Empowering Southeast Asian Voices: Singapore International Film Festival Awards S$125,000 to Documentary and Short Film Projects

Production

Production

Production

Post-Production

Vietnam

Indonesia

The Philippines

Singapore

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B.M. Anggana, Sam Hewison

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For three decades, a boat of itinerant merchants has chugged along the Black River in remote northwestern Vietnam to set up floating markets. Following their daily routines and the close-knit bonds between them, the film reflects upon Vietnam’s economic and moral evolution amid rapid modernisation.

In 2022, 11 people were swept away by tidal waves while performing a mystical ritual at a beach in East Java. Blending true crime with cosmic horror, ‘South Sea’ draws on eyewitness accounts to investigate the social, spiritual and ecological forces that led to the tragedy.

A filmmaker journeys into the Pacific mountain ranges of rural Philippines in search of the unseen undercurrents that sustain a deep-rooted conflict for decades.

The lives of four independent artists—including the filmmaker herself—intertwine at an arts centre. From classical Indian dance to art tours on forgotten histories, their diverse practices are captured through fly-on-the-wall footage, revealing moments where the everyday meets the transcendent.

Selection Committee Citation

“Tran Phuong Thao and Swann Dubus are longtime collaborators whose sensitive and observational style gives voice to a lesser-seen Vietnam. Set in the mountainous province of Son La, the film follows a group of boat traders from the Kinh majority as they travel through remote ethnic minority communities. Through the stories of a female captain, porters and tenant merchants, the film offers a layered portrait of asymmetry, resilience and unexpected tenderness shaped by decades of economic exchange. Adopting an ethnographic approach, the filmmakers trace historical and contemporary transformations in the region, while reflecting on the colonial and social structures that continue to shape these interactions. This project invites the viewer to slow down, observe closely and reflect on the ways history, economy and human connection are intertwined.”

Selection Committee Citation

“‘South Sea’ stands out for its bold and timely exploration of a tragedy that occurred in 2022 on Payangan Beach, East Java, where eleven members of a spiritual sect were swept away by tidal waves during a nighttime ritual. Filmmaker and artist Riar Rizaldi blends hybrid documentary and true crime elements, reconstructing the event through voice-over testimonies that form the ethical and narrative backbone of the film. Staged reenactments also bring together different perspectives—from grieving families to scientific authorities. The project explores the tension between local knowledge systems and scientific discourse, raising deeper questions about truth, differing cosmologies and our relationship with the forces of nature. With its compelling concept, cinematic ambition and the director’s distinct auteur vision, ‘South Sea’ promises to engage global audiences and spark meaningful reflection.”

Selection Committee Citation

“‘The People Outside’ is a visually layered and complex testament to resilience and the fight for a dignified life. Told through the lived experiences of an ongoing political movement, the lens reflects both the past and present of a nation’s turbulent modern history. This urgent documentary travels to a community living in camouflage within a dense Southeast Asian tropical forest. Jewel Maranan embraces a cinematic language that brings to life over half a century of resistance, seamlessly blending arresting, newly shot footage with potent archival material. This visual synthesis speaks to the enduring aftermath of international intervention and its consequences. A constant, looming sense of danger pervades the narrative through her aesthetic choices and engaging sound design. The filmmaker’s presence leaves an indelible signature—alongside the unwavering commitment of those involved in the resistance movement and their courageous presence in the documentary.”

Selection Committee Citation

“In these times when cultural value is often judged by cost efficiency and utility, art and artists are under siege. In this project, Singaporean filmmaker Tan Pin Pin dares to address the grandiose question, “Why is art essential?” 

Tracing the daily routines of artists in their Arts Centre studios—involving a community choir conductor, a classical Indian dance choreographer, a curator of art tours on alternative histories, and the documentary filmmaker herself, this documentary promises to deliver a polyphonic symphony of different artistic practices that expand our notion of a just and inclusive society. It’s a seemingly modest project bound to transform our perceptions of and discourse on the value of art and culture.”

Production

Production

Production

Thailand

Indonesia

Singapore

Producers: Chalermchai Nuanonk, Parinda Phanwa

Producer: Rugun Sirait

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On the verge of reaching Nirvana, a Buddhist monk goes on a forest pilgrimage and arrives at a cave. There, he is consumed by the presence of a blind mermaid, who leads him on his path towards enlightenment.

Two videographers, Arief and Edi, exchange memories based on their time in Papua. Weaving in archival images with personal recollections, the film reflects on counter-histories and collective memory in the blurred space between fiction and documentary.

A bird hovers in place, stuck in the middle of train tracks as the MRT hurtles towards it. A man runs down the tracks, desperate and flailing. Time halts. In this mixed-media film made from charcoal, ink and live action, the world is torn apart, ripped into shreds and made anew.

Selection Committee Citation

“With ‘Anastomose’, Thaweechok Phasom presents a spiritual and meditative film that bends genre elements, following the mythical story of a Buddhist monk. Drawing inspiration from mural paintings and a childhood memory of his father, Phasom constructs a narrative where the theme of existentialism slowly unfolds. The playful imagery and surreal context may be intricate, but the world created is rich in sensory detail, offering an experience that gradually reveals itself. In his earlier work, the director demonstrated his talent for contemplative, meandering narratives. In tone and setting, ‘Anastomose’ promises to be a bold and distinct next step for Phasom, while still remaining true to his signature style.”

Selection Committee Citation

“Wrapped in a playful archival style and interwoven with personal stories, ‘Golden Island’ promises a cinematic portrait deeply rooted in neglected history. Arief Budiman handles an in-between space with complexity and precision: dreams interrupted by ironic reality, the deafening silence surrounding unresolved land conflicts, myths revolving around the insider-outsider dilemma—all of it combines into a hybrid documentary enhanced by scripted roles and direction. Serious but comic, serene yet unsettling, lyrical and experimental, personal and political, regional and marginal, the film has the strong potential to be universal. ‘Golden Island’ transcends contextual meaning restricted to Papuan, Javanese or Indonesian understandings of certain history, and resonates across borders with people barricaded in-between or subjected to similar political conditions.”

Selection Committee Citation

“Ashes and charcoal stir where shadows dance and smoke becomes script in a vivid and visceral way, echoing the intensity of EXYL’s pen. Drawn by the pulse of connection and the alchemy of transformation, this is a narrative experiment shaped by instinct rather than design. What unfolds is an emergence, forged from darkness, discovery and flame—and it is not simply a film, but also something that gestures quietly towards rebellion against the capitalist mode of operating, traced through process. There’s a sense of curiosity in EXYL’s new work—it’s tonally softer, perhaps, but it still holds its ambiguity close. What it becomes isn’t certain, and that’s part of what draws us in. It’s also exciting to encounter a filmmaker who is thinking not just through film, but around it—towards more sustainable ways of making, of working, of being with the work as it forms.”

Japan

Taiwan, the Netherlands

Singapore, Indonesia

Fujioka Asako has worked with Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival since 1993 as Coordinator, Director of Tokyo Office, and now Vice-chair of the Board. As head of Documentary Dream Center, she began organizing film workshops in various Asian destinations since 2009 and launched the retreat program Yamagata Documentary Dojo in 2018. She supports Japanese films liaison internationally, and aims to foster documentary, its makers and audiences through international exchange. She is producer of Nude at Heart (2021, dir: Okutani Yoichiro) and other documentaries.

Hsieh I-Hsuan is a film curator, writer, and researcher based in Amsterdam and Taipei with an anthropological background. She has programmed for Women Make Waves Film Festival Taiwan (since 2021), SGIFF (2024) and Taipei Film Festival (2017–2019), and served on the selection committees for TIDF (2022, 2024) and the Taipei Film Festival’s New Talent Competition (2019–2021).

She also offers film festival strategy consultancy for short films and documentaries, helping filmmakers navigate the festival circuit. She is the editor-in-chief of Taiwan Documentary E-Paper and a member of the Taiwan Film Critics Society.

Panuksmi Hardjowirogo is the co-founder of M’GO FILMS, a production company dedicated to fiction, documentary, and multimedia installations. She is focused on (co)producing projects with international partners – crafting narratives that are intricately linked to the shared histories of Southeast Asia; believing that cultural diversity is significant and inherently complex.

Born in Jakarta and raised in New York City, she pursued her film studies in Montreal before moving to Singapore, where she has been based since 2004. Her work bridges cultures and disciplines.

Thailand

Malaysia, Germany & UK

The Netherlands, Austria

Chayanin Tiangpitayagorn is a Bangkok-based cinephile and an independent film critic. His work has appeared in film magazines such as Starpics and Bioscope among others. He serves as the jury for Bangkok Critics Assembly Award. Since 2013, he co-curates Wildtype and Wildtype Middleclass – annual film screening programmes focusing on overlooked Thai independent films – and serves as part of the selection committee for Thai Short Film and Video Festival since 2022. Most recently, he joined the Festival Film Dokumenter 2024 jury and served as a guest curator for the 7th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival (BEFF7).

Qila Gill is a film programmer with extensive experience in the international film festival circuit. She is the Co-Head of Programme at the London Short Film Festival and serves on the selection committee for Berlinale Generation (features). She has programmed for SGIFF (Southeast Asian Short Film Competition and Undercurrent section), Berlinale Shorts, Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Experimenta (London Film Festival), Aesthetica Film Festival and SXSW documentary screener (2024). Prior to her current roles, she was the Distribution Director at LUX, London, and has produced artists’ films under Marginalia Pictures.

Wouter Jansen is the founder of the sales company Square Eyes. The company represents bold, author-driven features and shorts, and in close collaboration with the filmmakers it devises bespoke festival distribution and sales strategies. In the past Wouter has worked for 10 years as the head of program at Go Short ISFF. He is an expert for Locarno Open Doors and First Cut Lab, regularly gives lectures at film schools and festivals, and engages in selection committees for funding bodies and industry programs.