Arts of Hong Kong: An Interview with Hong Kong film and theatre power couple Rosa Maria Velasco and German Cheung Ming Yiu

Rosa Maria Velasco has been to Singapore many times, but always in a hurry. The city, for her, has long been a place of arrival and departure; rehearsals folded into performance schedules, nights measured in curtain calls rather than conversations. But this visit feels different. She is here not to perform, but to meet audiences, to talk, to listen, and to understand what it means … Continue reading Arts of Hong Kong: An Interview with Hong Kong film and theatre power couple Rosa Maria Velasco and German Cheung Ming Yiu

Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Sofie Buligis on being and representing ‘Celup’

“You very celup sia.” The moment her partner said it, Sofie Buligis laughed, but she also felt something click into place. “I was like, yeah, I am,” she remembers. “My friends and family have called me that, and actually it’s quite a snappy name for a show.” That idea became Celup (literally, ‘to dip’, and loosely translates to a desire to be more ‘mixed’) her … Continue reading Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Sofie Buligis on being and representing ‘Celup’

Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Wang Ping-Hsiang on representing violence in performance and karaoke in ‘Retina Manoeuvre’

When audiences first encountered Retina Manoeuvre in its early work-in-progress, few could have guessed that the performance would later tour Europe, gathering deeply personal responses from audiences who recognised themselves, despite having no connection to Taiwan at all. The project began far from the solo, autobiographical form it eventually took. Taiwanese artist and creator Ping-Hsiang Wang recalls that the original proposal involved three performers and … Continue reading Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Wang Ping-Hsiang on representing violence in performance and karaoke in ‘Retina Manoeuvre’

Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Woody Avenue on normalising queerness and representing love in ‘A Lesbian Love Story: The Musical’

When theatre-makers Rosie McGowan and Kluane Saunders first started writing a musical about a woman trying to create the happiest lesbian love story ever put on stage, they didn’t realise they were also building a company. “The idea for the production came first and the company came after,” Rosie laughs. “A lot of people asked who was the company behind it, and we thought, oh, … Continue reading Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Woody Avenue on normalising queerness and representing love in ‘A Lesbian Love Story: The Musical’

Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Haresh Sharma, Grace Kalaiselvi, and Jaspreet Kaur Sekhon on representing disability onstage in ‘Invisible’

Set against the seemingly ordinary backdrop of a hotel workplace, Invisible begins with a simple premise: Malini, a young disabled woman, starts her new job as a cleaner determined to do well. When a guest’s prized possession goes missing, the incident sets off a chain of events that reveals the hidden struggles, quiet tensions, and unseen disabilities carried by those involved. Written by award-winning playwright … Continue reading Singapore Fringe Festival 2026: An Interview with Haresh Sharma, Grace Kalaiselvi, and Jaspreet Kaur Sekhon on representing disability onstage in ‘Invisible’

SGIFF 2025 draws to a close with 44 sold-out screenings and 33% increase in tickets sold

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), part of the Singapore Media Festival 2025 hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), closed its 36th edition on a historic high on 7 December, setting a new festival record with 44 sold-out screenings. For the third consecutive year, SGIFF achieved a new box office record, with ticket sales rising 33% from 2024. This year, the festival also saw its strongest turnout with a 28.7% increase in participation compared to last year, marking the festival’s strongest … Continue reading SGIFF 2025 draws to a close with 44 sold-out screenings and 33% increase in tickets sold

SGIFF 2025: SGIFilmFeud and #SaveOurCinemas bring up urgent conversation on the state and future of cinema

In the era of the streaming wars and the grief from closure of major cinemas, this year’s Singapore International Film Festival raised the pertinent question of the now and future state of communal film culture in Singapore across two panel discussions. Though framed differently, one gamified and playful, the other urgent and elegiac, SGIFilmFeud and #SaveOurCinemas, converged and circled the anxieties, structural challenges, and diminishing … Continue reading SGIFF 2025: SGIFilmFeud and #SaveOurCinemas bring up urgent conversation on the state and future of cinema

SGIFF announces winners of the 2025 Silver Screen Awards, honouring excellence across Asian cinema

In a night shimmering with cinematic daring, the 36th Singapore International Film Festival unveiled the winners of its 2025 Silver Screen Awards, an event that once again affirmed Southeast Asia as one of the world’s most vibrant storytelling regions brimming with potential. First introduced in 1991 as the pioneering international competition devoted to Asian cinema, the Silver Screen Awards have long stood as a beacon … Continue reading SGIFF announces winners of the 2025 Silver Screen Awards, honouring excellence across Asian cinema

Reviving Jit Murad’s Lost Play: An Interview with director Zahim Albakri, and cast members Ghafir Akbar and Sabrina Hassan of ‘ENTOURAGE – Murder Amongst Friends’

It begins, unexpectedly, with a laugh. “I actually think it’s one of his most well-crafted plays,” says Dato’ Zahim Albakri, the director of ENTOURAGE – Murder Amongst Friends, and one of the late Jit Murad’s closest collaborators. “Some of the writing is his best and really quite fabulous. It’s different from his other plays, but it’s definitely him; you recognise the writing.” Then, almost in … Continue reading Reviving Jit Murad’s Lost Play: An Interview with director Zahim Albakri, and cast members Ghafir Akbar and Sabrina Hassan of ‘ENTOURAGE – Murder Amongst Friends’

SGIFF 2025: An Interview with ‘Silent Friend’ director ldikó Enyedi and star Tony Leung

For Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, her new work Silent Friend began as an instinct, an idea circling her for decades about how humans seek connection with the natural world. “I wrote this script very instinctively,” she says. “These topics were interesting to me for decades.” The film moves across three vastly different eras—1908, 1972, and 2020—each anchored by a centuries-old ginkgo tree and characters whose … Continue reading SGIFF 2025: An Interview with ‘Silent Friend’ director ldikó Enyedi and star Tony Leung