Don’t put your racing goggles away just yet. The Perspectives Film Festival returns from November 6 to 8, trading the roar of the F1 circuit for the hum of the cinema projector. As Singapore’s longest-running student-led film festival, it has built a reputation for compelling, intellectually playful themes. This year, the curators from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information are exploring the car as more than just a machine.
The 19th edition pivots around the theme “Under The Hood: Automobility in Cinema.” The program treats the automobile as a cinematic and cultural vessel, steering audiences through tales of freedom, ambition, danger, and identity. It’s a journey across time, space, and genre.
A Global Road Trip on Screen
The program kicks off with the adrenaline-fueled anarchy of George Miller’s Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981). A petrol-soaked vision of a dystopian future, the film uses car chases to explore survival and lawlessness. It sets the stage for a weekend of rubber-burning storytelling.
From raw action to psychological suspense, the festival then shifts gears. Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953) screens in a new 4K restoration. This classic thriller follows four men transporting nitroglycerin across treacherous mountain roads—a masterclass in tension. Equally unsettling but entirely different is David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), which also receives the same high-definition treatment. Cronenberg’s film finds a twisted intimacy in car wrecks, turning the vehicle into a site of obsession and metamorphosis. These restorations offer a rare opportunity to see iconic films in pristine quality on the big screen.
Beyond these touchstones, the festival takes a truly global turn. Luna Papa traces a young woman’s search for her father across Central Asia. The Filipino film Perfumed Nightmare follows a jeepney driver dreaming of technology and transformation. Completing the lineup are the Swiss-French hybrid documentary Summer Drift and the Chinese road trip film Kaili Blues. Together, they prove the road genre is a universal language, adaptable to any landscape.
Ticket Information and Bundles
Screenings take place at the historic Oldham Theatre and Golden Village Cineleisure. Tickets go on sale September 29.
The festival offers flexible options for every type of viewer:
- Individual screenings: $12 (Opening film: $14)
- Third Wheel Bundle (3 films): $33
- Race Weekend Pass (all 7 films): $70
This tiered pricing makes it easy to sample the festival or dive headfirst into the full curatorial vision.
A Festival of Discovery
The Perspectives Film Festival is a testament to the power of student-led arts initiatives in Singapore. It punches far above its weight class, offering a carefully curated lens on cinema. Under The Hood isn’t just about the cars on screen—it’s about human drive, the roads we take, and the stories we tell about motion. It’s an unmissable weekend for cinephiles and casual moviegoers alike. Find the full schedule and ticket details on the official Perspectives website.