When the lights dim for this edition of the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), the red carpet is set to shimmer with history in the making. Beloved screen icon Shu Qi will step into a new light as her award-winning directorial debut Girl / 女孩 opens the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) on 26 November. Filmmaker Shu Qi, lead actor Bai Xiao-Ying and actor-singer 9m88 will be in attendance, marking one of the festival’s most anticipated red-carpet moments.

Shu Qi will also appear in the film Resurrection / 狂野时代, directed by Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan, which will be presented in the festival’s Undercurrent section for experimental filmmaking. The acclaimed actress will also be In Conversation with Mediacorp Artiste and returning Festival Ambassador, Rebecca Lim, on 27 November.  

This year’s SGIFF, the beating heart of Singapore’s film scene and the longest-running film event in the country, celebrates female-driven stories, restored classics, and boundary-breaking voices from across Asia and beyond. More than 120 films from over 45 countries, many of which are making their Singapore or even Southeast Asian premiere, will screen from 26 November to 7 December 2025, weaving together tales of identity, courage, and the quiet power of reinvention.

Festival Director Thong Kay Wee calls Shu Qi’s Girl / 女孩 “a powerful gateway into the festival’s wider slate.” It’s easy to see why; the semi-autobiographical film captures the fragility of childhood and the complexity of survival with painterly tenderness. SGIFF Programme Director Thong Kay Wee said, “At its heart, the film offers an intimate, autobiographical perspective, capturing the teenage struggles of living and surviving in a hostile adult world, while examining questions of identity, resilience and self-discovery. As a powerful gateway into the festival’s wider slate, Girl / 女孩 invites audiences to connect personally with films that do not shy away from difficult, challenging topics, while reaffirming the festival’s commitment to programming works that embrace raw, human and authentic storytelling.”

For actress and returning Festival Ambassador Rebecca Lim, the festival’s energy lies in its human connection. “I am humbled and immensely honoured to be appointed as Festival Ambassador of SGIFF once again,” Rebecca said. “My first experience last year was a huge eye-opener. I was exposed to so many wonderful and inspiring films and individuals, and I learnt so much along the way. I was especially inspired by filmmakers who, against all odds — even at the risk of their lives — chose to tell their stories. Their courage has given me more strength to be truthfully myself. I hope to continue shedding light on films that not only carry important messages we need to hear, but also those that can brighten your day. Film is truly for everyone, and may SGIFF 2025 bring us even closer together.”

SGIFF’s highest accolade, the Cinema Honorary Award, will this year go to Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta, the first woman ever to receive the honour. Known for her Elements Trilogy: Fire, Earth, and Water, Mehta’s films have long challenged social norms with lyrical defiance. “We are living in uncertain times,” Mehta reflects. “Art must not merely reflect reality; it must shape it.”

In a similar spirit, Youn Yuh-jung, the Oscar-winning Korean actress beloved for her unforgettable turn in Minari, will receive the Screen Icon Award. With a career spanning five decades, Youn has consistently redefined womanhood on screen—complex, flawed, fearless. SGIFF audiences will have the rare chance to hear from her directly during an intimate In Conversation session on 6 December.

Beyond the awards, this year’s Landmark section forms a cinematic bridge between generations of women who dared to see differently. It showcases restored classics by Asia’s first female filmmakers, from T’ang Shushuen’s The Arch (Hong Kong’s first female-directed feature) to Sumitra Peries’ Gehenu Lamai (Sri Lanka’s first female filmmaker), and The Razor’s Edge (1985) by Jocelyne Saab, Lebanon’s pioneering female filmmaker. Together, they trace a lineage of women who used cinema as both rebellion and revelation. Deepa Mehta’s retrospective, In Focus, sits at the heart of this section, a tribute to stories that are unapologetically personal and politically alive.

At its core, SGIFF remains a platform for Singaporean talent. This year’s line-up doubles the number of local short films, presenting them through the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition and the Singapore Panorama showcase. Highlights include world premieres of Sandbox, At Home with Work, and Cendol, each illuminating the resilience and humour of local communities.

“Cinema is a mirror to who we are,” Thong says. “And Singaporean filmmakers are increasingly looking inward to tell stories that matter to us, in voices that are uniquely ours.”

The Asian Feature Film Competition, led this year by Argentinian auteur Lucrecia Martel, opens its doors wider than ever. Once limited to emerging directors, it now embraces filmmakers across all stages of their careers, an evolution that reflects SGIFF’s growing global influence. The line-up includes Thailand’s A Useful Ghost, Singapore’s Amoeba, and India’s Cactus Pears, films that stretch the limits of realism and imagination alike.

Meanwhile, the Foreground section will open on 27 November with Arco, a hand-drawn animated feature co-presented with the vOilah! French Film Festival. A futuristic family-friendly adventure, Arco enchants with its artistry and emotion, reminding audiences of cinema’s power to inspire wonder across generations. Animator Adam Sillard will be in attendance. 

Look out for the second red carpet event with This City Is A Battlefield (Perang Kota) by Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya, a noir-inflected wartime epic that reimagines Jakarta’s post-war era through smoke, memory, and moral reckoning. This will receive a red-carpet Special Presentation on 5 December at GV VivoCity. The screening will welcome acclaimed Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya together with lead actors Chicco Jerikho, Ariel Tatum and Jerome Kurnia.

A seven-country co-production that includes Singapore co-production, the film follows a teacher and guerrilla fighter in post-war Jakarta in 1946. Adapted from Mochtar Lubis’s novel, A Road with No End, it fuses noir aesthetics with the emotional depth of a political period epic.

As SGIFF continues discussions with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth to include eligible local programmes under the SG Culture Pass, it signals a new era of accessibility, bringing world-class cinema closer to Singaporeans from all walks of life. With industry programmes like SGIFF Industry Days nurturing the next generation of storytellers, the festival’s impact reaches far beyond the screen. It is a reminder that cinema, at its most vital, remains a shared space for empathy and exchange.

In a year defined by fearless women and transcendent stories, SGIFF 2025 feels less like a festival and more like a movement. A movement to listen, to witness, to remember. As Shu Qi’s Girl / 女孩 lights up the screen on opening night, it sets the tone for a season of reflection, one where the personal becomes political, and the local becomes universal. In the flicker of film, we see not just what is, but what could be – all to be discovered at SGIFF 2025.

The 36th SGIFF runs from 26th November to 7th December 2025. More information available via their website here

SGIFF tickets will be available through early bird presales from 12PM on 27 October, with public sales commencing at 12PM on 31 October. SGIFF Industry Days, the festival’s knowledge-building platform and conference for film professionals from Singapore, Southeast Asia and beyond, will also return this year following its successful inaugural edition in 2024. Tickets will be available from 12PM on 31 October.