Free Hugs

In 1962 Hong Kong, neighbors Su Li-zhen (Mrs. Chan) and Chow Mo-wan (Mr. Chow) discover their spouses are having an affair. As they spend time together, they develop feelings for each other, but their relationship remains chaste and unspoken, reflecting societal constraints and their own moral compass.

Mia, an ex-prostitute, is trapped in a loveless marriage with the abusive Quan (Sunny Pang, who also stars in Headshot in this year’s Festival lineup), a butcher who runs a roast meat shop. When she meets sensitive funeral director Wu, their passion for one another escalates into an affair. But the path to true love is fraught with jealousy, forcing someone to make a deadly move.

After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.

An American-born Chinese economics professor accompanies her boyfriend to Singapore for his best friend's wedding, only to get thrust into the lives of Asia's rich and famous.

Five troubled teens, abandoned by society and family, form a bond in a world of violence, drugs, and self-destruction, facing harsh realities of modern Singapore.

When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.

Naoko Tanaka is a 26-year-old office lady (OL). Her job is typical, but her workplace has fierce fights among different cliques. Other OLs are absorbed in the daily clique fighting. One day, due to an OL at the company, Naoko Tanaka's company is targeted by OL from all over Japan.

A fallen woman seeks redemption at a Singapore rubber plantation. Melodrama.

In Singapore, a private detective and the British authorities are on the trail of a crime syndicate that kidnaps a nuclear physicist with the aim of selling him to the highest bidder.

Three tales of love wrap around the true story of a blind and deaf woman named Theresa Chan. In the first an elderly shopkeeper is devoted to his sick wife. In the second, two teenage girls become soul mates and lovers. In the third a chubby security guard tries to find the courage to woo a beautiful woman who works in his building.

Two playboys try to forget previous romances in Singapore – until they meet a beautiful dancer.

Two Singaporean girls join together to form the Papaya Sisters, a getai group that sings at performances during the seventh lunar month. Big Papaya is estranged from her mother, who disapproves of her performances, whilst Little Papaya is an orphan who suffers from terminal cancer. The two are assisted by Auntie Ling and her son, Guan Yin. The two soon rise to the top of the Singaporean getai scene singing traditional Hokkien songs, but their fame brings along with it the enmity of the Durian Sisters, a rival group of techno-singing Eurasian girls.

When his employee disappears in Singapore, Shyam travels from India to investigate the absence and becomes entangled in a deadly plot.

A series of intertwining tales involve "pleasure seekers and pleasure providers" during the course of one night in Geylang, Singapore's red-light district. There are three distinct stories, united only by the presence of characters from all the stories in a streetside eatery:

The fourth addition to the franchise sees the return of the army boys including Sergeant Ong, Lobang, Ken Chow and Aloysius, joined by a new female officer, as they are called back for in-camp training under the Armoured Formation of the Singapore Armed Forces. Hilarious situations happen when they are back training together and their military roles reversed. Their brotherhood is also put to the test when new enemy threats arise.

A solemn bank office is transformed after being assaulted by her sinister boss. The boss then turns to her younger sister...

After the war, Matt Gordon returns to Singapore to retrieve a fortune in smuggled pearls. Arrived, he reminisces in flashback about his prewar fiancée, alluring Linda, and her disappearance during the Japanese attack. But now Linda resurfaces...with amnesia and married to rich planter Van Leyden. Meanwhile, sinister fence Mauribus schemes to get Matt's pearls.

Kok Pin, Boon Hock and Terry are classmates in "EM3" stream. In Singapore, that means that at the age of 12, the government has decided that they are not as academically inclined as their peers. Kok Pin is creative and a born artist but his parents would rather he focus on his Maths and Sciences. Boon Hock comes from a low-income family and needs to balance school and helping out at the food stall. Terry, a spoilt brat is just too lazy a student. While the three children suffer from the pressure of school, their parents have another set of problems - their jobs and careers.

Ah Niu, swindled of his fortune by cunning crooks, hits rock bottom. A fateful encounter with devious thugs reunites him with Uncle Chou, prompting their escape to the vibrant city of Singapore. Their journey is riddled with absurd mishaps, including a comical episode with a baby and a frantic pursuit by the relentless thugs. This final instalment of the series offers a colourful, wide-ranging tour of Singapore in the mid-1970s, brimming with slapstick humour and heartwarming moments.

High school student Naotatsu travels to live at his uncle's house. In the pouring rain, he is picked up at the nearest station by a strange adult woman named Sakaki who guides him to an unexpected share house where a life together begins.