Big-name jury picked for Singapore film fest

An established film director with a strong presence in both Indian and Western Cinema, Kapur has previously served on the jury of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, the London Film Festival and the Tokyo International Film Festival. He first gained global recognition with his film “Bandit Queen” (1994), which won rave reviews after premiering at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
He then introduced Australian actress Cate Blanchett to the world in his two historical biopics of Queen Elizabeth – “Elizabeth” (1998), which won six BAFTA Awards and seven nominations at the Academy Awards, and “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (2007) that earned two Academy Award nominations, and walked away with one win. A man of many talents, Kapur went beyond films and collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber to co-create the West End musical “Bombay Dreams”.
 Joining Kapur on the jury are Hong Kong filmmaker Clara Law (“Autumn Moon”, 1992 and “The Goddess of 1967”, 2000), Iranian-American screenwriter and director Ana Lily Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”, 2014) and Head of Programming at the Locarno Film Festival Mark Peranson.
For the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition, the programming director of the Asian Future section at the Tokyo International Film Festival Kenji Ishizaka will head the jury panel, which also includes Singapore filmmaker K. Rajagopal (“A Yellow Bird”, 2016) and Indonesian actress Marsha Timothy (“Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts”, 2017). 
“Our jury members are prominent and dynamic industry leaders in their own right. With their expertise and craftsmanship, we look forward to identifying talent and recognising Asian features and Southeast Asian short films that stand out with their bold artistry and strong storytelling,” said SGIFF executive director Yuni Hadi said
Besides their jury duties for the Silver Screen Awards which will be held on December 2 at the Marina Bay Sands, Kapur and Law will also hold masterclasses to interact and share their experiences with audiences. A series of short films by Ana Lily Amirpour including “Six and A Half”, her first and only film shot on film on Super 16mm, will also be screened as part of the Cinema Today section of the festival.
The festival has brought a new Focus series as part of this year’s line-up – “Histories of Tomorrow: Indonesian Cinema After the New Order”. Through film screenings and a panel discussion during the festival, the series will showcase filmmaking in Indonesia as an embodiment of its independent and community spirit. 
The selected films share the common theme as agents of change that engage with social reality through cinema, which rose in prominence after the New Order. To encourage dialogues and foster a stronger audience-creator relationship, Indonesian film practitioners including the co-curator of the focus programme, Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu – who is also editor-in-chief of Cinema Poetica and a member of Indonesian Film Board – will be in town to engage with festival goers through a panel discussion.
“The Indonesian film industry today is rich with provincial colour and this is without doubt a result of the resurgence of Indonesian cinema post-New Order. As a fierce champion of the film talent and cinema of the region, the festival aims to shed light on this vibrant scene and inspire more with the unique flavour of Southeast Asian storytelling,” said Thai director Pimpaka Towira, the festival’s programme director.
The 28th SGIFF, which runs from November 23 to December 3, will take place across various venues, including Marina Bay Sands, Shaw Theatres Lido, National Museum of Singapore, National Gallery Singapore, The Arts House, Filmgarde Bugis+, Objectifs and SCAPE.