Film festival · Fri 30 Oct 2026
SGIFF at 37: The Singapore International Film Festival, in its Final Days
The 37th Singapore International Film Festival runs from 21 October to 1 November 2026, a month earlier than its traditional slot, with more than 100 films across nine sections and venues all over the city. With three days left, this is how the sections work, where it screens, and how to pick a strand.
First, the date, because it caught regulars out this year. The Singapore International Film Festival was traditionally held between late November and early December, and the festival's own announcement moved the 37th edition forward: it opened on 21 October 2026 and closes on Sunday 1 November. Founded in 1987, SGIFF is Singapore's largest and longest running film event, and this edition screens more than 100 films from over 50 countries. If you are reading this on publication day, you have three days left, and the closing weekend is the densest part of the programme.
How the sections work
The programme is organised by strand, and the strand is the fastest way to choose. The Asian Feature Film Competition shows 10 films by emerging and established Asian directors. The Southeast Asian Short Film Competition gathers 24 films in five programmes, and Singapore Panorama, the local strand, presents 16 Singapore short films in three programmes. Beyond the competitions, Horizon surveys contemporary world cinema with 17 films from this year's festival circuit, Foreground gives you genre cinema in 10 films, and Landmark shows seven restored classics. Standpoint pairs personal stories with political questions in seven films, Undercurrent is the experimental end of the festival, with 11 moving image works and live performances, and Junior Explorers introduces young audiences with three films. Pick by appetite, not by title recognition: competition if you want discovery, Landmark if you want a sure thing, Undercurrent if you want the screening nobody else at dinner will have seen.
Where it screens
There is no single festival cinema. Screenings are spread across Golden Village cinemas at Bugis+, Cineleisure and VivoCity, Filmhouse, Oldham Theatre, Capitol Theatre, the Gallery Theatre at the National Museum of Singapore, the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands and the Esplanade Annexe Studio, with the Festival Lounge at LASALLE College of the Arts. The opening film, Hur Jin-ho's Korean thriller The Assassin(s), played the Sands Theatre on 21 October. The closing film, Vintage Violence, directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko, closes the festival at Capitol Theatre on Sunday 1 November at 5pm, with a question and answer session listed for that screening, and it is billed as the festival's first dedicated closing night since 2014. Check the venue on your own ticket before you set out: two screenings on the same evening can be a cross town trip apart.
Tickets and the small print that matters
Tickets are sold only through sgiff.com, and you need an account on the site to buy. A general film ticket costs S$15, Special Presentations cost S$20, the opening and closing films cost S$25, and the In Conversation With forums cost S$10, with concessions listed on the festival's ticketing page. Regular screenings are free seating, first come, first served, so arrive early for popular sessions; the opening, closing and Special Presentations have reserved seating. Online sales run until five minutes before a screening, and each venue runs a Rush Queue for limited last minute tickets, which is the realistic route into a sold out session. Latecomers are not guaranteed entry, and every film carries an age advisory, so check the rating before booking for younger viewers.
How to spend the last three days
Build one day around one strand rather than chasing single titles across the island. A competition double bill gives you the festival's purpose in an afternoon. A Singapore Panorama programme is the shortest route to what local filmmakers are making now. And if you attend only one screening, make it the closing film at Capitol Theatre on Sunday: a festival closing night, in a restored theatre, is the edition's set piece. The full calendar either side of the festival is on the events calendar.
More reading on the articles page, or go straight to the events calendar.