PROGRAMME 8
| Date & Time | Location |
|---|---|
| Daily, 4-14 Sep 2025, 6pm | Level 5, UOB Theatrette, Supreme Court Wing (General Admission pass required)
|
| Fri, 12 Sep 2025, 12.30pm |
Level B1, The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium, City Hall Wing (Free Admission)
|
About the Films
THE LAST VISIT (VIIMANE KÜLASTUS)
By Keawalee Warutkomain
To cope with her grief at the loss of a beloved aunt, director Keawalee Warutkomain turns to animation to revive traces of her life. As part of this remembrance, the director-animator brings to life drawings of both real and imagined encounters with her aunt—in Thailand where her aunt lived and died, and in Estonia, where she was studying when her aunt passed away. The result is The Last Visit, a film that chronicles Warutkomain’s five-year journey from bereavement to acceptance, and honours the memory of her aunt.
BONE WHISPERERS
Talking to the bones of the dearly departed plays a central role in the funeral rites of the Pwo Karen people. This lively ritual is not only a sign of respect and remembrance for the dead, it also allows family members to share Buddhist merit with their departed relatives and make sure they cross safely into a heavenly abode. “Woe betide those who are not guided on their journey,” warns one singer-performer, “they will find themselves wandering henceforth forevermore.” Compellingly and discreetly filmed in well-composed camera shots, this documentary invites the viewer to take a seat amid this fascinating Karen ceremony.
Explore Other Festival Sections
Opening Film
Magellan is an intimate portrait of the 16th century Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, starring Gael García Bernal in the titular role.
Art History, Co-authored
Art History, Co-authored presents films that explore seminal moments in art and film history.
Artist Films
Presenting films made by artists, this year includes an emphasis on early documentaries by Southeast Asian practitioners and a full-length movie independently made during the Marcos regime in the Philippines. National Gallery Singapore commissioned the digital restoration of two artists’ films on 16mm, Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado’s 1978 Footages and Briccio Santos’ Damortis, which are world premiering at Painting with Light.
Exhibition Readings
Exhibition Readings presents film programmes conceived in response to the art in the Gallery’s ongoing exhibitions.
Special Focus
The Special Focus section presents films that speak to the issues of the day. This year’s programme features the work of women filmmakers and artists who advocate for ways of being that are informed by an ethics of care. Bold, innovative, and profoundly relevant, these films ask the enduring question at the heart of artistic endeavour—what does it mean to be human?
Movement Pieces
Movement Pieces celebrates the visual poetry found in moving image art. It features short films that convey meaning through non-verbal modes of communication, like gesture and musicality, in lieu of dialogue.
This year’s programme is supported by the Québec Government and curated by guest programmer Philippe U. del Drago, who has served as Executive and Artistic Director of the International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal since 2018.
Closing
We Are Toast is an expanded cinema performance by Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen that utilises multiple 16mm film projectors to create a live film.