The new independent cinema
Programmed by Singapore Film Society
The new independent cinema
Programmed by Singapore Film Society
SEMENTARA
Directed By Joant Úbeda & Chew Chia Shao Min | 104 Minutes
The directors share that “SEMENTARA (‘transient’) started off as a small project inspired by Chris Marker’s LE JOLI MAI (THE LOVELY MONTH OF MAY). One of the more surprising parts of the filmmaking process was the ease with which we were able to get the subjects to speak on camera. We’d approach them in their neighbourhoods as they went about their daily routine, or while at work or at play, and frequently spent more than an hour talking to them. Sometimes, the camera wouldn’t even be set up yet––but we just rolled the conversation.
Them knowing that their time is more important than us finding the perfect frame and lighting, was crucial in us finding their conversational truth. Which led to them generously share the raw parts of their lives, the messy parts of their thoughts, and then even thank us for the experience, when clearly we were the ones in the position to thank them. What we heard sometimes made us wonder, often made us laugh, and almost always moved us.
Our goal in making this documentary was to practice seeing, not scrutinising or interrogating, but observing and understanding. Perhaps most people want to be accepted as whole people, scars and stories and all. This film attempts to put all these stories, goals, fears, and difficulties in one, hopefully, introspective journey––that happens all at once.”
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
M18 (Some Mature Content) | English with no subtitles
Sat, Oct 10, 7:30 PM: Join us for an introduction speech and Q&A with director Joant Úbeda!
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
THE SONGS WE SANG 我们唱着的歌
Directed By Eva Tang | 129 Minutes
Rated as one of the best local films when it was first released, and sold out when brought back to the big screen in April this year at SFS Somerset, THE SONGS WE SANG is a beautiful, heartfelt account of the inception and growth of the xinyao 新谣 movement in Singapore.
From its origins in the poetry club at Nanyang University, to branching out into songwriting,
influenced by Taiwanese folk songs and school campus songs, the film includes insightful interviews with local xinyao pioneers, singers inspired by xinyao, and local DJs who helped
popularise the movement, as well as footage from the producers’ landmark concert. SFS is
delighted to screen it again this October. Not to be missed!
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG | Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles
Cast: Liang Wern Fook, Eric Moo, Billy Koh
Sun, Oct 11, 4:00 PM: Join us for an introduction speech and Q&A with director Eva Tang!
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
KING OF HAWKERS 小贩之王
Directed By Kelvin Sng | 120 Minutes
KING OF HAWKERS is a heartwarming Singapore feature film directed by Kelvin Sng that celebrates Singapore's UNESCO-recognised hawker culture through a touching story about family, resilience, heritage and community.
First released in Singapore and Malaysia in February 2024, the film follows a woman who returns to Singapore to protect her family's hawker legacy from corporate forces threatening traditional hawker culture. Best Feature Film (Times Torrent Section) winner at the Asian Art Film Awards 2025.
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG13 (Some Mature Content & Coarse Language) | Mandarin and some Cantonese with English and Chinese
Cast: Dawn Ho, Ryan Lian, Hugo Ng, Liu Lingling
Fri, Oct 9, 7:30 PM: Join us for an introduction speech and Q&A with director Kelvin Sng!
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
ITAM: A SUN BEAR STORy
Directed By Raymond Tan | 80 Minutes
Three years in the making, this remarkable documentary was filmed entirely in Sabah, Malaysia.
It follows the rehabilitation and release of a rescued sun bear named Itam. Developed in close
collaboration with the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, the production was granted rare
access to archival records, veterinary logs, field operations, and the complete rewilding process.
This access allows the film to move beyond surface observation into deeply-researched, character-driven storytelling. Combining immersive cinematic language with investigative scientific inquiry,
ITAM: A SUN BEAR STORY positions Southeast Asian conservation stories within global discourse.
His interest in cross-cultural identity and social issues shaped engineer-turned-filmmaker
Raymond Tan’s previous award-winning features, WAYANG BOY and THE WAYANG KIDS, which
respectively won Best Foreign Comedy Feature and Best Feature awards in the USA and Chile.
“This film is personal because it asks how we measure worth. In a world that often values scale
and speed, Itam asks us to slow down and see the dignity of one life. If we can care this much for
one bear, the compassion may not be that small after all.” – Director Raymond Tan
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG | English, Mandarin & Malay with English subtitles
Sat, Oct 10, 4:00 PM: Join us for an introduction speech and Q&A with director Raymond Tan!
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
MOTHER BHUMI 地母
Directed By Chong Keat Aun | 129 Minutes
In late-1990s Malaysia, Hong Im, a widowed farmer and ritual healer, struggles to protect her
family in a multi-ethnic rice-farming village. By day, she resists land seizures; by night, she
heals and exorcises. As colonial-era conflicts resurface, strange events unfold – spirits return,
black magic stirs, and a monk leads a buffalo. The legacy of empire haunts the land, the living,
and the dead of Bujang Valley. One of the swiftly sold-out films from our Singapore Chinese
Film Festival 2026. Winner of the 62nd Golden Horse Awards for Best Leading Actress, Best
Cinematography, and Best Original Film Song.
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG13 (Some Nudity and Disturbing Scenes) | Mandarin, Hokkien, Thai, Malay with English and Chinese s
Cast: Fan Bingbing, Natalie Hsu, Bai Run-yin, Pearlly Chua
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
THE STORY OF SOUTHERN ISLET 南巫
Directed By Chong Keat Aun | 105 Minutes
A wife finds herself thrown into a complicated world of spiritual confusion when her husband
is struck down by a mysterious illness he himself a ributes either to black magic or divine
wrath. Chong Keat Aun’s feature directorial debut is partly a treatise on the absurdity of
national borders but also one of cosmological ambiguity in which the acceptance of that which
cannot be explained provides the only hope of cure for those burdened by the sin of
transgressing against the gods. THE STORY OF SOUTHERN ISLET won the Golden Horse Best
New Director Award, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize at both the (2020) Golden Horse and (2021)
Hong Kong International Film Festivals. “Beau fully shot with a lingering ethereality, Chong’s
mystical tale places gods and demons amid the everyday while demonstrating the ebb and
flow of deeply held cultural beliefs in a border community where harmonious coexistence has
long been the norm.” -- Hayley Scanlon, Windows on Worlds
24 September, Thursday: Join us for an introduction speech by Sally and a virtual Q&A with director Chong Keat Aun!
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG | Hokkien, Malay, and some Mandarin with English subtitles
Cast: Jojo Goh, Season Chee, Pearlly Chua, Ling Tang
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
DISRUPTION with ASHES & SIGHS and TEMPLe crimes
Directed By Ian Dixon | 56 Minutes
DISRUPTION is a psychological thriller created with and alongside disabled filmmakers and performers. Rather than portraying disability as something to overcome, the film challenges society's obsession with "fixing" disability, asking audiences who truly benefits from the idea of being "normal." Developed through workshops with people with disabilities in Singapore, the film combines authentic lived experience with suspense, cinematic storytelling and social commentary.
DISRUPTION will be screened with two other films: ASHES & SIGHS, and TEMPLE CRIMES.
“DISRUPTION is not a film about disability—it is a film about prejudice. Working alongside
disabled writers and performers fundamentally shaped every stage of the production. Their lived experience became the foundation of the story, resulting in a thriller that questions society's obsession with perfection rather than disability itself. If audiences leave questioning those who profit from fear, vulnerability and the promise of impossible cures, then the film has achieved its purpose.” – Ian Dixon
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG13 (Some Mature Content & Coarse Language)
Disruption (English subtitles)
Ashes & Sighs (Mandarin with English subtitles)
Temple Crimes (English subtitles)
Cast: Dorina Yee, Stephanie Esther Fan;
Karen Tan Bee Lin, Gurdev K. Sharma;
Tristan Pu Pang Kit, Mark Seow Wei Yuen
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
EARTHQUAKE
Directed By Mark Robson | 129 Minutes
When a major earthquake hits Los Angeles, the various residents of the city cope with the chaos and destruction. Successful architect Stewart Graff argues with his demanding wife,
Remy Royce-Graff, as the disaster hits. Later, when he checks in on his flirtatious friend Denise
Marshall, they begin an affair. As the personal dramas continue, the city is threatened by aftershocks and possibly even greater quakes.
EARTHQUAKE set and defined new standards for blockbuster disaster epics in the 1970s, and is noteworthy also for being the first feature film to have been presented “in the startling new multi-dimension of Sensurround”. At the time, the realistic effects that could be felt as well as heard, throughout the cinema auditorium, brought a whole new meaning to ‘immersive viewing’. Originally released in Singapore at Rex Theatre.
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG | English with no subtitles
Cast: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
THE HOPELESS 10 どうしようもない10人
Directed By Hiroyasu Kitagawa | 77 Minutes
In a fractured future Japan, where the country has been divided among foreign powers, a
mysterious fortune known as the Double Million Dollars disappears from the hands of Yahei,
a feared underworld leader. When a stolen fortune is taken again by a female assassin,
Ageha, Yahei unleashes a motley crew of killers, swordsmen, monks and gunslingers to
recover it.
As betrayals multiply, alliances collapse, and every assassin turns against the others, the hunt leads them to the final gathering, where ten desperate people are forced to face each other. Blending post-apocalyptic action, dark comedy, and a driving Shamisen score, THE HOPELESS 10 is a wild tale of greed, survival, and the question of whether even the most hopeless people deserve to live.
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
NC16 (Some Coarse Language and Violence) | Japanese with English subtitles
Cast: Shigefumi Fukuzawa, Momoka Tanimura,
Masanori Ikemura, Miwa Takasaka
Theme song sung by : Rina Aiuchi
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
MOJOKU HILANG!
Directed By Min Lim | 135 Minutes
At Moo Magic Dairy, Mojo the cow is more than just a mascot—she's a viral sensa on. But
when her the sparks a clash between the ruthless dairy conglomerate and the last village
of independent farmers, one ambi ous young execu ve finds himself torn between
corporate loyalty and rediscovering his roots.
Adi, once a village boy, traded his family's dairy farm for a shot at success in the big city. Now
tasked with going undercover to recover Mojo and persuade the farmers of Kampung
Semerah Padi to sell, he's pulled back into the world he abandoned. There, he reconnects
with the land, the people—-and with Ayu, а spirited young farmer fighting to save her
family's heritage.
As secrets of Adi's past unravel, he must choose between the empire he helped build and
the community that has come to believe in him. A heartfelt story of family, sacrifice, and
belonging, this film explores how the sweetest dreams are rooted in the soil we call home.
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG | Malay, Indonesian, English with English, Chinese & Malay subtitles
Cast: Adipa Dolken, Mimi Lana, Wan Hanafi Su
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
PARIS, TEXAS
Directed By Wim Wenders | 148 Minutes
“Welcome to Paris, Texas. 40 years later. For many of you, it will be a reunion with Travis and Jane, and little Hunter. Others of you will see for the first time this archetypal American family and will, for the first time, go onto this journey deep into the American West, into the soul of America. The fact that this film became what it is, is also strictly because it had all these incredible collaborators. I wrote the script with one of the great masters of American theatre in the 20th century, Sam Shepard. He wrote the most amazing plays that are still played by young actors all over the world, as their first approach to the American language. He's a great writer of dialogue. He's a great connoisseur of the American West. The film was shot by Robby Müller, who really influenced a whole generation of cameramen after him. There is the music of Ry Cooder. Harry Dean Stanton was great in his first leading role. Nastassja Kinski was marvelous. I had the greatest help. I had the greatest assistant also any director could have had, Claire Denis. So... All of us were free as birds, and we made this film under the radar with nobody watching us. It won the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 1984, and now, 40 years later, many of you will see it again - hopefully - and many will see it for the first time. I wish you a great screening.” – From director Wim Wenders’ introduction to the 40th Anniversary restoration of PARIS, TEXAS
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
PG | English with no subtitles
Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
THE OLD MAN AND HIS CAR 老破车
Directed by Michael Kam | 82 Minutes
A recently widowed old man finds himself confronted with the bittersweet task of parting with his cherished old car as he prepares to migrate to another country. He reluctantly embarks on a journey that forces him to confront his past, his profound sense of loss, and his enduring love.
“Beyond being a narrative about letting go, the film delves into the themes of ageing and caregiving ….. I strive to infuse moments of levity throughout the narrative, and hopefully deliver a cinematic experience that resonates with audiences on multiple emotional levels.” – Director Michael Kam
All tickets are subjected to availability and are for free seating.
We recommend arriving early to secure preferred seats.
NC16 (Some Coarse Language) | English, Chinese, Hokkien & Malay with English subtitles
Cast: Lim Kay Tong, Richard Low,
Steven Woon, Sunny Pang
Age limits apply for films rated
NC16, M18, or R21
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Strong appetite for film festivals and indie films in Singapore despite cinema closures
New film venue SFS Somerset to launch on Jan 1 at Cineleisure with The Old Man And His Car
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