The 6th Microfilm Competition concluded today with its Awards Ceremony, recognising works that captured diverse perspectives on identity, family, belonging, and everyday life in Singapore.
Jointly organised by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA), Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) and Lianhe Zaobao, this year’s competition attracted 84 submissions from 80 participants aged between 14 and 73, bringing together Singapore stories told through Chinese-language short films.
Themed “My Singapore Voice”, the competition invited participants to draw inspiration from Singapore’s diverse sounds, local accents and melodies, capturing the city’s rhythm and pulse, as well as the everyday lives and inner thoughts of its people.
From this diverse field, Amos Poh’s Blindly Busy (《盲目，忙》) and Gan Jin’s We Don’t Understand (《不懂》) received the Gold Awards in the Open and Student categories respectively. We Don’t Understand also won Bronze in the Most Popular Microfilm category, while the film’s director, Zhao Deliang, received the Best Director Award. Chang Swee Wah’s Keep The Memories Close (《把记忆收好》) won Gold in the Most Popular Microfilm category.
Held at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, the Awards Ceremony was graced by Minister for Digital Development and Information, Mrs Josephine Teo, as Guest of Honour.
Singapore Stories Through Different Perspectives
Open Category Gold winner Blindly Busy, which also received the Best Creative Microfilm Award, follows a visually impaired man as he navigates the bustle and relentless pace of Singapore. Through small acts of kindness from strangers, the film reflects on compassion and human connection amid everyday city life.
Student Category Gold winner, We Don’t Understand follows teenager Zikai after he moves to Singapore with his family, as he struggles to find his voice in an unfamiliar environment. Through street dance, he gradually finds self-expression and a sense of belonging, while his journey also brings his family towards a deeper understanding of one another.
“We are heartened to receive entries from people from all walks of life who are willing to capture and share their stories about life in Singapore through film. We are also glad that the Microfilm Competition has succeeded in serving as a platform for budding local filmmakers to showcase their works, and hope that they will continue to pursue their passion and create more films that inspire and connect Singaporeans across backgrounds, across generations.” said Mr Ng Siew Quan, Secretary-General of SFCCA and Chairman of SCCC.
Stories of Family, Memories and Connections
The Most Popular Microfilm Gold Award went to Chang Swee Wah for Keep The Memories Close (《把记忆收好》), which follows a hearing-impaired daughter returning to Singapore after years overseas and attempting to reconnect with her estranged, hospitalised mother. After reading letters she had previously refused to open, she journeys across Singapore to record familiar sounds from their shared past, using them to reconnect with her mother and their memories.
In the Open Category, Jayden Lim Jie-En received Silver for All The Days Ahead (《往前走》), while Neo Jun Bin received Bronze for Ordinary Wealth (《平凡的财富》).
In the Student Category, Janessa Chua Wei Ting received Silver for My Voice, while Lim Yi Kai, Harold received Bronze for Clamped (《向好》).
James Fong’s Next Stop, With You (《下一站，有你》) received the Most Popular Microfilm Silver Award, while We Don’t Understand received Bronze.
The competition also recognised One Last Straw (Anti-Bully) as Singapore Online Video of the Year. The video, owned by Cho Jun Ming, was nominated by Agamadou Marecar Assaraf Millat Marecar.
Evolving Storytelling Approaches
This year’s entries also reflected how emerging technologies are becoming part of the filmmaking process, with about 30% of participants reporting using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their creative process, including for music, sound effects, and visual elements.
In We Don’t Understand, AI was used to create an original rap song for the film’s ending.
Most Popular Microfilm Gold winner Keep The Memories Close used AI selectively for a few seconds of its ending hospital sequence, where filming inside the hospital was not feasible. The hospital building was based on the filmmaker’s original photograph, with AI used to composite the mother and daughter into the hospital scenes. All other scenes, performances and locations were filmed conventionally.
The use of these emerging tools reflects the evolving approaches available to filmmakers, while the stories themselves remain grounded in personal experiences, relationships and perspectives on life in Singapore.
Keeping Singapore Stories Alive
First launched in 2014, the biennial Microfilm Competition provides a platform for Singaporeans and residents to share their stories through short-form films while encouraging fresh and creative approaches to contemporary storytelling.
Across six editions, the competition has captured the people, places, relationships, and everyday experiences that shape life in Singapore, while evolving alongside the ways in which stories are created and consumed. This year’s use of emerging tools, such as generative AI, reflects this continued evolution, opening new possibilities for creative expression while keeping Singapore stories and experiences at the heart of the works.
Through the competition, SFCCA, SCCC and Lianhe Zaobao hope to encourage more people, particularly younger Singaporeans, to engage with and preserve Singapore Chinese culture by telling stories that resonate with their lives and experiences. In doing so, we hope to keep the Chinese culture and language relevant, vibrant and closely connected to contemporary Singapore.
