S'pore indie film 'The Old Man & His Car' to be screened in Tokyo & Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan

An upcoming Singapore indie film, The Old Man and His Car, is making its mark on the global stage.

Set to make its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival on Nov. 2 and 4, the film will also be screened at the 2025 Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei from Nov. 17 to 19.

Subsequently, it will return home for screening at the Singapore International Film Festival 2025, happening from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7 as part of the Singapore Media Festival (SMF), hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

The first feature film written and directed by Singaporean filmmaker Michael Kam, it centres around a recently widowed elderly man (played by Lim Kay Tong) who has to sell his cherished car to start a new life with his son in Canada.

But his plans fall through unexpectedly, and he meets an old transgender buyer (played by Kristin Tiara) who sets him on a different journey to confront his past and future.

A personal story

In the press release, Kam described the film as a personal story for him.

"I saw my father, a man who has always loved cars, reach a point where he had to eventually give up driving for good," he said.

"A car represents independence, freedom, identity and status. Reflecting on the loss of that served as a catalyst for my film."

"To me, the process of letting go can be messy and painful, but sometimes also necessary. I wanted to explore themes of family, loss and the things we leave behind."

One of the film's producers, Tang Kang Sheng, told Mothership that Kam approached him with the idea about three years ago.

"Michael proposed making it independently for S$60,000," Tang shared. "I hesitated at first, as it’s challenging to tell such stories within today’s film climate and on such a conservative budget."

He was ultimately drawn to the film because he, similar to Kam, connected to the story personally, having witnessed loved ones navigate their later years with great challenges.

"The story resonated deeply with me after some experiences in my personal life, witnessing loved ones navigating their later years with great challenges," he said.

As ageing and caregiving have become increasingly prominent topics in Singapore society, he hopes that the story speaks to Singaporeans and encourages them to take a pause in their own lives.

Getting selected for the film festival

The film also resonated with the organisers of the 2025 Golden Horse Film Festival.

In Sep. 2025, the team behind the film received an email from the organisers, telling them that they have selected the film for the festival because of how they connected with it.

Tang was shocked when he heard the news.

"It felt surreal," said Tang, who attended the Golden Horse Film Festival nearly 10 years ago as a film lover with his wife, Yeo Zhi Qi, who is also a producer on "The Old Man and His Car".

"It feels like a full circle that we now have a project that will be screening there as well."

The film has also been nominated for the NETPAC Award, an annual prize given by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) at various international film festivals to recognise feature films from the Asia Pacific region.

Top images from Waking Life Pictures