OSFF 2026 Curious Times | FreshTake!

Fri 23 Oct 2026, 7.30pm – 9.30pm Venue: Objectifs Chapel Gallery Ticket price: $10 Festival Pass (for all screenings except for Focus programme): $40 Purchase Festival Pass here Screening Rating: TBC FreshTake! is a short film programme featuring works by first-time and early-stage filmmakers. It aims to celebrate the myriad voices of students, recent graduates, and youths from diverse backgrounds who embody the spirit of risk-taking through their films. This year's selection presents stories that examine the reason behind protests, explore the struggles of familial relationships, and engage in play with genres. Discover what currently piques the curiosity of the next generation of Singaporean filmmakers through their works. The programme is followed by a post-screening Q&A with the filmmakers. Curated by EXYL and Objectifs This programme is part of Objectifs Short Film Festival. Official Design Partner: Studio Grain The programme includes the following films 1. Bahay-Bahayan by Marienne Louise / 10:11 min / Singapore / 2025 Joanna, a Filipina in her mid-20s, has little to no connection left with her Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) mother. As she faces adulthood, she must decide if she wants to let go of her past. Bahay-Bahayan follows Joanna as she reels back to her past through memory and nostalgia. 2. Where The Heart Sings Freedom by Clemens Choy / 7:15 min / Singapore / 2025 Since the 1988 coup, music has been a big part of the Burmese resistance. Rebel forces march to these songs, singing of freedom from the military Junta. Unravel Myanmar’s turbulent political history through the lens of Burmese revolutionary musicians in Mae Sot, Thailand. 3. Kamikaze Lizard by Joel Lim / 15:30 min / Singapore / 2025 Juliet is reborn as the Lizard Hunter 'Umbrella Girl' after dying at the hands of the Kamikaze Lizard. Umbrella Girl hunts down Kamikaze Lizard and must save a young man trapped in despair before the creature traps them both in oblivion. 4. seaward by Saksham Mehrotra / 8 min / Singapore / 2025 Singapore has long adopted the rhetoric that land reclamation and coastal redevelopment are necessary for its survival. seaward drifts through the peripheries of these coastlines, bearing witness and asking a simple question, “do we know the coast that we stand to lose?”. 5. Lintasan by Claudia Michelle / 7:25 min / Singapore / 2026 Set at a lighthouse near the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link, a Singaporean woman is forced to choose between her home country and her lover's after her Malaysian boyfriend's sudden proposal threatens to pull them toward opposite shores. 6. Last Supper by Valerie Theodas / 6 min / Singapore / 2025 An overworked entomologist's obsession with moths leads to the ingestion of a mysterious mould, catalysing a surreal descent into self-annihilation through futile attempts at purification. ---- About the filmmakers Marienne Louise Marienne Louise is a Filipino filmmaker who explores themes surrounding unconventional family relationships and the Filipino identity. Her entry point into filmmaking began in her diploma, directing her first non-fiction short film The Lighthouse (2019) which was nominated for the Audience Choice Award in the Vidsee Juree Awards 2020. With her passion in documentaries cemented, she continued to hone her skills in non-fiction filmmaking as she continued her education in LASALLE's BA (Hons) Film programme. For her most recent work, she directed her thesis documentary Bahay-Bahayan (2025), exploring the struggles that children of Overseas Filipino Workers face growing up surrounded by the absence of their parents. In the future, Marienne hopes to continue making documentaries about the lesser known, for those whose voices need to be heard. Clemens Choy Clemens Choy is a filmmaker and student at Nanyang Technological University, currently completing his final year in Communication Studies. He is a storyteller passionate about bringing to life the stories of those around him, with a sincere interest in advocating for those often overlooked in society. During his time as a broadcast journalist intern and freelancer at Channel News Asia, Clemens has covered a range of Singaporean stories, from crime to healthcare. A journalist at heart, he aims to capture the dignity of people navigating difficult systems. Joel Lim Joel Lim is a budding filmmaker from Lasalle’s BA (Hons) Film programme. He is inspired by Japanese films, specifically the tokusatsu genre. Joel’s filmmaking is characterized by the use of campiness and fast paced, visceral visuals. Saksham Mehrotra Saksham is a tree hugger who grew up in the Himalayas at a time when India was caught in its rapid pursuit of urbanisation. Through his work, Saksham tries to understand the line that threads between the human desire to develop infinitely and the inherent yearning to preserve nature. Claudia Michelle Claudia Michelle is an Indonesian filmmaker who works across both narrative and non-scripted media, approaching each project with openness and flexibility. Michelle is a BA(Hons) Film Graduate from LASALLE College of the Arts, where she majored in post-production and screenwriting. Her directorial short film Missing Daisy (2025) premiered at the Sixth Borough Film Festival (Manhattan, USA). Michelle also served as a Creative Assistant for the sports series, Off The Grid by beIN Sports, covering the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix 2025. Looking ahead, Michelle aims to contribute meaningfully to the ever-growing and diverse ASEAN cinema landscape. Valerie Theodas Valerie Theodas is a Singapore-based interdisciplinary artist and is currently a student at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media. Her film, Last Supper, was awarded Best Cinematography in the Student category at the Singapore Youth Film Festival 2026. Her artistic practice involves analysing her dreams, mythology, the subconscious, and her own vulnerabilities to find sources of inspiration. Through visual storytelling and experimentation, she hopes to explore how to blur the line between internal and external worlds, in an effort to understand herself and broader existential and psychological truths. ---- About the curator EXYL is a filmmaker working under the umbrella of experimental animation. They love cheap work and they care about being honest. Their films have screened at Slamdance, Hong Kong IFF, Ann Arbor, SGIFF, Encounters, London Short FF and more. They currently live and work in Singapore, helping to organise underground cinema screenings and spaces. Above ground, they do a range of things they consider part of a deep and sincere teaching practice. They are a programmer for Slamdance animation and a co-conspirator with Jonni Peppers in Transfiguration International Film Festival. ---- Welcome to the Objectifs Short Film Festival 2026! Short films have always been part of Objectifs' ecosystem. Since 2003, we have shared short films with local audiences and school students, and in 2006, established Southeast Asia's first short film distribution arm to bring the world of Southeast Asian short films to festivals, buyers, and broadcasters everywhere. Over the years, we’ve continued to celebrate short films through education and screenings across different formats, from the big screen to digital platforms. But as one of the few spaces in Singapore that champions short films, we felt something more was needed. Singapore's short film landscape still lacks a dedicated platform of its own. Short films are one of the purest forms of storytelling there is. In minutes, they can hold entire worlds, and we believe those worlds deserve a stage. This brings us to our inaugural edition, centred on the tagline Normal Is An Illusion. The short film format frees storytellers to experiment, often opening space for questioning, imagination, and empathy. In an environment where the lines between real and artificial are increasingly blurred, and truth can sometimes feel like fiction, we invite you to join us in exploring the possibilities of what is normal. The Objectifs Short Film Festival is part of the Singapore Film Week alongside SGIFF and SCAPE.