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?
Showing 9 of 22 Special Focus films
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
By Laura Poitras
Laura Poitras’ moving portrait of the life, practice, and activism of Nan Goldin, one of the most important and influential artists of her generation.
By Chantal Caron
Directed by celebrated Québécois choreographer Chantal Caron, this short film is a poignant meditation on our relationship with the natural environment.
Part of a double bill with No More History Without Us
NO MORE HISTORY WITHOUT US (NÃO HAVERÁ MAIS HISTÓRIA SEM NÓS)
By Priscilla Brasil
Priscilla Brasil rewrites 19th century narratives that have shaped the image of the Amazon and its people, in this powerful instance of postcolonial cinema.
Part of a double bill with Somber Tides
By Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
Queen’s Palace portrays the experiences of a group of women activists and artists from Myanmar who have sought temporary asylum at a shelter in Mae Sot, a border town in Thailand.
Part of a double bill with Timestamp
By Kateryna Gornostai
Quietly assertive, Kateryna Gornostai’s Timestamp chronicles the state of learning in school classrooms across Ukraine today, as the country defends itself in war.
Part of a double bill with Queen’s Palace
THE GLEANERS AND I (LES GLANEURS ET LA GLANEUSE)
By Agnès Varda
By turns playful, philosophical, and satirical, this is an essay film in which director Agnès Varda sets out on a journey to gather the stories of modern-day gleaners.
By Jumana Manna
Foragers chronicles the long-running disputes over the practice of foraging for edible wild plants native to Palestine/Israel.
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.
Southeast Asian Shorts
Southeast Asian Shorts presents short films on the stories of Southeast Asia. This year’s programme is co-curated by independent programmer Viknesh Kobinathan, and festival curator Pauline Soh.
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.
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.