Southeast Asian Short Film Competition

Southeast Asian Short Film Competition Programme 1

5 Dec, Thu 5:00PM / 99 min / R21 (Some Mature Content) / National Gallery Singapore

I Talk to God but the Sky Is Empty

Eliza goes through a day away from work after her abortion.

Hattie Lee / Singapore / 2024 / 16 min / PG13 (Some Mature Content) / World Premiere

The Nature of Dogs

A family and their dog arrive at a seaside resort, but as their vacation unfolds, hidden wounds emerge, revealing fractured lives.

Pom Bunsermvicha / Thailand, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong / 2024 / 27 min / PG / Asian Premiere

My Therapist Said, I Am Full of Sadness

Mixing archival home footage of a childhood in Jakarta and glimpses of current life in Berlin, a queer nonbinary filmmaker reflects on their chosen life and relationship with their devout Christian parents.

Monica Vanesa Tedja / Indonesia / 2024 / 22 min / R21 (Mature Content) / Singapore Premiere

The Wells of Rameswaram

Wrapped in grief, a mother and son talk about the loss of her husband and her isolation. He invites her to stay with him, but she refuses.

Nishok / Singapore / 2024 / 15 min / PG / World Premiere

My Paws Are Soft, My Bones Are Heavy

Jo spends his birthday with his best friend, who teaches him how to ride a motorbike. However, memories of his late mother surface as Jo recalls their time spent together.

Garry Christian / Indonesia / 2024 / 19 min / PG13 (Some Coarse Language) / World Premiere

Southeast Asian Short Film Competition Programme 2

6 Dec, Fri 5:00PM / 95 min / R21 (Mature Content) / National Gallery Singapore

This programme foregrounds the delicate dance between the vulnerability and strength of women, exploring how they wield humour, tenderness and a fiery spirit to navigate life.

My Wonderful Life

Grace, an exhausted mom in Singapore, collapses at work and is admitted to the hospital, where she unexpectedly discovers a new sense of freedom as a patient.

Calleen Koh / Singapore / 2024 / 10 min / NC16 (Mature Theme) / Southeast Asian Premiere

Mulberry Fields

A woman working for a pyramid scheme laments her fading youth, while a young man idles in wait. As they wander the abandoned apartment building where they live, a quiet seduction grows.

Nguyễn Trung Nghĩa / Vietnam / 2024 / 25 min / PG13 (Some Sexual References) / Asian Premiere

Homecoming

Nyi Rai returns to his village after his sister’s unexpected bereavement. He sits down with his parents for the first time, uncovering a history of drug and domestic abuse, and a renewed hope for the future.

Nyi Rai / Myanmar / 2024 / 19 min / PG (Some Drug References) / Singapore Premiere

Animal Lovers

A pregnant woman, suspicious of her husband’s romantic relationship with his carabao, schemes to banish her beastly rival and reclaim her title as the fairest creature of the land.

Aedrian Araojo / Philippines / 2023 / 18 min / R21 (Mature Content) / Singapore Premiere

Thank You, Daisy

An eccentric senior breaks out of her nursing home and crosses paths with a suicidal runaway. They embark on a bizarre and serendipitous adventure, in a night that will change them both forever.

Dave Tan / Singapore / 2024 / 23 min / NC16 (Coarse Language and Sexual Reference) / World Premiere

Southeast Asian Short Film Competition Programme 3

7 Dec, Sat 2:00PM / 83 min / R21 (Nudity) / National Gallery Singapore

This programme explores power dynamics in institutional structures, sparking new understandings of resistance through compelling character arcs and performative gestures.

The Inescapable Desire of Roots

A man with hair growing wildly over his body is taken by a mania of ecstasy and anguish. He struggles with the hair becoming a means of discipline and punishment, while being overwhelmed by the explosive jubilance of its sprouting.

Mark Chua, Lam Li Shuen / Singapore / 2024 / 6 min / R21 (Nudity) / Singapore Premiere

WAShhh

A Chinese trainee in a Malaysian National Service camp is ordered to lead her female comrades in washing soiled sanitary pads at night.

Mickey Lai / Malaysia, Ireland / 2024 / 24 min / PG13 (Some Disturbing Scenes) / Singapore Premiere

Text FIND DAD and Send to 2366

A socially awkward teenage girl, determined to reunite with her estranged father, must convince a mysterious voice to cast her in a reality TV show that could alter her future.

Kent Michael Cadungog / Philippines / 2024 / 15 min / PG / International Premiere

Spelling Test

Chinese primary student En Qi struggles with Malay spelling, often confusing it with English. This incurs the wrath of his strict teacher who humiliates and punishes him unsparingly.

Wong Tuck Hon / Malaysia / 2024 / 20 min / PG / World Premiere

Mantra of Neon

A Thai soldier returns home to find his father suffering from a mysterious illness. The affliction soon spreads in the village like a curse, causing inexplicable events.

Palita Chairit / Thailand / 2024 / 18 min / PG / International Premiere

Southeast Asian Short Film Competition Programme 4

7 Dec, Sat 7:00PM / 97 min / M18 (Sexual Scene) / National Gallery Singapore

This programme features characters who contend with the heaviness of leaving and the tensions of returning. The contemplation of memories and traumas propels new ways forward.

The Orange

Two childhood best friends reconnect in Phnom Penh after years of separation. A film screening prompts them to wonder about their future together.

Seakleng Song / Cambodia / 2024 / 16 min / NC16 (Some Mature Content) / World Premiere

Elephants by the Roadside

In this existential vignette on urban migration, a mother watches her son’s funeral through a phone while a gravedigger and paid mourner discuss moving to the city.

Đàm Quang Trung / Vietnam / 2024 / 19 min / M18 (Sexual Scene) / World Premiere

sighnight

A family dinner with a returning daughter turns into a violent confrontation, revealing dirty secrets and uncomfortable lies.

Jake Low / Singapore / 2024 / 12 min / M18 (Some Mature Content) / World Premiere

No Exorcism Film

Moving through different incarnations, enigmatic voices fuse with fleeting images extracted from various conditions of ‘Thainess’. As one robotic voice recounts nightmarish returns to Thailand, another seeks to console.

Komtouch Napattaloong / Thailand / 2024 / 20 min / PG / Singapore Premiere

Mycelium Memory

After returning to her childhood home, a Thai-American finds herself exploring fragments of her Vietnam War-veteran father’s memories through her fungi-infested house.

Felicia Luna King / Thailand / 2024 / 30 min / PG13 (Some Coarse Language) / International Premiere

Southeast Asian Short Film Competition Programme 5

8 Dec, Sun 2:00PM / 95 min / PG (Some Nudity) / National Gallery Singapore

Each of these films carries a blip containing a devastating secret, a split-second of the world that opens up to the phantasmagorical. This programme pushes the sky away only to reveal another sky.