First-Ever ciNE65 Festival to Open with Free Film Screenings Celebrating Our Singapore Stories

Director (Community Engagement), Nexus, SLTC Psalm Lew and General Manager, mm2 Entertainment, Mr Gary Goh at the ciNE65 media preview at The Cathay.

The inaugural ciNE65 Festival 2019 will celebrate short films produced by local film-makers that deepen our sense of belonging to Singapore. Open to the public at various venues from 5 to 9 June 2019, the festival showcases award-winning local short films, as well as commissioned films from current or earlier ciNE65 seasons. In line with Singapore's Bicentennial in 2019, Nexus and Objectifs curated the films along the theme of "Singapura". Local film director Ervin Han's first animated short film in his Singapore Bicentennial Trilogy, "1299", will also premiere at the screening on 5 June at The Cathay. Other short films by well-known local directors that will be screened during the festival include "Parting" by Boo Junfeng, "Bunga Sayang" by Royston Tan, "Homesick" by Anthony Chen and "The Flame" by K. Rajagopal.

The festival will also screen films nominated for the Audience Choice Awards – Favourite Film Category. Nominated film-makers will be at the screenings to share their thoughts and tell us how they interpreted the theme "Singapura". The public can vote for their favourite film, actor and actress on the ciNE65 website (www.cine65.sg). Voting has begun and will close on 11 June 2019. 

Senior Lieutenant-Colonel (SLTC) Psalm Lew, Director of Community Engagement, Nexus, said, "ciNE65 is a national showcase for young film-makers to share films that deepen our connection to Singapore. Today, we have more than 500 short films on the ciNE65 YouTube channel which tell inspiring Singaporean stories. ciNE65 short films are now part of the records in the National Archives of Singapore, alongside other works that contribute to our rich cultural heritage and national identity. We hope that Singaporeans will be inspired by the ciNE65 films that tell the story of our Singapore." 

The ciNE65 Festival 2019 will be followed by the ciNE65 Awards Ceremony on 13 June 2019, where the winners of the ciNE65 Movie Makers Award, Jury's Choice Awards, and Audience Choice Awards will be announced.

ciNE65 Audience Choice Awards Best Film Nominees, "Battle-Field" (From Left to Right): Muhammad Danishkhilfi Bin Ahmad, Muhammad Hadi Syafiq Bin Ahmad Safarudin, Isaac Magnus @ Imran Magnus.

ciNE65 Audience Choice Awards Best Film Nominees, "Heng's Popiah" (From Left to Right): Wayne Chia, Sabrina Poon, Jeff Yong.

More Resources

Fact Sheet: ciNE65 Festival 2019