The most promising film-makers from across the region were celebrated at the Silver Screen Awards at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre last night.
The top accolade of Best Film in the Asian Feature Film Competition segment went to Iranian film Disappearance (Napadid Shodan) by Ali Asgari, a drama which follows the trials of a young couple over the course of a night.
Actress Sadaf Asgari, who plays one of the protagonists, won the Best Performance award.
Both awards were received by the film's screenwriter Farnoosh Samadi, who said the wins were "important for Iranian film-makers".
The film will be re-screened at the National Museum of Singapore today.
As for Singaporean winners, film-maker Tan Wei Keong, took home the Best Singapore Short Film award for Between Us Two, an animated film centred on a gay son's conversation with his dead mother; while Nanyang Technological University student Joshua Ng Jun Hao picked up the Youth Critic Award, which is given to budding film critics.
Tan was not present to collect the prize, but said in a pre-recorded video: "I (can't) express my gratitude enough to say how honoured and happy I am, to receive this award from the festival I love and respect so much.
"Animation is an understated medium in South-east Asian films, so I am truly excited to receive support and recognition at SGIFF (Singapore International Film Festival), to be showcased among other incredible films."
But his work fell short of clinching the Best South-east Asian Short Film prize which went to Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee Of The Month, a dark comedy about a petrol station attendant's last day on the job by Filipino film-maker Carlo Francisco Manatad.
Other South-east Asian short-film award winners were Thai film-maker Sorayos Prapapan, who won Best Director and Youth Jury Prize for comedy Death Of The Sound Man (Awasarn Sound Man), and Indonesian film-maker Makbul Mubarak's The Malediction, a drama which won Special Mention.
And in the Asian Feature Film Competition segment, Thai film-maker Anucha Boonyawatana won the Best Director award for Malila: The Farewell Flower, centred on a terminally ill man.
The awards are part of the 28th SGIFF, which kicked off on Nov 23 and ends today.
Correction note: This story was edited for clarity.
