Singapore Film Fest Closes With Highest-Ever Box Office Earnings; ‘Mongrel’ Wins Best Asian Feature Film

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The 35th edition of the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) concluded with its highest-ever box office earnings. Total ticket sales saw a 10% increase from last year’s edition, with attendance numbers also surpassing the previous edition’s record.

At the festival’s Silver Screen Awards, Mongrel, directed by Singapore’s Chiang Wei Liang and Yin You Qiao, clinched the award for Best Asian Feature Film, for its “stark portrayal of disenfranchised migrant workers in Taiwan.” The Audience Choice Award went to Lou Ye’s Covid docufiction drama An Unfinished Film.

The Southeast Asian Short Film award went to Thai director Thaweechok Phasom’s Spirits of the Black Leaves, for its “poetic exploration of how an individual’s life is connected to the roots of nature and history.” Singaporean filmmaker Calleen Koh won the Best Singapore Short Film award for animated short My Wonderful Life, which follows a burnt-out mum who discovers a new sense of freedom.

Encore screenings of these four films will be held on December 14 in Singapore. This year’s lineup featured 105 films from 45 countries, 80% of which came from Asia. “Over the last 15 years, SGIFF has been very supportive and receptive of my works, from my shorts to my first feature, so it’s a pleasure to be back with our cast and crew,” said Mongrel director Chiang Wei Liang. “This wouldn’t have been possible without so many people and agencies supporting us, from Singapore, to Taiwan, to France.