TLDR
Key Takeaways
- The Objectifs Short Film Festival (OSFF) runs from 22 to 31 October 2026, showcasing short films in Singapore.
- Hirokazu Koreeda, known for ‘Shoplifters’, will attend and screen early short films on 25 October.
- The festival features international shorts, including winners from major festivals like the Berlinale.
- Programmes take place at Objectifs and Filmhouse, with a festival pass costing S$40 and single programmes S$10.
- Visitors can find the full schedule and book tickets at shortfilmfest.objectifs.com.sg.
Most of us come across short films by accident. There’s the ten-minute piece before the main feature, the student work tucked into a programme, the link a friend sends at midnight. They rarely get the evening to themselves. The Objectifs Short Film Festival (OSFF) is a new film festival in Singapore running across two weekends from 22 to 31 October 2026, and it gives the short form the full billing it usually misses out on.
Objectifs has been building towards this for a while. The centre on Middle Road has screened shorts to local audiences and school groups since 2003. In 2006, it set up a distribution arm that has taken Southeast Asian short films to festivals and broadcasters abroad. The first edition runs under the theme Normal Is An Illusion. The theme points to how freely the short format lets filmmakers experiment, and to how blurry the line between real and artificial feels right now.
What to Expect at the Objectifs Short Film Festival
Most people will circle Hirokazu Koreeda’s name first. The Japanese director behind Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or in 2018, comes to Singapore in person for Image & Memory. This is a screening of his early, rarely seen short films on Sunday, 25 October at Filmhouse, followed by a conversation with the director. If you know him only through his features, it’s a chance to see where his close, humane attention to families began.
The Current Frames strand looks outward. It opens the first weekend on 22 October with the first Singapore screening of work by French duo Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel. Their short As Long As Shotguns Remain won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale in 2014. On 24 October there’s a selection from Clermont-Ferrand, widely regarded as the world’s largest short film festival, through a partnership with Objectifs that goes back to 2006. NeW Wave on 29 October turns to emerging Japanese animators, a part of the scene that rarely reaches local screens.
Late on 30 October, Curious Times presents the first complete retrospective of Malaysian-American artist Azian Nurudin. It brings together twelve films made in San Francisco between 1986 and 2001, a frank record of lesbian BDSM culture and community during the AIDS crisis. It is the programme least likely to turn up anywhere else in Singapore this year.
Closer to home, FreshTake! on 23 October gives student and first-time filmmakers a real screen, with stories about protest, the tokusatsu genre and family friction. The festival closes on 31 October with a film-themed Saturdate of flea market stalls and film swaps. The timing works in the festival’s favour, too. OSFF’s two weekends overlap with the 37th Singapore International Film Festival, so late October is a good stretch to keep your evenings free.
Where to Catch the Short Film Festival in Singapore
Programmes take place at Objectifs on Middle Road. The Koreeda screening is held at Filmhouse in Golden Mile Tower. A festival pass costs S$40 and single programmes are S$10. Tickets for the Koreeda session are S$25. The Poggi and Vinel programme is rated NC16, and NeW Wave is rated PG13.
Find the full schedule and book tickets at shortfilmfest.objectifs.com.sg before the festival opens on 22 October.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The Objectifs Short Film Festival (OSFF) is a new film festival in Singapore dedicated to short films, organised by Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film.
OSFF 2026 runs from 22 to 31 October 2026 across two weekends.
Programmes take place at Objectifs, 155 Middle Road, Singapore 188977. The Koreeda screening is at Filmhouse, Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road.
Yes. Koreeda will attend the screening of his early short films on 25 October for a post-screening conversation.
A festival pass is S$40 and a single programme is S$10. The Koreeda screening is S$25.