Founded in 1987, the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is the largest and longest running film event in Singapore. It has become an iconic event in the local arts calendar that is widely attended by international film critics and known for its dynamic programming and focus on ground-breaking Asian cinema for Singapore and the region.
Organized by the Singapore International Film, the SGIFF is committed to nurturing and championing local and regional talent. It provides mentorship programmes, masterclasses and dialogues to its attending filmmakers.
In 1991, the festival’s competition component called the Silver Screen Awards was introduced. It brings together emerging filmmakers from Asia and Southeast Asia while paying tribute to acclaimed cinema legends.
The festival also serves as a catalyst for igniting public interest, artistic dialogue and culture exchanges in the art of filming. Here is the list of the annual Singaporean event’s opening films and closing films:
| EDITION | YEAR | OPENING FILM DIRECTOR | CLOSING FILM DIRECTOR |
| 32nd | 2021 | “Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” Edwin | |
| 31st | 2020 | “Tiong Bahru Social Club” Tan Bee Thiam | |
| 30th | 2019 | “Wet Season” Anthony Chen | “The Truth” Hirokazu Kore-eda |
| 29th | 2018 | “Cities of Last Things” Ho Wi Ding | |
| 28th | 2017 | “Angels Wear White” Vivian Qu | |
| 27th | 2016 | “Interchange” Dain Iskandar Said | |
| 26th | 2015 | “Panay” Cheng Yu-chieh | |
| 25th | 2014 | “Unlucky Plaza” Ken Kwek | “In the Absence of the Sun” Lucky Kuswandi |
| 24th | 2011 | “Red Light Revolution” Sam Voutas | “Senna” Asif Kapadia |
| 23th | 2010 | “Mao’s Last Dancer” Bruce Beresford | “Dear Doctor” Miwa Nishikawa |
| 22nd | 2009 | “Sincerely Yours” Rich Lee | “Milk” Semih Kaplanoğlu |
| 21st | 2008 | “The Princess of Nebraska” Wayne Wang | “Road to Dawn” Derek Chiu |
| 20th | 2007 | “Sankara” Prasanna Jayakody | “Opera Jawa” Garin Nugroho |
| 19th | 2006 | “Dunia” Jocelyne Saab | “4:30” Royston Tan |
| 18th | 2005 | “Steamboy” Katsuhiro Otomo | “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence” Mamoru Oshii |
| 17th | 2004 | “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring” Kim Ki-duk | “Goodbye, Dragon Inn” Tsai Ming-liang |
| 16th | 2003 | “Chi-hwa-seon” Im Kwon-taek | “Divine Intervention” Elia Suleiman |
| 15th | 2002 | “Kandahar” Mohsen Makhmalbaf | “What Time is It There?” Tsai Ming -liang |
| 14th | 2001 | “Yi Yi” Edward Yang | “Eureka” Shinji Aoyama |
| 13th | 2000 | “Monday” Sabu | “The Wind Will Carry Us” Abbas Kiarostami |
| 12th | 1999 | “Ordinary Heroes” Ann Hui | “The Hole” Tsai Ming-liang |
| 11th | 1998 | “Hana-bi” Takeshi Kitano | “Happy Together” Wong Kar-wai |
| 10th | 1997 | “Gabbeh” Mohsen Makhmalbaf | “Breaking the Waves” Lars von Trier |
| 9th | 1996 | “The Confessional” Robert Lepage | “Memories” Koji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura, Katsuhiro Otomo |
| 8th | 1995 | “The Red Lotus Society” Stan Lai | “Amateur” Hal Hartley |
| 7th | 1994 | “The Blue Kite” Tian Zhuangzhuang | “The Scent of Green Papaya” Tran Anh Hung |
| 6th | 1993 | “The Trial” David Jones | “Strictly Ballroom” Baz Luhrmann |
| 5th | 1992 | “Raise the Red Lantern” Zhang Yimou | “A Brighter Summer Day” Edward Yang |
| 4th | 1991 | “Cyrano de Bergerac” Jean-Paul Rappeneau | “Dreams” Akira Kurosawa |
| 3rd | 1990 | “The Children” Tony Palmer | “Blue Steel” Kathryn Bigelow |
| 2nd | 1989 | “The Glass Menagerie” Paul Newsman | “Testimony” Tony Palmer |
| 1st | 1987 | “The Name of the Rose” Jean-Jacques Annaud | “The Mission” Roland Joffe |
Categories: Asia, LISTS, movies and songs, Singapore
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