S-EXPRESS 2020

Programmer: Fransiska Prihadi Program director of Minikino, based in Bali.

There is a sense of subtle urgency to make these stories from Indonesia visible in 2020. We are glad to see it in the selected short films as we would hope it will open inspiring discussion.

Riani Singgih / Indonesia / 2018 / Documentary/ 15:54

With the increasing tension of political discussion about human rights violations, the risk is higher for an Indonesian street mime artist, Wanggi.

I Kadek Jaya Wiguna / Indonesia / 2019 / Fiction/ 14:30

Two grandfathers act in a film as Joko and Bowo. The director and crew lose control when these actors unwittingly cloud of the script and reality.

Gelora Yudhaswara / Indonesia / 2019 / Fiction/ 24:59

Today, the Omah Njero living room will witness more than a brother-sister quarrel.

Putri Sarah Amelia / Indonesia / 2019 / Fiction/ 16:22

A mortuary cosmetologist has to face a dilemma when she receives a call from a mother who had lost her child in an accident.

Eden Junjung / Indonesia / 2019 / Fiction/ 12:07

A guard leaves his post despite rumours of ninjas terrorising the town at night, to meet with his lover.

Programmer: Yow Chong Lee Apart from programming for Mini Film Festival, ChongLee is also a film lecturer who makes documentary and picked up scuba diving recently.

Exploring the possibility of cinematic space and time in questioning who we are (and aren’t), these films veer between foreign and local; past, present and future; then back to the most naive, raw and honest adventure of all in rendering what constitute Malaysians seen from the perspective of these young and vibrant filmmakers.

Wei Jie, Lim / USA / 2020 / Documentary / 17:27

‘Rasa’ is a portrait of a Malaysian restaurant in Manhattan, where kitchen workers reminisce about the past they left behind.

Shaiful Yahya, Syaz Zainal & June Wong / Malaysia / 2019 / Fiction/ 14:50

Based on a true story, Peon is told through a delivery rider’s phone screen. Ding! An order comes in to deliver passports

Tan Ce Ding / Malaysia / 2018 / Fiction/ 20:00

In a world where cutting edge robots are coveted, a fledgling human technician is torn between pursuing his feelings towards an outdated android and placating his abusive, android-aversive father.

Ekin Kee Charles / Malaysia / 2019 / Fiction/ 08:57

Yaya and her friends were on their everyday mischievous adventures. As the evening went by, Yaya discover something in her that she longed for.

Programmer: Thaiddhi Filmmaker and Program Director for Wathann Film Festival, Myanmar. Focus on Film Education and Independent film development in Myanmar.

This program focus on Young and independet filmmakers from Myanmar and Winning films of Wathann Film Festival 2019

Nyi Zaw Htway / Myanmar / 2019 / Fiction/ 16:48

An aging woman reconsiders her role in the family in the wake of an incident with her daughter-in-law.

Than Lwin Oo / Myanmar / 2019 / Experimental/ 07:37

A backyard street. A boy and a girl. A life.

Zaw Bo Bo Hein, Mg Bhone / Myanmar / 2018 /Fiction/ 18:22

During Thingyan Festival, a woman has to struggle between her attachment to her husband and empathy for his loneliness

Myo Thar Khin / Myanmar / 2019 /Fiction/ 17:30

Story of a yound man who no longer wants to know about existing things in the non-existence, and his return to native home

Francis Oggs Cruz has served as member and jury alike at local and international film festivals. He also writes about cinema for various publications.

Three Filipino films that tackle very real societal issues through exhilerating, dramatic, sometimes comedic, and always absurd situations.

Keith Deligero / Philippines / 2019 / Fiction/20:22

In a time before mobile phones, postmodern Erinyes come to Barangay Babylonia in order to kill a local dictator

Carla Pulido Ocampo / Philippines / 2019 /Fiction/ 20:00

As Limmayug carries firewood back to his home village, something falls from the sky: a 1950s television, with a hysterical showbiz star trapped inside it.

Sonny Calvento / Philippines / 2019 / Fiction/15:43

Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss is a social satire on the plight of contractual workers in the Philippines.

Programmer: A festival programmer and Film producer based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Women’s voices are emerging in recent Cambodian short films, which has to be noted and praised.

Sreylin Meas / Cambodia / 2020 / Fiction/16:00

Two women from different backgrounds encounter one another at an oceanfront resort.

Thavary Krouch / USA / 2020 / Fiction/25:36

Sophia, a female line cook is tasked with delivering bitter melons to her estranged father

Programmer:Leong Puiyee is a film programmer and manager based in Singapore.

Experience the essence of nature, complex human  relationships and the bizarreness of life in these short films

Zai Tang / Singapore / 2018 / Experimental, Animation/ 09:45

Escape Velocity II is a synaesthetic experiment in bringing the ethereal voices of the Singaporean wild to life through animation and sound visualisation

Liao Jiekai / Singapore / 2019 / Experimental/ 15:00

While Tamaki’s partner Sui was away for the summer, she consumed a watermelon seed and began growing a watermelon in her body.

Tang Kang Sheng / Singapore / 2019 /Fiction/18:38

After their father is hospitalized, Jun and Ling return home to settle some of his affairs. Amidst it all, they are forced to interact with one another.

Tan Siyou / Singapore / 2019 / Fiction/16:00

Unable to return home to attend Grandma’s funeral because of immigration bureaucracy, a young Singaporean girl new to America searches for Grandma’s reincarnation.

Programmer: Sanchai Chotirosseranee is one of the programmers for the Thai Short Film and Video Festival.

The program is consisted of the awarded best Thai short films from the 23rd Thai Short Film and Video Festival. Payawan is a winning film by university students, while The Threshold 1969 is the best Animation and Friends with Benefits, Without Benefits is the best film by general filmmakers.

Supamart Boonnil / Thailand / 2019 / Fiction/29:12

In the morning of Songkran day, Chiangrai everyone in Pan’s family was spending time together.

Twatpong Tangsajjapoj, Kraisit Bhokasawat, Chanon Treenet, Punya Pasukkovitsiri / Thailand / 2019 / Animation/ 20:34

Four stories about the impact of new technology within a transitional period of four generations by four directors.

Sorayos Prapapan / Thailand / 2018 / Fiction/14:27

Nicky is an art school graduate. He requests Koi, one of his best friends, to be the model for his photo shoot in which she has to dress up in a mascot costume

Programmer: Marcus Manh Cuong Vu is a filmmaker and programmer. Previously, he was the festival director of Yxine Film Fest (2010-2014).

Love, lies and dreams. What drives us in this tough time of confusion and survival? Every year, S-Express Vietnam introduces new young filmmakers of the next generation from the country.

Nguyễn Lê Trung Hải / Vietnam / 2020 / Fiction/ 18:19

Phi dates older women who supposedly follow his advice to buy property in the countryside.

Diệp Chi Viên Viên / Vietnam / 2020 / Fiction/17:47

Young boy Tàu does not accept the new lover of his father

Lê Can Trường / Vietnam / 2020 / Fiction/8:30

A young couple is waiting for a rain, while many Vietnamese are longing for a glorious victory of the national football team.

Đặng Thảo Nguyên / Vietnam / 2020 / Fiction/09:30

A mother and her daughter hide a corpse. The garden where their secret is buried has its own way of being.

Phạm Nguyễn Anh Tú / Vietnam / 2020 / Experimental/03:21

Am I the rain or the sun, a boy or a girl, a dream or a reality, a film or myself?