Singapore – Championing the voice of Asian Cinema, the 27th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) rolled out the red carpet for its gala opening at Marina Bay Sands. Celebrated Malaysian auteur Dain Iskandar Said opened the 12-day celebration of independent cinema with the Asian premiere of his fantasy noir thriller Interchange, together with his stellar cast including award-winning Indonesian TV personality and actor, Nicholas Saputra, husband-wife duo Iedil Putra and Prisia Nasution.
Other special guests who graced the gala opening included actress and last year’s SGIFF Cinema Legend Award recipient Michelle Yeoh who is also this year’s Guest-of-Honour at the festival, Korean director Lee Sang-woo who is here in Singapore to promote his latest film Walking Street; acclaimed Southeast Asian filmmakers Eric Khoo, Joko Anwar, Brillante Mendoza, and Vietnamese-born director Tran Anh Hung who worked with the likes of Audrey Tautou and Melanie Laurent in his latest film Eternity which will premiere at the SGIFF. He will also be receiving the IWC Filmmaker Award, the first to be presented in Singapore. The audience were also treated to the premiere of the SGIFF’s first-ever commissioned short film The Pursuit of a Happy Human Life by local director Gladys Ng, the winner of last year’s Best Singapore Short Film.
SGIFF Executive Director, Yuni Hadi, said, “It is heartening to see the gathering of so many passionate film lovers at the opening of SGIFF. While the industry witnesses the transformation of cinema reflected in how we watch and make films today, the timeless stories told through film will always continue to engage and captivate us. Over the next two weeks, we will present 161 films from 52 countries and a varied slate of panel discussions and master classes with renowned filmmakers and industry experts. We look forward to discovering the stories and flavours of Asia and the world through the ever-evolving silver screen with festival goers.”
The 27th edition of SGIFF, which runs from 23 November to 4 December 2016, will take place across various venues, including Marina Bay Sands, Capitol Theatre, National Museum of Singapore Gallery Theatre, Shaw Theatres Lido, National Gallery Singapore Auditorium, The Arts House Screening Room, Filmgarde Bugis+ and Objectifs Chapel Gallery.
The SGIFF is an event of the Singapore Media Festival, hosted by Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA). SGIFF’s Official Sponsors include Presenting Sponsor, Marina Bay Sands, Official Festival Time Partner, IWC Schaffhausen, and Official Airline, Singapore Airlines.
