As I prepared to film the campaign video for the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), the city’s cinematic heart was still reeling from the abrupt closure of The Projector, a long-time staple of local film. Its iconic pink chairs became my starting point; a visual lament for the dwindling tribe of cinema-goers. The video opens with a simple, aching question: “Where is everyone?”
The answer, thankfully, was waiting at SGIFF. That week, Singapore was electric. Screenings sold out daily, and rush queues snaked through the lobbies as hopeful cinephiles clutched standby tickets. The city became a temporary shrine for cinema lovers.
Shu Qi and Tony Leung graced the spotlight with their new projects and intimate In Conversation dialogue sessions, moderated by festival ambassador and MediaCorp artiste Rebecca Lim. Young critics fuelled the dialogue through Correspondence, a printed zine found at screening venues and the Goethe-Institut, where a rogue group of enthusiasts ran Ffigs, a playful counter-festival screening rejected shorts in an informal lounge.
Returning to SGIFF after years away felt like stepping back into a once-fractured community now stitched together by curiosity and joy. Amoeba by Tan Siyou came home triumphant after travelling the festival circuit from Toronto to Taipei, competing with other Asian titles. Michael Kam’s tender The Old Man and His Car opened the Singapore Panorama.
International collaborations also shone. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s debut A Useful Ghost, co-produced with Momo Film Co, captivated audiences with its sharp, humorous audacity. Thai star Davika Hoorne’s post-screening appearance drew screams, and the film earned a Special Mention at the Silver Screen Awards.
On my own schedule, I moderated a Zoom talkback with Hikari for her sophomore feature Rental Family, a warm, crowd-pleasing story of an American expat in Tokyo navigating a rental family agency, fronted by a gentle, surprising turn from Brendan Fraser. It opened in Singapore on 7 January.
class consciousness. Courtesy of Momo Film Co
Cinema, as always, mirrors the world around it. Headlines about Netflix’s bid for Warner Brothers remind us how narrow the gap between streaming and theatrical windows has become, yet SGIFF’s 26.8 percent attendance jump and 33 percent box office lift signal a stubborn truth—cinema thrives in community. Festivals are the crucible of that experience, but the question lingers. How do we carry this momentum beyond one brilliant week?
There are promising steps. The Old Man and His Car will open theatrically at the Singapore Film Society’s new home at GV Cineleisure. Amoeba, distributed by Anticipate Pictures, will open theatrically in March, alongside a slate of highly anticipated Singaporean titles in 2026.
In the final shot of the campaign video, Rebecca Lim rises from a lone pink chair salvaged from The Projector. Walking into the unknown, she wonders aloud: “Where shall we go next?” It’s a question for our film scene and for all of us who still believe in the magic of the darkened cinema hall.
