In a night lit by cinematic audacity, the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) unveiled the winners of its 2025 Silver Screen Awards — reaffirming Southeast Asia as one of the world’s most electric filmmaking regions. First launched in 1991 as the pioneering international competition dedicated to Asian cinema, the Silver Screen Awards have long been a proving ground for directors unafraid to push artistic and cultural boundaries.
Held on 7 December 2025 under the Singapore Media Festival, hosted by IMDA, this year’s ceremony celebrated fourteen standout works across five categories, with the spotlight trained on the Asian Feature Film Competition and the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition.
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But beyond trophies and standing ovations, this edition’s laureates share something deeper: a fierce instinct to interrogate the fractures within their worlds — emotional, political, historical, even supernatural — and to trace the fragile humanity that remains.
Their films wander from rural China to Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Mountain Range, from Thailand’s ghostly industrial corridors to the heartbeat of an ‘80s disco. Some directors arrive with debut features; others return decorated from Busan, Berlin, Locarno and Venice. Together, they form a chorus that is unmistakably Asian, resolutely contemporary, and defiantly imaginative.
Major Winners: Asia’s New Wave and Returning Masters
Chen Deming’s Always took home Best Asian Feature Film, cementing its status as a breakout title following wins at CPH:DOX and El Gouna. The U.S.–France–China–Taiwan co-production’s international trajectory reflects the increasingly borderless energy of Asian cinema today.
Sri Lankan filmmaker Lalith Rathnayake’s Riverstone was another major force, with Rathnayake earning Best Director and lead actor Mahendra Perera winning Best Performance. The film extends its winning streak after a strong showing at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
Thai cinema also made a mark: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s Human Resource received the FIPRESCI Award, building on its acclaim from Venice. Fellow Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s Cannes-winning A Useful Ghost — a Thailand–Singapore–France co-production — earned a special mention.
Honouring Icons
The festival paid tribute to industry legends, presenting the Cinema Honorary Award to Deepa Mehta and the Screen Icon Award to Youn Yuh-jung, whose influence continues to ripple across global cinema.
Southeast Asian Short Film Competition
In the shorts category, Singapore filmmaker Nelson Yeo’s Through Your Eyes clinched Best Southeast Asian Short Film, while Giselle Lin’s Children’s Day won Best Singapore Short Film.
Other highlights from the regional shorts lineup include:
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Best Director: Ananth Subramaniam for Bleat! (Malaysia–Philippines–France)
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Best Performance: Tysha Khan for Fruit
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Best Cinematography: Batara Goempar for Sammi, Who Can Detach His Body Parts
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Special Mention: True Love by Vietnamese filmmaker Huỳnh Công Nhớ
Rounding out the night, the Audience Choice Award went to Coda — proof that festival audiences are as emotionally attuned as the juries themselves.
As the curtains fell on SGIFF 2025, one thing was clear: the region’s filmmakers aren’t just chronicling Asia’s stories — they’re reshaping global cinema in the process.
