These are our ten recommended feature films from the Singapore International Film Festival which is taking place from November 28 until December 8, 2024.

After the Snowmelt by Lo Yi-shan – Taiwan, Japan | 2024 – 110 minutes | Southeast Asian Premiere

In 2017, Yi-Shan declines to join her best friend Chun and his boyfriend on a hiking trip in Nepal. Tragically, the pair find themselves trapped in a cave for 47 days, leading to Chun’s passing. Grappling with survivor’s guilt, Yi-Shan spends the next six years gathering Chun’s photographs and final letters, and retracing his steps in the snowy Himalayan mountains in search of one last connection to him. (SGIFF 2024)

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An Unfinished Film by Lou Ye – Germany, Singapore | 2024 – 107 minutes | Southeast Asia Premiere

Director Xiaorui’s discovery of old footage from a decade-old project rekindles the drive to complete his unfinished film. As he embarks on this creative ambition, his personal quest becomes entangled with China’s collective struggle during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. (SGIFF 2024)

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Brief History of a Family by Lin Jianjie – China, France, Denmark, Qatar | 2024 – 99 minutes | Singapore Premiere

Following an incident at school, outgoing Tu Wei and reclusive Yan Shuo start to hang out at Wei’s sleek home. When Wei’s parents learn of Shuo’s troubled family background, they warmly welcome the teen. His caring gestures and inquisitive, sensitive mind readily gain their favour, amid dissatisfaction with their self-centred son. As Wei resists his schoolmate’s encroachment on his place in the family, questions of blood and of desired kin demand urgent answers. (SGIFF 2024)

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Happyend by Neo Sora – Japan, USA | 2024 – 113 minutes | Singapore Premiere

In near-future Japan, a prank on the principal leads to a totalitarian regime of surveillance in a school. Previously living a carefree existence, best friends Yuta and Kou, part of a diverse group of music-loving adolescents, are now forced to confront the changes. As Kou joins activists in protesting against the oppressive environment and injustice, he begins to drift apart from Yuta. (SGIFF 2024)

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No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor – Palestine, Norway | 2024 – 96 minutes | Singapore Premiere

For years, Basel Adra, a young Palestinian activist filmmaker, has been documenting life in Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank. Joined by Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, the pair broadcast the community’s forced displacement by the Israeli military and settlers, as well as its resistance. Even as Basel and Yuval strike up a friendship, the inequalities in their circumstances are amplified: mobility and opportunities are available to one, but denied to another. (SGIFF 2024)

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Some Nights I Feel Like Walking by Petersen Vargas – Philippines, Singapore, Italy | 2024 – 103 minutes | Southeast Asian Premiere

In a corner of Manila, the nights are sleepless while desire hangs in the air. Twinky street hustler Uno wanders the streets with his found family of misfits, who look out for each other and make a quick buck when they can. When they get entangled with a doe-eyed runaway with an enigmatic background, and one of them reveals a dying wish, the night unfolds in equal parts pain and passion. (SGIFF 2024)

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The Adamant Girl by P.S. Vinothraj – India | 2024 – 100 minutes | Southeast Asian Premiere

In love with a man from a lower caste, Meena defies her family’s and societal expectations by rejecting an arranged marriage to her maternal uncle. Unable to understand her rebellion, her family believes she is possessed by an evil spirit. Their desperation leads them on a journey to exorcise the menace, ending with the ritual sacrifice of a rooster. The animal, a companion to Meena throughout the film, foreshadows her challenging future, marred by pervasive misogyny and casteism. (SGIFF 2024)

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The Unseen Sister by Midi Z – China | 2024 -112 minutes | Southeast Asian Premiere

Qiao Yan, raised in Yunnan Province, near the border of Myanmar, worked her way up to become a reputed actress. Status, fame and wealth—she seems to have it all. But beneath her glamorous exterior lies unresolved emotional entanglements and a hidden past. When she receives a blackmail text and her estranged sister makes an unexpected return, the life that Qiao Yan has carefully built over the years begins to crumble. Chaos ensues and she is forced to confront the unshakeable shadows of her past and choose what truly matters to her. (SGIFF 2024)

Time To Be Strong by Namkoong Sun – South Korea | 2024 – 102 minutes | Southeast Asian Premiere

After failing to achieve their dreams, former K-pop stars Sumin, Sarang and Taehee travel to Jeju Island, determined to make up for the school trips they missed. Instead, they arrive broke, exhausted and ambivalent about their future. Pressing on despite the circumstances, the three friends gamely throw themselves at new challenges, only to find that they have not escaped the unhealthy behavioural patterns formed over years of abuse in the idol industry. (SGIFF 2024)

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Viet and Nam by Trương Minh Quý – Philippines, Singapore, France, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Vietnam | 2024 – 129 minutes | Singapore Premiere

Nam and Việt love freely and passionately—though only in the inky depths of a coal mine. Separation looms as Nam plans to leave the country via a trafficker, but he must first help his mother locate the remains of her husband who was lost to the Vietnam War. Led by dreams and memories, they venture into fossilised pasts, exhuming personal and collective histories to process trauma and loss. Meanwhile, coal dust accumulates in bodies and blackens rivers. (SGIFF 2024)

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For more information, please visit: https://sgiff.com/