Homegrown film-maker Ken Kwek's new work Unlucky Plaza will open the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) on December 4.

The feature film is about a Filipino diner owner who, in hopes of solving his financial woes, takes a drastic step so extreme that it sparks a global media frenzy. It stars Filipino actor Epy Quizon in the lead, and is supported by a bevy of local actors such as Adrian Pang, Judee Tan, Shane Mardjuki, Janice Koh, Guo Liang and Kwek's actress wife Pamela Oei. The movie title is said to be a play on Singapore shopping centre Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road, which is known for its businesses that cater to Filipino residents.

Unlucky Plaza made its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in September in the Discovery section. Kwek previously helmed the short-film anthology Sex.Violence.FamilyValues.

Also at the upcoming SGIFF, which will screen over 100 feature and short films, Egyptian director Ahmad Abdalla El Sayed Abdelkader (Microphone, 2010), 35, has been named the event's Filmmaker In Focus. His newest film Decor, a black-and-white psychological drama about a woman struggling to know what she wants, will have its Asian premiere at the festival.

For more information, go to sgiff.com.