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

CNA

09-05-2025

Three made-with-Singapore films will be presented at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 13 to 24 in France.
These are: Renoir, which will be in the main Competition and competing for the top Palme d"Or award; A Useful Ghost, which will be screened at the Critics' Week segment; and the short film Before The Sea Forgets, which is at the Directors' Fortnight.
Renoir marks the second time a film with involvement from Singapore has made it to the main competition, 17 years after Singaporean director Eric Khoo's My Magic in 2008. It will be up against 20 other films. Previous Palme d'Or winners include 2019's Parasite and 1994's Pulp Fiction.
Directed Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa and co-produced by Singapore-based Akanga Film Asia, Renoir follows the story of a Japanese girl as she copes with a terminally ill father and stressed-out working mother while encountering various adults dealing with their own struggles.
Its Japanese cinematographer, Hideho Urata, is currently a senior lecturer at Lasalle College of the Arts and has also worked on the award-winning Singapore film A Land Imagined.
The film, which also involves producers from Japan, France, the Philippines and Indonesia, is set to be released in Japan on Jun 20. A Singapore release date has yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, A Useful Ghost is directed by Thailand's Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke and co-produced by Singapore-based Momo Film Co, along with French and Thai counterparts.
It's about a wife who dies due to dust pollution and unexpectedly returns in the form of a vacuum cleaner unravelling an unconventional human-ghost love story. The Singapore release date for the film will be announced later.
Singaporeans involved in the film include sound designer Lim Ting Li and product designer, Sim Hao Jie.
Both Renoir and A Useful Ghost received support from the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), via its Go-Global Grant and Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant, respectively, under the IMDA's Media Talent Progression Programme.
A total of 30 Singapore talents were involved in both films, including production, sound, editing, art department and casting.
The short film Before the Sea Forgets by Vietnamese director Le Ngoc Duy was produced by Singapore production houses 13 Little Pictures and WBSB Films.
It follows a young man in Vietnam haunted by doubts about his lover's faithfulness. His encounter with a ghost, when he searches for a soldier's grave, forces him to face uncomfortable truths about his own relationship.
The cinematography, colour grading and post-production for the film were by Singaporean co-producer Looi Wan Ping, local colorist Eugene Seah and production house The Chop Shop Post, respectively.
Last year, Singaporean director Chiang Wei Liang's film, Mongrel, received a Camera d'Or Special Mention.
'As Singapore marks its 60th birthday this year, we celebrate nearly three decades of showcasing Made-with-SG content and local talent at Cannes Film Market,' said Yvonne Tang, assistant chief executive of IMDA.
'Cannes remains a key platform for Singapore filmmakers and producers to market their stories globally and build international partnerships. Our strong presence here demonstrates how Singapore, despite its size, consistently produces brilliant storytellers who can compete on the world stage.'