The S’pore Int’l Film Festival opens with gusto

SINGAPORE — The 26th edition of Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) kicked off its 11-day festivities with gusto tonight (Nov 26) at Marina Bay Sands.

Some of the stars who walked down the red carpet to celebrate the opening of South-east Asia’s longest-running international film platform included Taiwanese actress Sonia Sui, Vietnamese-American actress Hiep Thi Le, the original cast of Yonfan’s 1995 classic, Bugis Street, and Golden Horse winner and Ilo Ilo star Yeo Yann Yann.

Also in attendance were SGIFF chairman Mike Wiluan, SGIFF executive director Yuni Hadi, as well as guest of honour Professor Chan Heng Chee, chairman of the National Arts Council.

The film-makers and cast of the festival’s opening film, the Taiwanese drama Panay, were also present. Panay makes its international premiere on the back of an Audience Choice Award win at the 2015 Taipei Film Festival earlier this year.

Directed by Cheng Yu-Chieh and Lekal Sumi, the film chronicles the predicaments faced by Taiwan’s indigenous communities and their land rights and stars singer-songwriter Ado Kaliting Pacidal and award-winning actor Bokeh Kosang, supported by a young cast of first-time actors.

Both directors were very honoured that their film was chosen to open the festival, and told TODAY they hoped Panay resonated strongly enough for audiences to take something from the film.

“This movie isn’t about who is right or wrong,” said Cheng. “Instead, the audience has to come to a place where they realise their connection with nature. Humans tend to believe that they rule Mother Nature, but in fact, they are part of Mother Nature. So instead of development versus holding onto tradition, we feel that audiences should see the importance of their relationship with nature.”

His co-director Lekal Sumi added: “Development will always take place, but we should also realise the importance of protecting nature and the strong relationship that the aboriginal farmers have with their land. This is something that city-dwellers may not understand.”

For actress Yeo, whose film The Laundryman is showing in the Special Presentation section, SGIFF was a film festival she started supporting many years ago as an audience member. “I’m very glad to be here and promote films I personally worked in,” she said, “as well as to help raise awareness of the festival.”

After a successful comeback last year that saw an audience draw of more than 10,000, SGIFF is once again held in conjuction with Asia TV Forum & Market, Asian Television Awards and Digital Matters this year. These programmes are all under the umbrella of The Singapore Media Festival, which is hosted by Media Development Authority of Singapore.

The festival, which boasts a smorgasboard of 146 features and short films from 51 countries, as well as masterclasses, talks and special programmes, will also see the likes of Silver Screen Award jury head and award-winning Fillipino director Brillante Mendoza; and British actor and Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel on our shores. Also arriving are Iran’s most lauded film-maker Mohsen Makhmalbaf (who will receive the Honorary Award at SGIFF); and Malaysian superstar Michelle Yeoh, who will be presented the first-ever Cinema Legend Award.

SGIFF is on until Dec 6. For more information, visit http://sgiff.com