The 37th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is being held earlier this year, from 21 October to 1 November. Winners of its Silver Screen Awards were announced on the evening of 31 October, with Ang Geck Geck’s Ah Girl (《泡泡糖女孩》) taking the Best Asian Feature Film award.
This year, 10 feature films and 24 short films were shortlisted for the Silver Screen Awards’ Asian Feature Film and Southeast Asian Short Film competitions respectively.
Through a child’s eyes, Ah Girl offers a poignant exploration of the trauma of a broken family, women’s struggles with identity and parent-child relationships. Nine-year-old first-time child actress Wang Xuanjing, who was seven during filming, plays the protagonist Ah Girl. Fellow child actress Wang Xueqi, seven, who was five during filming, plays her younger sister Ah Tian. The film has already won several regional and international awards and received three nominations at the 63rd Golden Horse Awards: Best New Director, Best New Performer and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Director Ang Geck Geck: “I hope everyone will be kind to themselves”
In a text interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Ang expressed her gratitude to SGIFF for the recognition and honour accorded to Ah Girl, and thanked the cast and crew for their hard work and dedication.
She said: “It feels so good to bring Ah Girl home. This project once took part in SGIFF’s film development workshop, and to return to this stage with the film now brings it full circle… To Xuanjing and Wang Xueqi, thank you for bringing so much life, sincerity and heart to this story. I hope you know how proud I am of you both.”
Ang added that she made Ah Girl primarily for those who had to grow up too soon, hoping to help them connect with their inner child and find some healing. “I hope that, as you watch this film, you will take a moment to be kind to the child you once were, and to who you are now.”
Lianhe Zaobao is the official publicity media partner for Ah Girl.
Nepali transgender actress wins acting award
This year’s Asian Feature Film competition had two winners for Best Performance.
Transgender actress Pushpa Thing Lama won the Best Performance award for her accomplished performance in Elephants in the Fog (《迷雾中的大象》), a co-production involving Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil and Norway.
She shared the award with Indonesian actress Putri Marino, who stars in Four Seasons in Java (《爪哇四季》), a new co-production involving Singapore, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, France, Poland and Thailand. Singapore director Anthony Chen is a producer of the film.
Burn (《炎上》), directed by maverick Japanese filmmaker Makoto Nagahisa and starring Nana Mori among others, received a Special Mention in the feature film competition. Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat won Best Director for her black comedy No Good Men (《男人没有好东西》).
Experimental animation wins Best Singapore Short Film
Golden Island (《黄金岛》), by Indonesian director and cinematographer Arief Budiman, won Best Southeast Asian Short Film. Singapore experimental animation director Exyl’s 10-minute Singapore God (《新加坡之神》) took the Best Singapore Short Film award.
Sarah Lingam won Best Performance in the short film competition for her role in the Malaysian film Flame of the Forest.
Bollywood star Aamir Khan, 61, received this year’s Outstanding Actor Award, while Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda, 64, received the Honorary Award. The Singapore short film programme “Singapore Panorama Programme 2: Second Life, Second Skin” won the Audience Choice Award.
