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Sharon Au, Nathan Hartono, Benjamin Kheng and Lim Kay Tong headline 2025's film line-up

The Straits Times

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October 09, 2025

Veteran and up-and-coming Singaporean actors and filmmakers will lead local productions at the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), which runs from Nov 26 to Dec 7.

- John Lui Senior Film Correspondent

Sharon Au, Nathan Hartono, Benjamin Kheng and Lim Kay Tong headline 2025's film line-up

(Clockwise from top left) Sharon Au in Cendol; Jon Cancio, Estelle Fly, Benjamin Kheng and Nathan Hartono in Sandbox; and Lim Kay Tong in The Old Man And His Car. PHOTOS: SGIFF 2025

(SGIFF 2025)

Three of them - comedy Sandbox, documentary At Home With Work and short film Cendol - are making their world premieres.

The 2025 edition will showcase more than 10 films from over 45 countries in a slate that sees Singapore stories taking centre stage, according to a statement from the festival.

It will present more than 30 feature and short films by Singaporean filmmakers and co-productions. The festival has doubled its local short film selection compared with 2024, and will showcase 28 works, spread across the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition and Singapore Panorama sections of the programme.

Sandbox features cast members Benjamin Kheng, Nathan Hartono, Estelle Fly, Fauzi Azzhar and Oon Shu An in a comedy about a failing stunt school, in a story that shines a light on the struggles of Singaporeans chasing their dreams in creative spaces. It is directed by Singapore-based writer and filmmaker James Thoo.

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