chance encounter led a pair of old ex-lovers to unite again under the Five Trees.

Singapore is a football nation. Every weekend, thousands of amateur players, from schoolboys to office executives to retirees, gather to play the Beautiful Game. Not for glory, not for fame; but for passion, football and friendship. This spirit is forged in the neighbourhoods; void decks, street soccer courts, open fields or any patch of grass. All across Singapore, footballers have a place they call their ‘Homeground’. For the first time, this football culture is captured on film. Homeground is a love letter to playing spaces we call home, and a tribute to all amateur footballers in Singapore

In a world where sleep has become a crime, special responders known as ‘wakes’ are tasked with incarcerating sleepers. But when one ‘wake’ gives in to the world of dreams, she is forced into the possibility that she may become the next target.

A rebellion movement outbroke in a country causing almost all of its people being murdered. Among those who survived was a loyal slave who saved the princess. They both manage to runaway to a fisherman's village. There he brought up the princess as if it was his own daughter. Few years passed by the rebellious King had passed away and was succeeded by his Prince. As the new king made his normal visits to the villagers his eyes was attracted to the young Princess who has grown up. The King and the princess have fallen in love deeply and was so happy on how things are going on with their relationship. But, will she ever take her rightful place on the throne over her country?

A boy returns to Singapore from his studies in Europe, two days before he is enlisted into the army. A sensitive depiction of an 18-year-old’s struggle between national duties and personal liberty.

The finale (episode 20) of the Channel 5 drama serial "Faculty" was uploaded to Toggle on 30 March 2017. The series depicts the lives of undergraduates in a fictitious tertiary institution named Straits University. In the episode, the character Bryan Cordeiro, played by actor Aaron Mossadeg, appears to come to terms with his being associated with a gay identity, bromance crushes and a lack of attraction to even the most pretty girls. At the end of this clip, he agrees to meet Trevor, a boy who has a crush on him and whom he had blocked on the phone before.

Ismaya (17), is an introverted student with a peculiar syndrome; his hair grows as fast as half a meter every day. He is a true heir to his late mother, Iswanti’s reputation as a witch. His hair carries healing powers that both he and his tyrannical father, Santoso (42), are unaware of.

The aim here was to portray a story of gay Indian female along side stereotypes we often see depicted in Tamil cinema, well at least my interpretation of it- the simple story was about Maya who wants to escape her mother and her life for bigger dreams. The term "Molu" is a Malayalam term used for daughter.

A girl longs to hit puberty and get big boobs, only to end up growing tiny ones. Confronting the judgment of others and herself, she struggles to accept her chest size.

Merde follows 3 current and former ballerinas who all started from the same ballet studio, but are all in very different places in life now, exploring what ‘failure’ means to them in their relationship with ballet.

A scatological comedy that blends live action and animation. What happens to toilet graffiti when we’re not looking?

A young Chinese couple struggles to adapt to their new home and grows increasingly estranged from one another and from their surroundings.

Lux's hero piece for the #IStandWithCaster campaign is an action-packed film that features Caster Semenya's struggle to be allowed to compete, and the incredible capacities of professional athletes.

What is real and what isn’t in a replicated city? Ella Raidel made this penetrating ghost-town film in contemporary China, interweaving actors and ordinary people, sets and footage of the city. Aren’t the real estate agents, construction workers and investors simply playing a game? What remains of reality in a world dominated by the vagaries of capitalism? A Pile of Ghosts is a mysterious puzzle where the dividing line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly blurred. In this strange world, subjected to speculation, it actually doesn’t seem to matter anymore.

In D.I.Y, the squeak of dirty plates, the tap of a finger against a seafood restaurant aquarium, the thump of feet inside a cargo lift, and many other disparate sound, all come together into a quirky and funky piece of beat science, a human – and humane – music.

‘Porcelain’ is a 2D animated sequence that follows a porcelain dog’s chase for its ball through a pottery shelf. Weaving through each piece, a visual adventure unfolds as illustrations come to life, exploring the different styles of pottery.

A young man in a cowboy hat delivers rolls of money received from his agent to other people with whom he has an unexplained and estranged relationship with: his friend, father, and “someone”, before having his last meal.

A mother and her daughter, Jenny, want to flee from their haunted house. As they attempt to leave, they face disturbances from the spirits that compound their frustrations with each other. As they rush out from the house, they realise they are more alike than they ever cared to admit.

Nestled among the rows of shops in Bishan lies Auntie Pearly’s photo printing store of 20 years. By single-handedly running her shop, she builds connections with the regulars, forming a supportive community around her. This documentary explores the issue of elderly loneliness and the way they find solace and support in their community, often comprised of people who were once strangers. Additionally, we seek to honour Auntie Pearly for embodying the kampung spirit while offering essential services to her neighbourhood.

A woman wakes up in a pitch black room to find all, except one, of her limbs broken. Armed with only a torchlight, the clock is ticking as she attempts to escape, slowly unveiling a sinister truth.

Clara embraces solitude, however, struggles to find a balance between solitude and loneliness..

Drawing inspiration from his memories of his grandmothers, Michael Kam imagines their childhood spent under different imperialist rule.

Five musicians attempt a heist during an exclusive hotel event.

In a totalitarian state, a Sergeant Major is forced to comes to terms with his daughter when he finds out she has been working with the rebels, going against everything he believes.

A Yuvaraj Mohan Punch

The story follows Joan, a teenager who discovers that she’s adopted and leaves home. Joan’s escapade begins when she meets a domestic helper, a Bangladeshi worker, and an old man with dementia who mistakes them for his family. Determined to bring the old man home, Joan goes on an adventure with the trio.

“Butoh,” literally “dance of darkness,” is an avant-garde form of dance from Japan that few know about, and even fewer practice. As its only practitioner in Singapore, Xue tells us how she fell in love with this obscure, yet liberating, art form.

1955 / Selamat Tinggal Kekaseh-Ku (生死之恋 )/ Goodbye My Love / L. Krishnan / Keris

Psychedelic computer animated visions.

One day in the life of an uncle-a taxi driver who carries different passengers. No meeting passes without a trace for him. By the end of the day, the taxi driver's uncle recovers, meeting his beloved son.

Two schoolgirls encounter the ghost of a former student in an abandoned school. Enlisting their help to pass into the afterlife, the ghost brings them around the building, reliving painful and joyous memories.

On Sago Lane, a public housing estate was built in the 1960s upon a street of funeral parlours or "death houses". Today, it is home to one of the highest concentrations of elderly in Singapore. A moving look at a little known aspect of the Chinese diaspora, this documentary profiles several elderly men and women who immigrated in the early 1900s, and who survived multiple waves of relocation and urban development. They now struggle to survive in a rapidly evolving city, while living out the rest of their days on a meagre public assistance.

a sequel to the 2026 short film WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, GIRL? by milly worthington.

In Southern Bangladesh, hungry wild elephants trapped by the world’s largest refugee camp are rampaging over the land of local farmers. The result is a tense three-way stand-off between the refugees, local Bengalis and indigenous farmers, worsening already strained ethnic tensions. In 2017 Bangladesh opened its arms to nearly a million Rohingya who fled a violent regime of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. But the camp built to house them unknowingly blocked the last migratory corridor for the local elephant population. With no easy escape, a Rohingya refugee, an indigenous farmer, a Bengali forest ranger and the shrinking population of wild elephants find themselves trapped in an impossible fight for land, freedom and a place to call home.

As part of his tribe's rite of passage, a young hunter has to prove his worth by hunting down a great beast. However, amidst navigating the hunt and the rituals of his tribe, he finds himself increasingly troubled by what he has done. As he grapples with the gravity of his actions, he confronts his struggles with coming of age, self doubt, and reconciling one's actions with one's conscience.

A taut financial thriller that takes place during the height of Singapore's COVID lockdown, More More More follows finance bros Ben and Jamie as they are summoned to their enigmatic boss Bobby's hotel room in the dead of night. Bobby loops Ben and Jamie into a unique but risky proposition: take advantage of the precarious COVID-19 situation and gamble on crude oil trading before the rest of the world wakes up to a deal that could make (or cost) them millions... In one night. Based on a true story.

When two documentary filmmakers profile an eccentric tissue peddler, they grapple with their morbid curiosity when they find out that beneath her brittle charm lurks a disturbing little secret.

Manisan Syawal is a Hari Raya telemovie where two best friends become enemies when they both become business rivals in their home-based baking business. But when Hari Raya comes, their two children who have fallen in love find ways to reconcile the two best friends for their sake and their own.

Love Quest is a performative desktop documentary exploring the complexities of modern dating. Using The Sims, a sandbox game that allows players to freely interact with the game world, the dating experiences of two app users are reconstructed, blurring the boundaries between digital simulation and reality. By merging real-life interactions with digital platform elements to create a dystopian-like reality, the film reflects the gamified nature of modern dating. Through this lens, Love Quest questions whether something as delicate as love can truly be found online.

A documentary tribute to Dakota Crescent, told through a visual journey in remembrance of the community and culture there, and in celebration of the warm memories that live on. Originally commissioned for SG50.

Two women are estranged as mother and daughter, but their lives are interwoven by an invisible thread. The old mother seeks a home with one of her 4 daughters in a world that no longer wants her. The young mom, shattered from recent divorce, has to piece together a broken home. Looking to their past to try and find answers for an uncertain future, their search eventually brings the mother and daughter together.

South Korea's is facing a population crisis, with Seoul at the centre of it. The country’s capital remains the beneficiary of both internal and external migration. Instead, it is in the rural and peripheral areas where low birth rates and the aging population have become crises. The countryside is at risk of becoming extinct. As more opportunities and people get concentrated in Seoul, urban pressures have led to rising unemployment and cost of living. And when things get expensive, people do not have babies. Seoul now has the lowest birthrate in South Korea, in a country with the world’s most dire fertility. On the other hand, farms and factories in the rural areas desperately need workers. How can South Korea solve this population puzzle?

I live to leave, I leave to live. A confrontation with both cultural unfamiliarity and personal introspection– what lies beyond those doors? Are they just symbols of transition, curiosity, and the constant negotiation between leaving and staying? Why do we constantly seek for more? Of stepping into others' safe spaces and leaving something behind, of human connection and freedom across linguistic barriers and unfamiliar territories. On embracing yet questioning the in-between, the shift in physical and lyrical perspectives, while trusting every move/mistake made. An unplanned exploration, a concept of "how not to make a film," produced as part of Apichatpong Creators' Lab 2023 and shot in Yucatán, Mexico.

An ethnography of spirit mediumship in Singapore set against Singapore's rise from Third World to First world. Contrary to common held idea of modernity and globalisation diluting local cultural traditions, the documentary shows how modernity opening new opportunities and spaces for local cultural traditions.