The 4th official selection segues into a series of pairings, which explores nuanced differences between films that may initially appear similar. Both Jake Low’s Manhole (2025) and Shaik Aqeel’s monsoon season (2025) are presented in black and white visuals, but while Manhole functions as an absurdist satire on human relationships, monsoon season takes on a more journalistic approach, documenting the ennui of youth with the accompaniment of a quirky jazz track.

Another pairing is Zulqarnain Shah’s Jalan Saloma Padi (2025) and Zachariah Wee’s Dinner with the Zhangs (2025), which both feature the bridging of intergenerational gaps via material objects, yet unfold in extremely different ways. Likewise, both Stanley Soh’s A Million Ways to Return Home (2025) and Nelson Yeo’s Durian, Durian (2025) are whimsical explorations of the human psyche and its ability to endure insurmountable obstacles. However, while Soh’s short ultimately arrives at some form of resolution, Yeo’s Durian, Durian revels in the ineffable absurdity of living.

There will be 4 short films screened for Official Selection 4 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 4 is NC16. The total duration is 80 min.

Manhole
Year: 2025
Director: Jake Low
Runtime: 8 min
Country: Singapore
Language: English with subtitles
Rating: PG

Synopsis:
In a house of marble and glass, a voice rises from the shower drain pleading to be rescued. A plumber arrives with two options: destroy the tiles to save the unfortunate soul or perform a quick plunge to make the voice disappear. What follows is a quiet bargain between comfort and consequence.

Director’s bio:
Jake Low is a director and director of photography based in Singapore. His debut film sighnight (2024) premiered in competition at the 35th SGIFF and recently won Best Editing and Best Sound Design at SYFF 2026. His latest short film Manhole (2025) was officially selected for the 36th SGIFF, under the SG Panorama Programme. Jake is currently developing his next short film.

monsoon season
Year: 2025
Director: Shaik Aqeel Abbas
Runtime: 10 min
Country: Singapore
Language: English with subtitles
Rating: PG

Synopsis:
monsoon season is a collection of two short films—millipede and nature reserve 2025—that explore ourselves through the relationship we have with the natural world. Stitching together the adolescence of the director and other young people, monsoon season is a complex meditation on finding space for oneself through nature and the unnatural, the formed and the formless.

Director’s bio:
Shaik Aqeel is a poet trying to capture moral experience through a queer, South Asian lens. They divide their time between many creative projects, the most recent of which are Five Takes for Craig, a physical theatre piece, and the manuscript kashmir, 1946, published by AFTERIMAGE Press.

Dinner with the Zhangs
WORLD PREMIERE
Year: 2025
Director: Zachariah Wee
Runtime: 22 min
Country: Singapore
Language: English with subtitles
Rating: PG13

Synopsis:
Dinner with the Zhangs is an absurdist short film centered around an elderly grandma’s quest to create the perfect reunion dinner, which is repeatedly undermined by simmering tensions and ridiculous happenings.

Director’s bio:
Zachariah Wee is a young Singaporean filmmaker concerned with representing universal truth through cinematic lies. He is a post-production coordinator with Infinite Studios. Zachariah’s filmography includes Cemetery City (2023), Flowers for the Reaper (2019), Mustika (2018), View of Tonight (2018), and Salvation (2017).

A Million Ways to Return Home
SOUTHEAST ASIA PREMIERE
Year: 2025
Director: Stanley Soh
Runtime: 12 min
Country: Singapore
Language: Bengali, Mandarin, English with English and Chinese subtitles
Rating: PG13

Synopsis:
A Bengali migrant worker, Bimal, and his Chinese migrant friend, Han Ming, strike the lottery with their shared bet. The duo encounter deceit, betrayal and the challenge of avoiding a nationwide manhunt to claim what is rightfully theirs. Their journey home questions the complexities and value of money today — $3.3 million Singapore dollars only serves to make things even more complicated.

Director’s bio:
Stanley Soh is currently an editorial analyst in Netflix APAC. His past experiences included being a producer/director in IFA Media Singapore, working on regional projects. After completing a summer producing/directing programme at University of Southern California (USC) with Universal Studios where attendees filmed on the Universal Studios backlot, Stanley freelanced as a director/writer where his short film Roots of Rejection was awarded a Special Mention in the Cine65 Film Competition 2019. His recent credits include Researcher/Scriptwriter/Script Supervisor for HBO Asia’s Invisible Stories Season 1. He has been continuously writing and directing, contributing scripts for project developments.

Jalan Saloma Padi
Year: 2025
Director: Zulqarnain Shah
Runtime: 21 min
Country: Singapore
Language: Malay with English subtitles
Rating: PG

Synopsis:
Aiman returns to his childhood home to put up a “For Sale” sign. He searches for his stubborn, traditionalist father, Abu Bakar, and finds him in a field. Despite the clear tension between them, they walk the farm together, reliving their old routine to explore the land for what feels like one last time.

Director’s bio:
Muhammad Zulqarnain Shah Bin Zakaria’s parents probably had the credit scene in mind when they named their son. Born an equipment nerd, he gravitates toward being a Director of Photography. He refuses to stick to a single hat, jumping from Gaffer to Director whenever the project calls for it. With an overflow of passion projects, he is on a journey to not only build a community but serve like-minded individuals at Slabstudios, the creative lab he’s building.

Durian, Durian
Original title: 榴莲，榴莲
Year: 2025
Director: Nelson Yeo
Runtime: 7 min
Country: Singapore
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Rating: NC16

Synopsis:
Under the shade of a large durian tree, two troubled souls try to end it once and for all.

Director’s bio:
Born in Singapore, Nelson Yeo made an impressive feature debut with Dreaming & Dying, which earned both the Golden Leopard – Filmmakers of the Present and the First Feature Award at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival. His short films also garnered international acclaim, receiving selections at prestigious festivals such as Berlin, Rotterdam, and Clermont-Ferrand.

For the full Singapore Short ’26 programme, please click here.

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