3 made-with-Singapore films selected for 2025 Cannes Film Festival

The Singapore film industry is getting more recognition globally, with three made-with-Singapore films being spotlit at the 78th Cannes Film Festival this year.

In an announcement today (May 9), the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced the Singapore co-produced film Renoir clinched a spot in the main competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or award, marking the country's strongest showing at the film festival since Eric Khoo's My Magic in 2008.

This year, a record 2,909 submissions were sent in worldwide with only 21 films selected.

Renoir, co-produced by Singapore-based Akanga Film Asia, tells the story of a Japanese girl coping with her terminally ill father and stressed-out working mother, while encountering various adults dealing with their own struggles.

The second made-with-Singapore film to have a place at Cannes is the drama and fantasy A Useful Ghost, which will be screened in the Critics' Week section.

Co-produced by Singapore-based Momo Film Co, the film follows the story of a wife who dies from dust pollution and unexpectedly returns in the form of a vacuum cleaner unravelling an unconventional human-ghost love story.

The third project to be featured at the festival is the drama and romance short film Before the Sea Forgets, which has been selected for the Directors' Fortnight showcase.

The Singapore production by 13 Little Pictures and WBSB Films is set in Vietnam and about a young man who is haunted by doubts about his lover's faithfulness. He encounters a ghost while searching for a soldier's grave, forcing him to face uncomfortable truths about his relationship.

Renoir and A Useful Ghost were awarded IMDA's Go-Global Grant and Southeast Asia (SEA) Co-Production Grant respectively, under the Media Talent Progression Programme.

The grants enable Singaporean talent in the media industry to work with international filmmakers and productions.

In total, there were 30 Singaporean talents working in the production, sound, editing, art department and casting teams in both films.

At last year's festival, Chiang Wei Liang's Mongrel received the Camera d'Or Special Mention.

Renoir will be released in Japan on June 20 with a Singapore release date to soon be announced. A Useful Ghost will also have its Singapore release date announced at a later date.

kristy.chua@asiaone.com

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