NYFA 2019 Doesn’t Shy from the Spotlight

The National Youth Film Awards are back, and they’re five by five!

The National Youth Film Awards (NYFA) arrives with aplomb for its fifth edition, and this year’s nominees are not afraid of broaching the difficult topics. Hold your breath as you watch Singapore’s finest youth filmmakers deftly dive into contentious waters without fear.

The NYFA short films broach topics like public nudity, sugar dating, the dark side of being a social media celebrity, the entanglement of familial and personal identity, as well as the quintessential male Singaporean experience: National Service.

NYFA 2019 Breaks Records

If you didn’t see anything you like, don’t worry. With 446 unique submissions, there is sure to be something that piques your interest. 303 of those come from the Media Student category, smashing the previous record, with NYFA once again proving itself as a pioneer platform for aspiring student filmmakers in Singapore.

Plus, award-winning directors are returning to the fray. Jerrold Chong and Shoki Lin – both previous winners of NYFA and buzzing from their Cannes debut – are once again participating in NYFA 2019 with their fresh directorial efforts.

The Importance of Local Youth Artists

“The subject matters our youth filmmakers have chosen to portray reflects the Gen Z and millennial mindset with themes that are current and tackles a search for identity. This is truly exciting as it reaffirms NYFA as a safe place that encourages youths to pursue their passions and to tell stories that they want the world to hear,” says Goh Kok Wee, Executive Director at *SCAPE.

The theatre has always been a great equaliser. Regardless of where you stand, films continue to tell stories from varied perspectives, allowing one to glimpse into a world never seen before, or a microcosm of one intimately familiar with. By encouraging continued artistic discourse in Singapore, NYFA shows that film is an exceedingly important medium, especially for local budding filmmakers.