Delhi to host Singapore Film Festival

Organised by the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi in partnership with the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, the festival will feature five films, each followed by dialogues with filmmakers and experts.

Films like "Apprentice" and "A Yellow Bird", which made it to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, will be screened at the fest.

A Singapore-India filmmaker's residency exchange programme will be held concurrently with the film festival.

Budding Singaporean filmmaker Kang Sheng Tang will spend a month in India shooting scenes for a short film, while Indian filmmaker Daljit Ami will spend a month in Singapore shooting a documentary on the British Indian Army forces in Singapore during World War I.

Tang and Ami will talk about their filmmaking experiences and goals for the residency exchange programme at a special session during the film festival.

Kester Tay, festival programmer and First Secretary at the Singapore High Commission, said in a statement: "In the spirit of cultural exchange, we wanted to share with our friends in India works that have meaning for us, Singaporeans. It was a matter of great pride for us to see two home-grown filmmakers' works screened at Cannes.

"It showed that Singapore has stories to tell which can resonate with Singaporean as well as international audiences. We hope that Indian audiences will enjoy the two films too."

"We are also showcasing 'Xin Yao', which rarely travels outside Singapore. For many Singaporeans, the songs evoke memories of the idealism and simplicity of their youth and hold much sentimental value. We hope that through music we can bring our two cultures in Singapore and India closer and see that we really have more in common than not."