As part of the Singapore Film Commission’s (SFC) 25th anniversary celebrations, 25 acclaimed Singapore films and shorts will be screened at the Esplanade in August 2023.

The screenings will be free and open-to-all, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Featured films include Jack Neo’s “I Not Stupid”, Kirsten Tan’s “Pop Aye”, and Anthony Chen’s “Ilo Ilo”.

Members of the public who attend the celebration's kickoff on Aug. 4 will be treated to kacang puteh and have the opportunity to interact with cast members of Royston Tan’s hit film, "881".

Award-winning actors, Yeo Yann Yann and Qi Yuwu, as well as “getai” veteran, Liu Ling Ling will share with fans their experience working on Singapore’s first musical feature film and how the success of the film propelled their careers.

Feature Films:

881 (2007)

• Director: Royston Tan
• Screening: Aug. 4, 8pm, DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre at Esplanade.
• Catch Royston Tan’s 2007 hit musical film based on Singapore’s iconic getai scene.

Banting (2014)

• Director: Raihan Halim
• Screening: Aug. 5, 8:15pm, Esplanade Concourse
• In M. Raihan Halim’s comedy-drama, a young woman from a strict Muslim household secretly takes up professional wrestling. When her secret threatens to be revealed, she clotheslines, piledrives and slams her way through to keep her dream going.

Sandcastle (2010)

• Director: Boo Junfeng
• Screening: Aug. 9, 10:30am, Esplanade Recital Studio
• 18-year-old En lost his father to cancer years ago. While awaiting his army enlistment, he discovers more to his father’s student activist past than his mother lets on. En has to decide where his loyalty lies and stand up for what he believes in.

Pop Aye (2017)

• Director: Kirsten Tan
• Screening: Aug. 9, 1:30pm, Esplanade Recital Studio
• A disenchanted architect bumps into his long-lost elephant on the streets of Bangkok, taking it on a redemptive journey across Thailand, in search of the farm where they grew up together.

12 Storeys (1997)

• Director: Eric Khoo
• Screening: Aug. 9, 4pm, Esplanade Recital Studio
• Told through the perspective of three households, Eric Khoo’s 1997 film depicts a day in an HDB block, with all the action occurring within a 24-hour period.

Ilo Ilo (2013)

• Director: Anthony Chen
• Screening: Aug. 12, 8:15pm, Esplanade Concourse
• Anthony Chen's 2013 feature debut explores the tension between the Lim family and their new Filipino helper, Teresa.

23:59 (2011)

• Director: Gilbert Chan
• Screening: Aug. 19, 7pm, Esplanade Concourse
• A psychological thriller set in 1983 on a secluded island used for military training. Rumours spread about a mad woman's death at 23:59, with her vengeful spirit believed to be haunting the island.

Bring Back the Dead (2015)

• Director: Lee Thean-jeen
• Screening: Aug. 19, 8:30pm, Esplanade Concourse
• When her young son dies in a tragic accident, a grieving mother seeks help to bring back his soul so he can return ‘by her side’. Sensing something amiss, she begins unravelling the truth that could cost her her life and the lives of those around her.

The Maid (2005)

• Director: Kelvin Tong
• Screening: Aug. 19, 10:15pm, Esplanade Concourse
• 18-year-old Rosa arrives in Singapore during the Seventh Month to work as a domestic helper. As she starts having nightmares and glimpses of strange apparitions, Rosa soon suspects that things are not as simple as they seem.

I Not Stupid (2002)

• Director: Jack Neo
• Screening: Aug. 26, 2023, 8:15pm, Esplanade Concourse
• A satirical comedy portraying the struggles of three young children and their families in pursuit of academic excellence in a highly competitive society.

Short Films

15 short films will also be aired back-to-back on Aug. 5, 19 and 26, starting from 6:30pm at the Esplanade Concourse.

Letter from the Motherland (2017)

• Director: He Shuming
• Screening: Aug. 5
• Featuring actual correspondence between the filmmaker's father and the caretaker of his ancestral home on Hainan Island over the past 30 years, take a glimpse into the life of a 65-year-old Hainan-born Singaporean retiree living in the bustling cityscape of Singapore, and the caretaker living in the tropical village of Qionghai, Hainan.

My Father After Dinner (2015)

• Director: Gladys Ng
• Screening: Aug. 5
• A portrait of an ageing father, delicately captured through the eyes of his daughter. A film that observes the nuances of Asian familial love.

Ah Ma (2017)

• Director: Anthony Chen
• Screening: Aug. 5
• An elderly woman’s family gathers by her hospital deathbed to send her off. Overwhelmed by sadness, they struggle to come to terms with the impending end.

The Flame (2015)

• Director: K. Rajagopal
• Screening: Aug. 5
• Set in 1965, an Indian family is faced with a life-changing offer of British citizenship as a reward for their years of service to the British Royal Air Force. The father is determined to follow his masters back to England, while his son yearns to build a life in Singapore with his pregnant wife.

Moving House (2001)

• Director: Tan Pin Pin
• Screening: Aug. 5
• In Singapore, the densest country in the world, an extended family is forced to exhume the remains of their parents and transplant them to a columbarium.

Piece of Meat (2019)

• Directors: Jerrold Chong, Huang Junxiang
• Screening: Aug. 12
• Enslaved in a surreal world of living objects, a lamb cutlet does whatever it takes to make ends meet.

The Tiger of 142B (2015)

• Directors: Henry and Harry Zhuang
• Screening: Aug. 12
• As a young unemployed man faces difficulty communicating with his girlfriend and struggles to cope with his fragile state of mind, a series of mysterious killings unsettles the residents of Block 142B.

The Violin (2015)

• Director: Ervin Han
• Screening: Aug. 12
• An old violin graces the different stages of Singapore over 80 years, its music bearing witness to a young country's transformation — from the 1930s to present day.

Poles Apart (2017)

• Producer: Low Ser En
• Screening: Aug. 12
• In a harsh Arctic landscape, a hungry polar bear has to decide if a naïve grizzly bear is her food or her friend.

The Last Stop (2021)

• Director: Bervyn Chua
• Screening: Aug. 12
• Trapped in a speeding train, a lone commuter attempts to escape before it crashes.

Kuo Bo (2016)

• Director: Ang Qing Sheng
• Screening: Aug. 12
• 60-year-old Tat Chuan undergoes cataract surgery after misreading lottery results. “Kua Bo” (看瞴) or “cannot see” is more than just an animated comedy about a common medical condition faced by seniors in Singapore — it also teases the value of “face” in Chinese culture.

Back to One (2021)

• Director: Tang Kang Sheng
• Screening: Aug. 26
• At the onset of Covid-19, Kang Wei struggles to prepare for his graduation film. Unable to balance his personal relationships with work, he barely holds on.

Adam (2019)

• Director: Shoki Lin
• Screening: Aug. 26
• Tired of his turbulent family life and caught between identities, Adam seeks out alternative arrangements in hopes of finding his place.

Permanent Resident (2017)

• Director: Nicole Midori Woodford
• Screening: Aug. 26
• A middle-aged woman resides in a small flat near Little Guilin with her son and mother. Glimpsing the man-made quarry through different windows, her obsession culminates when she finally decides to take an excursion to the heart of it.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (2022)

• Director: Alvin Lee
• Screening: Aug. 26
• After a mix-up sends the wrong body for cremation, a dark yet humorous series of events plays out between the undertaker and three siblings at their father’s wake.

SFC's 25th anniversary

The SFC is part of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and helps to develop Singapore's film industry and nurture film talent.

It has supported more than 800 short films, scripts, feature films, as well as film-related events in Singapore that showcase homegrown talent and works.

Themed “Our Stories, Well-Told”, the SFC's 25th anniversary celebrations aim to showcase distinctively Singaporean moments and issues that have shaped some of the best local films, as well as to raise the level of appreciation for home-grown content among Singaporeans.

Besides the free movie screenings, members of the public can participate in industry sharing sessions and enjoy on-demand access to Singapore-made content in collaboration with MediaCorp.

Find out more about the SFC's 25th anniversary celebrations here.

Top photos from Unsplash and IMDA.