Yuni Hadi, executive director of the Singapore Intl. Film Festival, which runs concurrently with the Singapore Media Festival, unwraps its major themes.
How do you read the state of SE Asian cinema, and how has it evolved in the past 12 months?
I see a growing confidence in Southeast Asian filmmakers and producers in wanting to tell stories that are set in our own culture and language, and we see a real appreciation and support of each other’s work in the region when the Southeast Asian community gathers together at SGIFF. There is a sense of determination and urgency, almost, to let the world know that what we see coming out of Southeast Asia is only the tip of the iceberg.
What is the SGIFF’s editorial line this year?
SGIFF is all about celebrating the magic of cinema this year. We’re putting the spotlight on Filipino independent cinema and Taiwan independent documentaries with talks and curated programs, allowing us to create that dialogue about what the future holds for the independent film communities from these countries while reflecting on the past.
What’s new at SGIFF 2018?
The SGIFF Film Fund is our investment into content from the region with our SGIFF Southeast Asian Short Film Grant and Southeast Asian Documentary Grant allowing SGIFF to fulfill our vision to support Southeast Asian film talents on a 360-level in content-making.