Singapore International Film Festival 2026 moves to October

The Singapore International Film Festival has moved its calendar. The 37th edition runs from Wednesday 21 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, rather than the late-November-to-December slot many regular festivalgoers will remember. When we checked on 26 October, it had its final week to run. Public sales opened on SGIFF.com on 28 September, according to the festival’s ticketing FAQ.

With the festival under way, the useful work now is a shortlist from what is left: check each film’s age rating, venue and time, and work out how many screenings you can realistically attend. The festival opened with The Assassin(s) at 8.30pm on 21 October at Marina Bay Sands’ Sands Theatre; both of its opening screenings were marked sold out on its film page on 26 October. According to the closing film’s page, the festival closes with Vintage Violence (rated M18) at 5pm on 1 November at Capitol Theatre.

SGIFF’s announcement of the new dates explains the move: an October window lets independent films reach local audiences without competing directly with the year-end slate of major Hollywood releases.

What is on the 2026 programme?

According to the festival’s programme page, this year’s line-up has over 100 films from more than 50 countries; the Explore Films listing showed 106 titles on 17 October and still did on 26 October. It introduces Junior Explorers, a new section for young audiences, and expands Undercurrent, the strand that includes live performances. Off screen, the Forums & Events page lists S$10 “In Conversation With” sessions. Those with Aamir Khan (22 October) and Hirokazu Koreeda (24 October) have passed; on 26 October two were still ahead, Anthony Wong at 7pm on 29 October at LASALLE’s Singapore Airlines Theatre, and the closing film’s director and actors, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Kiko Mizuhara and Cole Sprouse, at 11am on 31 October at National Museum Singapore’s Gallery Theatre. The festival’s 2026 call for entries sought Asian feature films and Southeast Asian short films for its competitions.

We have not seen any of these films. A festival description is a reason to look closer, not a review. Read the synopsis and rating before committing an evening to a title you do not know.

If your group is also weighing Halloween Horror Nights, note that both end on Sunday 1 November, so leaving either to the final weekend narrows your choices.

How do you build a shortlist before booking?

A practical sequence for one person or a small group:

1. Mark every film you would genuinely travel for, then note which have only one screening.
2. Check the rating of each title against the youngest person who might come.
3. Note the venue and start time; do not assume two screenings on the same evening are in the same building.
4. Choose between single tickets and a pass only after counting the screenings you can actually attend.
5. Share the list with anyone joining you, and buy once everyone has confirmed.

Illustrative example: three friends shortlist four films. One has only a weekday-afternoon screening, so the friend who can attend goes alone. The other three fit into one Friday evening and one Saturday. The group now knows how many tickets it needs, and whether anyone will see enough films to make a pass worth pricing.

On 26 October the festival passes page still listed a S$50 Undercurrent Pass (one ticket to each Undercurrent programme, in limited numbers while stocks last), an SGIFFriends Pass for donations of S$400 and above, and Industry Passes for the industry conference. Applications for the Cinephile Pass closed on 30 September.

Can teenagers or children go?

It depends on the film. The ticketing page says children are welcome, but children and minors who do not meet a film’s rating requirement will not be admitted and the ticket will not be refunded. Children aged two and above need their own ticket; under-twos sharing an adult’s seat do not. Check the rating on the film’s listing before buying, not at the door.

Families have a new option. The Junior Explorers page lists three films, Brave Cat and Julián (both rated PG) and The Invisibles (PG13), with relaxed, sensory-friendly screenings for selected films. For those relaxed screenings, the festival sells a S$20 combo ticket that admits one adult and one child below 16, and every child must be accompanied by an adult. Two parents with two children would need two combo tickets if they choose this format. The Explore Films listing on 26 October gave the remaining Junior Explorers screenings as The Invisibles at 4.30pm on Saturday 31 October, and Julián at 10.30am and Brave Cat at 4.30pm on Sunday 1 November; the listing does not say which screenings are the relaxed ones, so check the film page before buying a combo.

Concessions, changes and sold-out screenings

The S$2 concession for students, National Servicemen and seniors is checked at the door, so carry the document that proves it; it does not apply to the opening, closing or special presentation screenings, and only one discount can be used per transaction. For any age-restricted film, carry identification that shows your age, as front-of-house staff may request an ID check. Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable; the festival refunds only cancelled or rescheduled films.

The festival says changes to a screening’s date, time or location will be noted on SGIFF.com, and ticket holders affected by a change are emailed. Check your film’s listing on the day, particularly if you have booked screenings back to back.

The ticketing page says you can join the Rush Queue up to 30 minutes before a screening, admission from it begins only at the start time, and seats of ticket holders who have not checked in 10 minutes after the start are released to the queue on a first-come, first-served basis. Each person in the queue gets one ticket, entry is not guaranteed, and doors lock 20 minutes after the start. For a group outing, treat a sold-out screening as a reason to choose another date, not a plan built around released seats.

What could we not confirm?

The screening venues have settled since our September check. On 26 October the Explore Films venue filter named Capitol Theatre, Esplanade’s Annexe Studio, Filmhouse (Green Room and Redrum), Golden Village Bugis+, Cineleisure and VivoCity, Marina Bay Sands’ Sands Theatre, National Museum Singapore’s Gallery Theatre and Oldham Theatre. The ticketing FAQ still gives an older list that includes Golden Village Suntec City and National Gallery Singapore and leaves out several of these, so go by the venue printed on your ticket and that venue’s own access information. Forum sessions add other rooms, such as the Grand Ballroom at Marina Bay Sands and LASALLE’s Singapore Airlines Theatre. The festival lounge is at LASALLE College of the Arts (Block D, Level 1, 1 McNally Street); its opening hours were still “To Be Announced Soon” on the ticketing page on 26 October, five days into the festival. Forum talks and panels are free with online registration, apart from the paid “In Conversation With” sessions. The festival schedule on sgiff.eventive.org would not open for us, and we did not check seat availability beyond the labels on the film pages.

Common questions