SINGAPORE – National Gallery Singapore’s signature film festival, Painting with Light, returns for its sixth edition from 4 to 14 September 2025, presenting over 45 films from Singapore, Southeast Asia, and across the globe. Known for its thoughtful curation of artist films, arthouse cinema, and restored classics, the festival once again positions film as a lens through which to examine art, culture, and the pressing social issues of our time.
Launched in 2017, Painting with Light has grown into a leading platform for international films on art, offering audiences fresh ways to engage with moving images and their intersections with visual culture. Organized across eight sections, this year’s edition expands on its mission to encourage reflection and dialogue on issues that transcend borders.
Dr. Seng Yu Jin, Senior Curator and Director, Curatorial, Research & Exhibitions at National Gallery Singapore, says, “We’re thrilled to welcome audiences back for another edition of Painting with Light. This year’s festival continues the Gallery’s mission to reimagine Southeast Asian art by exploring the many ways film can spark fresh perspectives on the region and the world. Our line-up features outstanding works by regional filmmakers that draw on Southeast Asia’s art history and reflect on the social and political issues shaping our time. From thought-provoking feature films to innovative short works and free screenings throughout the Gallery, Painting with Light offers something for everyone. We invite audiences to discover the moving image as an inspiring, accessible and powerful way to reflect on our shared experiences and connect with each other.”
The festival opens with Lav Diaz’s Magellan (2025), fresh from its world premiere at Cannes. Known for his epic storytelling and explorations of history and memory, Diaz reimagines the journey of the Portuguese explorer, interrogating colonial legacies and the myths that shaped them. The festival closes with We Are Toast (2025), an interdisciplinary live cinema performance by Singaporean duo Mark Chua and Lam Li Shuen, blending experimental 16mm film with sound and performance to unpack layers of culture and identity.
Both works exemplify the festival’s dedication to bold cinematic experimentation and its commitment to amplifying Southeast Asian perspectives.
Among the festival’s highlights is the world premiere of Virgilio “Pandy” Aviado’s 1978 Footages, a restored experimental film that captures early Philippine avant garde cinema. Also restored is Damortis (1986) by Briccio Santos, a striking allegory on corruption and material wealth created during the Marcos regime.
From Indonesia, Turang (1957) by Bachtiar Siagian resurfaces as a post-independence classic once thought lost, offering a cinematic window into nationalist struggles against colonial rule.
The festival also shines a spotlight on pioneering women filmmakers. Women Are Naturally Creative – Agnès Varda (1977) by Katja Raganelli provides a rare portrait of the iconic French filmmaker, while The Long Road to the Director’s Chair (2025) revisits the groundbreaking 1973 International Women’s Film Seminar.
Beyond Southeast Asia, Painting with Light extends its focus to global works that resonate with contemporary struggles. Kateryna Gornostai’s Timestamp (2025) captures the resilience of Ukrainian children amid war, while Burmese filmmaker Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s Queen’s Palace (2024) follows women activists navigating displacement along the Thai-Myanmar border.
The Special Focus programme includes Laura Poitras’ All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022), a powerful chronicle of Nan Goldin’s art and activism, alongside works by Jumana Manna and Agnès Varda that explore sustainability, survival, and memory.
For the first time, audiences will be welcomed into a Festival Lounge at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium Foyer, offering a space to connect with fellow cinephiles over free daily screenings and light refreshments. Curated short programmes such as Movement Pieces, films told entirely through rhythm and gesture invite audiences to reflect on the language of cinema beyond words.
Meanwhile, Exhibition Readings continues to connect films with the Gallery’s exhibitions. Spanish auteur Carlos Saura’s La Caza (1966) and Peppermint Frappé (1967) are paired with Fernando Zóbel: Order is Essential, while Singapore-focused works such as Home to He(art) (2025) spotlight local art histories.
With both ticketed and free screenings including Southeast Asian Shorts, co-curated with rising programmer Viknesh Kobinathan, Painting with Light ensures accessibility while deepening appreciation for cinema as an art form.
As it transforms the Gallery into a vibrant hub of conversation and discovery, Painting with Light 2025 reaffirms the moving image as a vital medium for engaging with culture, memory, and the pressing issues of our time.
Tickets and the full program are available via the festival microsite on the National Gallery Singapore website.
