SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 24 October 2025 - The Singapore Media Festival (SMF) returns for its 12th edition from 26 November to 7 December 2025, celebrating Asian media that empower, inspire, and connect. Hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), with four partner events: the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), Singapore Comic Con (SGCC), and Nas Summit (NAS), SMF continues to serve as the place for media professionals, leaders, talents, and consumers to experience diverse innovations, forge industry partnerships, and present Singapore's world-class content.

2. Ms Yvonne Tang, Assistant Chief Executive, Media Industry Group, IMDA, said, "Asia's media landscape and creative economy is entering a new chapter: one where creators are storytellers, and entrepreneurs and innovators are shaping how stories are made, shared and experienced. The Singapore Media Festival brings these communities together, from film and television to pop culture, gaming, and the creator economy – to turn creative ideas into intellectual property, and intellectual property into opportunity. As new technology and formats transform the way we create, Singapore continues to nurture new voices, strengthen collaboration across borders and disciplines, and provide the launchpad for stories that empower, inspire, and connect."

Curating Asian stories, fresh perspectives, and closer fandom moments

3. The 36th edition of SGIFF returns from 26 November to 7 December 2025 with an inspiring lineup of over 120 films from more than 45 countries. The festival opens with Girl, a coming-of-age drama written and directed by Shu Qi in her feature directorial debut. Shu Qi will make an appearance at the opening gala at Sands Theatre, where she will be joined by returning festival ambassador Rebecca Lim. SGIFF will feature world premieres of Sandbox, At Home with Work, and Cendol, celebrating local Singaporean stories, alongside over 30 Made-in-Singapore productions. Festival highlights include Amoeba by Tan Siyou (Singapore), a striking portrait of youth navigating Singapore's rigid social world, and A Useful Ghost by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, a Singapore-Thailand co-production and winner of the 2025 Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prix.

4. SGCC returns from 5 to 7 December 2025 with its largest edition to date, set to spark inspiring fandom moments. Running alongside SGCC, Bandai Card Game Fest will host six major tabletop tournaments across popular IPs, while Collexi Con will feature a dedicated Pokémon Trading Card Game zone. The MONOPOLY Singapore Championship will also take part in the activities, crowning its top three winners live at the event. Fans can explore exclusive collectibles from S.H. Figuarts, Bandai, Hasbro, Threezero, Blokee, Artgerm × SGCC merchandise drops, and more.

5. This year's expanded gaming and collectibles zones also bring attendees closer to the creators, studios, and innovators behind their favourite worlds. Fans can meet over 40 global and local pop culture icons, including Pink and Red Power Rangers Erin Cahill and Jason Faunt, renowned illustrator Stanley "Artgerm" Lau, known for his comic book covers for Batgirl, Supergirl, and Harley Quinn, legendary comic artist Simon Bisley, celebrated for his work on DC Comics' Lobo and Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham; up-and-coming local comic cover and sketch card artist Kangjing, world-famous Transformers comic illustrator Warrick Wong, and the Pokémon Card Game community's favourite content creators Sunohara and Kouki Saitou.

6. Joining SGCC this year is the Singapore Games Association (SGGA), which will showcase an SG60 Games Exhibition, featuring 60 homegrown games, including published titles and student projects – 20 of which are available to play at the show floor. SGGA will also launch a collection of SG60 games on global gaming platform Steam, allowing everyone online to celebrate Singapore made games in the comfort of their own homes.

Crafting stories that connect creators, industry leaders, and audiences

7. Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) returns for its 26th edition from 2 to 5 December 2025, reaffirming its position as Asia's leading co-production and entertainment content market. This year, ATF shines a spotlight on micro-drama, a genre rapidly gaining traction across the region and beyond. The micro-drama focus will feature a dynamic lineup including a keynote session, an elevated panel discussion and a "Micro-drama 101" masterclass by COL Group, curated showcases, and participation from companies actively seeking to acquire and invest in this genre.

8. Attendees can expect engaging conversations with GDH 559, the Thai studio behind Mad Unicorn, and Bamboo Network, a Korean studio driving the micro-drama wave. Global media leaders such as Astro and TikTok Korea will explore new monetisation models, creator eco-systems, and financing needs. Industry giants from DreamWorks to Dentsu will share expert insights while the Adult Animation Lab returns for its third edition, with a fireside chat with Matīss Kaža, winner of the 2025 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film Flow.

9. To facilitate co-productions between Singapore companies and international partners on TV series for global audiences, IMDA will also be organising two concept pitches at ATF. One session, focused on scripted series, will be held with CANAL+, while the other will feature unscripted series. A call for concept submissions will open by end-October 2025, with shortlisted projects invited to pitch during the Market. Final details on pitch dates will be announced soon.

Sharing stories to empower the creator-prenuers of today and tomorrow

10. SMF has always been the place where creators are empowered to elevate their craft. This year, the Festival expands its international reach with Nas Summit, returning in a hybrid format featuring interactive conversational panels. Across 1 to 2 December 2025, attendees can learn from over 40 sessions led by global and regional personalities, including international creator and magician Julius Dein, and local creators like local celebrity Jeanette Aw, who will join Nuseir Yassin, aka Nas Daily, at a fireside chat. New this year is a dedicated small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) track, curated just for budding businesses and creator-prenuers – content creators who aspire to leverage AI to spark ideas on creating content for their business to win and scale. Across one whole day, these SME-centric sessions, led by enterprise luminaries like Maor Shlomo, CEO of AI app builder platform Base 44, aim to empower attendees to leverage the best of AI to grow brands and drive impact.

11. SGCC will introduce Industry Day Zero, a new initiative by SGCC and IMDA that brings together creators, studios, and industry professionals to share insights, spark innovation, and build bridges across comics, animation, games, film, and digital storytelling. SGGA will also join SGCC and IMDA in the Day Zero Industry Panel to discuss how the industry can elevate their IP and monetisation models. Separately, SGCC's Work-In-Progress (W.I.P.) Programme, a platform designed to nurture and empower the next generation of comic storytellers, will now expand to support game developers with a Games Pitch segment, allowing aspiring indie studios and students to present their projects to publishers, mentors, and investors.

12. SMF also brings together opportunities and initiatives to support up-and-coming filmmakers. This year, SGIFF will introduce a new APN+ECG Pitching Forum in partnership with Hong Kong-based independent filmmaker platform Eye Catcher Global, which will help connect regional filmmakers with global distributors, financiers and industry partners. This forum will be part of the three-day SGIFF Industry Days conference, a knowledge-building platform tailored for and by film professionals from Singapore, Asia and beyond.




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