Global Recognition: 'Ah Girl' Takes Top Film Honor at Singapore's Silver Screen Awards

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) celebrated cinematic excellence at its Silver Screen Awards on Saturday, announcing winners across various competitive categories and recognizing industry icons. The awards ceremony, held on the penultimate day of the 37th SGIFF at the Singtel Waterfront Theatre, honored a diverse range of talent from Asia and beyond.

In the highly anticipated Asian Feature Film Competition, Singaporean filmmaker Ang Geck Geck Priscilla's debut feature “Ah Girl” took home the prestigious Best Film award. The movie, which tells the story of a seven-year-old girl in 1990s Singapore whose parents have separated, had previously won the Youth Jury Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and was workshopped at the SGIFF’s Southeast Asian Film Lab in 2015. Ang is also an alumna of the Busan Asian Film Academy, and her 2012 short “Broken Crayon” received the Singapore Short Film Awards’ best short film prize.

Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat was awarded Best Director for “No Good Men.” This Berlinale opener is set in Kabul just before the Taliban's return to power, focusing on a camerawoman whose work, family, and freedom are suddenly jeopardized. Sadat, who has resided in Germany since 2021, is also known for her Cannes premieres “Wolf and Sheep” (2016) and “The Orphanage” (2019).

The Best Performance prize in the Asian Feature Film Competition was split between two deserving actresses. Pushpa Thing Lama was recognized for her role in “Elephants in the Fog,” portraying a member of Nepal’s third-gender Kinnar community searching for her missing daughter. Putri Marino shared the award for her performance in “Four Seasons in Java,” a magical realist drama about a woman returning to her hometown after two decades in prison. Japanese director Nagahisa Makoto’s second feature, “Burn,” which premiered at Sundance, earned the Special Jury Prize. Nagahisa has a history of accolades from Sundance, having won awards for his short “And So We Put Goldfish in the Pool” (2017) and feature “We Are Little Zombies” (2019).

The Southeast Asian Short Film Competition also saw significant recognition. “Golden Island,” by Yogyakarta-based artist-filmmaker Arief Budiman, was named Best Southeast Asian Short Film. This film, which competed at Rotterdam, chronicles the journey of a videographer from Java and another from Papua collaborating on a film about Papua. Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke received Best Director for his Locarno premiere “The Bovine Comedy,” a film set in a 2036 where cows are nearing extinction. His feature debut “A Useful Ghost” (2025) previously won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at Cannes and received a special mention at SGIFF. The shorts’ Special Jury Prize went to German-Indonesian filmmaker Berthold Wahjudi for “‘Vaterland’ or A Bule Named Yanto,” which premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week. Sarah Lingam earned Best Performance in this category for her role in “Flame of the Forest,” playing a young nurse blamed for her grandmother’s death upon returning home. Singaporean experimental animator Exyl’s “Singapore God” was recognized as Best Singapore Short Film.

The Audience Choice Award was presented to Singapore Panorama Programme 2, titled “Second Life, Second Skin,” a collection of five shorts: Shara Tay’s “Kiss Me Climax,” Ash Goh Hua’s “Subterranea,” Syahmi Iman’s “Reanimator,” Leon Cheo’s “Orang Minyak,” and Ewan Leong’s “Encik.”

Prizes were also distributed at the SGIFF Pro Pitching Forum, held on October 30. The SGIFF Pro Pitching Forum Award went to “Agape” by Yamaguchi Shin and Miyahara Takuya. Lệ Diễm Hà’s “Dear Son An” secured the SGIFF Pro Pitching Forum Award (Asian Producers Network). The SGIFF Abroad Award supported by Sony was given to “Beg, Borrow, Steal” by Tong Khoon Mun and Zhou Ke Xin, while Sam Chua Weishi and Rein Maychaelson’s “Primal” received the SGIFF Abroad Award.

Special Recognition Awards were also a highlight of the festival. Indian star Aamir Khan was honored with the SGIFF Screen Icon Award by Peter Chan during an In Conversation With session on October 22. Renowned filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu, who released two features this year, “Sheep in the Box” and “Look Back,” was presented with the SGIFF Cinema Honorary Award by Boo Junfeng on October 24. The Silver Screen Awards, launched in 1991, hold historical significance as the first international film competition to include a dedicated section for Asian cinema.