Mongrel was named best film at the 35th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), with Viet And Nam taking the best director prize for Truong Minh Quy.
The former marks the feature debut directed by Singapore’s Chiang Wei Liang and Taiwan’s Yin You Qiao and stars Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad. It explores the struggles faced by migrant workers in Taiwan as they are caught between the need to earn overdue wages and to retain their integrity and humanity.
Mongrel has previously won major awards including the Camera d’Or special distinction award at Cannes and best new director at the Golden Horse Awards.
“From the opening shot of Mongrel to its very last, the frame composes a dense, shadowy and violent world, sculpting elements of stillness and movement, light and darkness, sound and silence, into a viscerally pulsing film body,” said the jury.
Further winners include Liu Yaonan’s The Great Phuket, which picked up a special mention and best performance for Li Rongkun, and Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April for best screenplay.
The Asian Feature Film Competition jury was led by Syrian filmmaker Ossama Mohammed. He said: “Individually and collectively, through more narrative-driven or visually audacious language, these nine works form a harmonious proposal - one that elevates the shared values of humanity and human rights in the face of the many injustices confronting our world today.”
This year’s Silver Screen Awards comprised nine features and 20 shorts in the Asian Feature Film Competition and the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition respectively. Some 14 awards and three special mentions were presented on the final night of SGIFF on December 8.
A new award introduced this year is the ARRI Award for best cinematography in the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition. DoP Vũ Hoàng Triều took this award for short film Elephants By The Roadside, which also earned best director for Đàm Quang Trung.
Lou Ye’s An Unfinished Film, a Singapore-Germany production played in the festival’s Horizon section, took the audience choice award. The prize is newly revised this year, open only to films produced or co-produced by Singapore. Lou was on hand at the awards ceremony as he was also a jury for the Asian Feature Film Competition.
SGIFF, which ran from November 28 - December 8, recorded the highest ever box office numbers this year, a 13% growth in revenue and a 10% increase in ticket sales from 2023.
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