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[InC-Picks] Highlights of the Singapore International Film Festival!

By InCinemas / 04 Dec 2014 (Thursday)

The 25th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) starts today and after a two-year hiatus, we’re all psyched to watch a range of films and all ready to welcome international stars to our shores!

Here are some highlights of the festival you should not miss!

Star-Gazing Frenzy

What’s a film festival without stars gracing the red carpet? For this year’s SGIFF, besides local celebrities strutting the red carpet at the opening night, it’s your chance to catch a glimpse of French actress Juliette Binoche, world-renowned auteur John Woo, award-winning actress Zhang Ziyi, Tong Dawei, who are here for Woo’s latest film, The Crossing, an epic love story spanning half a century of modern Chinese history.

(More on The Crossing red carpet here!)

Cheng Pei Pei will be in Singapore to confer the tribute to the late Sir Run Run Shaw, who founded Shaw Brothers Studio and TVB, at the Silver Screen Awards on December 13. Cheng was recently nominated for the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) Best Actress honors for her role in Lilting.

You can catch the screening of Lilting on December 12.

Film Masterclass

Attending a masterclass is probably one of the ways you go about learning something new and in-depth, apart from your school textbooks…. and there’s one highly-acclaimed filmmaker whom every film enthusiast is crazy over - John Woo! Yes, the auteur who directed movies like Mission: Impossible II, Red Cliff and Broken Arrow will be conducting a masterclass on 5 December!

Other masterclasses include ‘Future Leaders Mentorship Series: Ahmad Abdalla – Filmmaker of Tomorrow’ and ‘Women in Film’ by three accomplished actresses namely Yeo Yann Yann, Huang Lu and Marine Vacth.

(More on the masterclasses here! )

Key Art Exhibition & Poster Art Exhibition
25 years of SGIFF Festival Guides

Since its inception, the Singapore International Film Festival has commissioned both local and regional artists to design the cover for its festival guides. The cover serves as a platform inviting artists to interpret film through different lenses. The Key Art exhibition will feature the covers of the previous 24 editions of the festival guide and this year’s work.

Exhibition at Library@Orchard (Orchard Gateway)
Date: 1 – 31 Dec, 2014
Time: 11am- 9pm daily

Exhibition at Canvas
Date: 7 – 14 Dec, 2014
Time: 3pm - 9pm daily

SGIFF Commemorative Limited Edition Book - $15

To commemorate the 25th year of SGIFF, there will be an anniversary book that documents the challenges, triumphs, and struggles faced during the Singapore International Film Festival's 25 year history through articles, interviews and images.

(You can purchase the book and other festival goodies here!)

InC Film Picks

There are 147 films from 50 countries being screened at the SGIFF this year. Not sure what to pick and watch? Here are our 7 film recommendations!

Tickets to films in the 'Singapore Panorama' segment are selling fast. As much as we really hope you have bought or somehow been able to beg, borrow or steal tickets to 'Rubbers', 'Unlucky Plaza' & 'Ms J Contemplates her Choice', these films are entirely sold out.

(You can check out the 'SGIFF Ticket Marketplace' to see if anyone has spare tickets to sell!)

Another film we would recommend is 'Standing in Still Water' by Ric Aw that documents the relationships and emotional trauma set in modern day Singapore. The film examines the interwoven lives of four damaged individuals, whose interactions take place around a reservoir.

(More about the film here!)

If you enjoy short films, do catch the Singapore Panorama Shorts 1 & 2 to enjoy a range of film genres from local filmmakers that include Royston Tan, Lee Sin Yee, Edmund Lim and Shuming He!

(More on Singapore Panorama Shorts here!)

In the Asian Vision segment, remember to check out Confession, director's Lee Do-yoon's debut feature film, starring Ji Sung, Ju Ji-Hoon and Running Man's funnyman Lee Kwang Soo.

Confession tells a story about three childhood friends who have remained best buddies as adults and like family, the trio help each other through thick and thin. But their long-standing friendship comes under threat when an act of good intention leads to criminal activity.

(More about Confession here!)

Another film to check out will be The Second Life of Thieves - (R21) from Malaysia's Woo Ming Jin. The film tells a story of a grief-stricken village head and a young woman with a tragic past set out on a search for answers, not realising that their histories are more tightly interwoven than they think.

Understated in style and moving in depiction, this film is about the stolen and the given in life’s complex geography.

(More about The Second Life of Thieves here!)

In the Cinema Today category, do check out Lilting by up-and-coming filmmaker Hong Khaou, starring Cheng Pei Pei, Ben Whishaw and Andrew Leung. Tickets to the screenings are selling fast, with only the last screening on the 12th are on sale.

Lilting is a touching and affecting film where the director draws parallels between the character Junn and his own mother, who also does not speak English and has not fully assimilated into her adopted country.

(More on Lilting here!)

If you are into documentaries, remember to not miss We Were There, a Canadian/Spanish film that tells a story about six young priests in their 20s in 1965 where they leave their native Spain to discover the world.

Tickets to the film's screening are selling fast, so do grab your tickets asap!

(More about We Were There here!)

Closing film, In The Absence Of The Sun (M18) is by Indonesian filmmaker Lucky Kuswandi, who will be in attendance at the film screening.

In The Absence Of The Sun tells a story about Jakarta, where things change swiftly and constantly. In this film that unfolds over the course of one night, three women search for belonging in a metropolis that never sleeps. This is Kuswandi’s second feature film that leaves the viewer with bittersweet melancholy that can only come with heartfelt honesty.

(More on In The Absence Of The Sun here!)

Remember to follow @InCinemasSG on Twitter & Instagram for more SGIFF news!

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[InC-Picks] Highlights of the Singapore International Film Festival!