Singapore Shorts ’26 – Official Selection 3
The 3rd official selection os Singapore Shorts ’26 spotlights the genre of non-fiction filmmaking, shedding light on the humanistic aspects of our daily lives. In Christine Seow’s Two Travelling Aunties (2025), a lesbian couple embark on a road trip around the world, leaving their worries behind. Jessi Goh spotlights queer kinships in her documentary Ibu (2025), which follows the life and relationships of a local drag icon. Hourglass explores the complicated process of land reclamation and the impact it has on the environment and its stakeholders. With projections of Malay classics on building walls, Izzy Osman’s The Water is Blue in Tanjong Katong (2025) ruminates upon the cultural legacy of P. Ramlee’s career through stories shared by his fans.
There will be 4 short films screened for Official Selection 3 of Singapore Shorts ‘26.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers moderated by Deepagcharan Chandran and Marl Goh.
The Rating for Selection 3 is R21. The total duration is 69 min.
Hourglass
SOUTHEAST ASIA PREMIERE
Year: 2025
Director: Eric Teo
Runtime: 14 min
Country: Singapore
Language: English, Vietnamese with English subtitles
Rating: NC16
Synopsis:
Sand is the second-most exploited resource in the world. In Southeast Asia, escalating demand fuels an opaque and often illegal trade. Hourglass, an immersive documentary short, juxtaposes Singapore’s ever-rising skylines to the sinking shores of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, creating an unsettling portrait of an urgent crisis carrying profound human costs.
Director’s Bio:
Eric TEO Shu Hang is a documentary filmmaker from Singapore and a graduate from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. His thesis film, Hourglass, is a meditative exploration of the human impact of the sand trade. In 2019, his short film won the Singapore Kindness Movement’s Feels Like Kampung Spirit short film competition. Drawing inspiration from the human condition, Eric’s work foregrounds the voices of marginalised communities through intimate, observational storytelling. He is committed to crafting documentaries that challenge perceptions and create space for empathy and reflection.
Two Travelling Aunties
Year: 2025
Director: Christine Seow
Runtime: 22 min
Country: United Kingdom, Singapore
Language: English with subtitles
Rating: R21
Synopsis:
Two spirited Singaporean women ditch conventional living for van life, embracing adventure, newfound freedom, and the joy of living on their own terms.
Director’s Bio:
Christine Seow is a Singaporean filmmaker and alumni of the National Film and Television School. Her short films, Two Travelling Aunties (2025) was nominated for an IDA Documentary Award, and Beyond These Walls (2024) for a Grierson Award. She is drawn to stories that explore identity and belonging.
The Water is Blue in Tanjong Katong
Original title: Airnya Biru Di Tanjong Katong
Year: 2025
Director: Izzy Osman
Runtime: 13 min
Country: Singapore
Language: English, Malay with English subtitles
Rating: PG
Synopsis:
The Water is Blue in Tanjong Katong is an exploration of the cultural legacy of P. Ramlee — a prominent icon of Malay-language entertainment and the importance of preserving cultural symbols in Singapore’s rapidly urbanising landscape.
Director’s bio:
Izzy Osman is a Singaporean filmmaker who works across narrative, documentary and experimental forms. Her films create intimate, visually driven explorations of cultural memory, urban transformation and lived experience.
Drawing from her upbringing in Singapore and her time as a student in New York City, Izzy’s work examines the disappearance of cultural worlds and the histories embedded in them. She gravitates to stories that foreground underrepresented voices while reflecting on the tensions between progress, preservation and identity.
Ibu
SOUTHEAST ASIA PREMIERE
Year: 2025
Director: Jessi Goh
Runtime: 20 min
Country: Singapore
Language: English with subtitles
Rating: M18
Synopsis:
Ibu charts the journey of the original showgirl, entertainment legend and drag mother to all, 57-year-old Kak Nina Boo. One of the first trans women in the scene, Nina has made a name for herself as a recurring performer at Singapore’s only regular drag revue, RIOT!, where she has gained significant visibility and acceptance by the local drag and LGBTQ+ communities. Ibu explores how Nina grapples with her relevance and legacy, and the importance of community in a scene saturated with newer, bolder acts.
Director’s bio:
Jessi Goh is a documentary filmmaker based in Singapore. Her work tends to explore the struggles of overlooked communities.
For the full Singapore Short ’26 programme, please click here.
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