The 37th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) has unveiled its latest slate of announcements, with Aamir Khan set to receive the Screen Icon Award and South Korean thriller The Assassin(s) confirmed as this year’s opening film.
Taking place from 21 October to 1 November, the festival will open with The Assassin(s), starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho. Director Hur Jin-ho will attend the Festival Opening alongside supporting cast members Shim Eun-kyung and Park Sung-hoon.
Set against South Korea’s Liberation Day on 15 August 1974, the film follows detective Cheol-gu after a shooting at the National Theater of Korea leads him to question the official account of what happened. Together with a young reporter and newspaper editor, he begins an investigation amid government efforts to suppress dissent.
The film marks Hur Jin-ho’s return to SGIFF following A Normal Family, which previously screened at the festival.
Aamir Khan to receive SGIFF's Screen Icon Award
Aamir Khan will receive this year’s Screen Icon Award, which recognises Asian actors who have made significant creative contributions to cinema.
Khan will also attend a Special Presentation marking the 25th anniversary of Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India alongside filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker.
The film follows villagers who form a cricket team in an attempt to avoid paying taxes imposed under British colonial rule. Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India was nominated for Best International Film at the Academy Awards.
Previous recipients of SGIFF’s Screen Icon Award, formerly known as the Cinema Icon Award, include Michelle Yeoh, Koji Yakusho, Joan Chen, Fan Bingbing, and Youn Yuh-jung.
The announcement follows SGIFF’s earlier reveal that Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda will receive this year’s Cinema Honorary Award. Kore-eda’s latest film, Look Back, will also screen as part of the festival programme.
Anthony Wong, Peter Chan, and more join SGIFF
SGIFF has also announced more filmmakers and actors joining this year’s edition.
Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong will participate in a post-screening dialogue for My Name Ain’t Suzie, his first acting role, while filmmaker Peter Chan and Shim Eun-kyung will take part in SGIFF’s In Conversation With series.
Other guests include filmmakers Koji Fukada and Jacob Cheung, as well as cinematographers Akiko Ashizawa and Tom Harari.
South Korean filmmaker Yim Soon-rye, previously announced as Jury Head for the Asian Feature Film Competition, will also be part of this year’s festival.
More than 25 Singapore productions and co-productions featured
This edition will spotlight more than 25 Singapore productions and co-productions that have received recognition at international film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Venice, Locarno, and Melbourne.
Among them are Ang Geck Geck’s Ah Girl, Nelson Yeo’s The House on the Moon, Koji Fukada’s Nagi Notes, Edwin’s Sleep No More, Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s The Burning Giants, Kamila Andini’s Four Seasons in Java, and 9 Temples to Heaven.
Ah Girl, 9 Temples to Heaven, The Burning Giants, and Four Seasons in Java will also compete in the Asian Feature Film Competition.
Local animation will feature across the festival’s short film programmes too, including EXYL’s Singapore God, Calleen Koh’s RIP ME, LOL, Mark Wee’s A Tree, Nah Yee Chern’s Everything’s Peachy, and Shara Tay’s Kiss Me Climax.
SGIFF introduces Junior Explorers and live performances
The festival is also expanding the ways audiences can experience its programme.
For the first time, Junior Explorers will offer relaxed, sensory-friendly screenings for younger audiences, opening with stop-motion animation Brave Cat.
Meanwhile, SGIFF’s Undercurrent section will open with three live performances combining moving images with other disciplines. Corporeal Forms: Four Stories incorporates Taiwanese puppetry, The Compression Zone features live video gaming, while Imagination + The Rest Is My Ghost brings together analog film techniques and music performance.
SGIFF Pro will also return in an expanded format with the previously announced Parallax, Off Campus, and Pitching Forum programmes.
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Ticketing:
- Early bird presale: 25 September, 12 PM
- General ticket sales: 28 September, 12 PM
- SG Culture Pass: Credits can be used for eligible local film programmes during general ticket sales
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