Chinese director Chen Deming’s Always was named best Asian feature film at the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), which recorded its strongest ever audience participation in a landmark edition. Deepa Mehta and Youn Yuh-jung were in attendance to receive honorary awards.
The documentary tracks the simple life of an eight-year-old boy as he discovers the power of poetry in a mountainous village in Hunan province. The US-France-China-Taiwan production was filmed between 2018 and 2023, and premiered at CPH:DOX in March where it won the top prize.
The SGIFF jury, led by Argentinian filmmaker Lucrecia Martel, praised the film for “its immersive cinematic language and emotional resonance”. Director Chen and producer Lin Hansen were on hand to receive the best Asian feature award on the festival’s final night on December 7.
A Useful Ghost from Thailand, which earned a special mention, and Sri Lanka’s Lalith Rathnayake who took best director for Riverstone, were among the 14 winners from the Silver Screen Awards, which also featured the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition.
The audience choice award went to Coda, a debut documentary by Singapore’s Jac Min, which follows Victoria Chorale, a group of 42 non-professional singers as they prepare themselves for the world stage after 18 years.
The ceremony, which took place at SOTA Drama Theatre, awarded honours to Indian Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, who received the Cinema Honorary Award, and veteran South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung (Minari), who accepted the Screen Icon Award. Both were on hand to receive the honours.
Local audiences attended In Conversation sessions with celebrity guests such as Taiwanese actress-turned-director Shu Qi, whose directing debut Girl was the festival’s opening film, and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, whose Silent Friend screened as a special presentation.
Industry platform
The second edition of Industry Days, which ran December 1-3, brought together executives, emerging voices and international collaborators for three days of masterclasses, panels and project discussions.
The best-attended session was with Matīss Kaža, the co-producer and writer of Oscar-winning animated feature Flow who explored new approaches to animation and hybrid storytelling with young filmmakers in attendance.
Further sessions were held with Lucrecia Martel who discussed the cinematic form through sound, rhythm and sensory language, and music composer Lim Giong who shared his multi-disciplinary approach to music, soundscapes and Asian cinematic identity.
“This year’s festival showed us, more clearly than ever, how deeply audiences value the experience of watching films together. Their enthusiasm, curiosity and generosity created a spirit that could be felt in every screening and every conversation,” said SGIFF general manager Jeremy Chua. “SGIFF has always been about connecting people through stories, and this year’s tremendous support reminds us how much that connection means.”
SGIFF is part of the Singapore Media Festival 2025 hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
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