Singaporean actor Peter Yu has 5 movies at the Singapore International Film Festival this year

There’s no escaping from Peter Yu at this year’s Singapore International Film Festival. He has not one, not two but five films in the line-up for the 34th edition of Singapore’s longest-running film event. That’s definitely one for the books, wouldn't you say?

Two of the titles, Nicole Midori Woodford’s Last Shadow At First Light and Nelson Yeo’s Dreaming & Dying are vying in the Asian Feature Film Competition.

Peter Yu, 55, is no stranger to Singapore indie films. He played an insomniac detective in Yeo Siew Hua’s Golden Horse Award-winning A Land Imagined, and his recent credits include the Ayden Sng-starring supernatural drama Seven Days, and the monster flick Circle Line.

Kelvin Tong isn’t surprised at Yu's reputation as the go-to actor for local indie filmmakers.

“He is fast becoming the (Tony) Leung Chiu Wai of Singapore,” the Confinement director told 8days.sg recently.

The actor is in Tong’s A Year Of No Significance, a drama set in the 1970s, which will make its world premiere at the SGIFF.

“I am so happy for him,” Kelvin Tong continued. “I had dinner at his house with him and his wife Brenda just a couple of weeks ago. And, you know, that man is still driving Grab.

"I have nothing but admiration for him. I think in a way that accounts for the kind of incredible presence he brings to his roles because day in, day out, he’s driving his Grab, he’s talking to normal people. He is deep smack in real life, and he brings a lot of that to his performance.”

In an interview with Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, Yu joked that he looks forward to walking the red carpet with five different female leads.

Here are the five films starring Peter Yu at this year’s SGIFF:

1. A YEAR OF NO SIGNIFICANCE

Directed by Kelvin Tong

What: This realist drama immortalises those who are about to be left behind as Singapore rushes towards economic growth in the late 1970s.

When: Dec 2, Sat, 5 pm, at the National Museum Singapore.

2. DREAMING & DYING

Directed by Nelson Yeo

What: A school reunion recalls repressed desires and entangled memories in an intoxicating blend of reality and the unconscious.

When: Dec 4, Mon, 6.30pm, at GV x The Projector at Cineleisure.

3. WONDERLAND

Directed by Chai Yee-Wei

What: Two middle-aged fathers bond over their love for their daughters in this affecting dramedy about friendship in our golden years.

When: Dec 4, Mon, 9pm, at GV x The Projector at Cineleisure.

4. LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT

Directed by Nicole Midori Woodford

What: Grief and gain are intimate doubles in this family mystery that leads a Singaporean-Japanese girl to her mother’s hometown.    

When: Dec 5, Tue, 7pm, at GV x The Projector at Cineleisure.

5. SNOW IN MIDSUMMER

Directed by Chong Keat Aun

What: The historical trauma of Malaysia’s ‘513’ incident permeates the present in a series of haunting tableaux that compose this operatic drama.

When: Dec 7, Thu, 4pm, at the Oldham Theatre; Dec 10, Sun, 11am, at the National Museum Singapore.

The SGIFF kicks off on Nov 30 with Malaysia’s Cannes winner and Oscar hopeful Tiger Stripes. The film, directed by Amanda Nell Eu, tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who becomes the first among her friends to hit puberty, only to discover a horrifying secret about her body.

Another highlight: the Singapore premiere of Anthony Chen’s English-language debut, Drift, the refugee-themed, shot-in-Greece drama starring Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat.

Elsewhere, Chinese actress Fan Bingbing will receive the Cinema Icon Award. SGIFF will screen three of Fan’s films, Green Night, Buddha Mountain and Double Xposure, and she will walk the red carpet on opening night. She will also take part in a conversation about her career at Marina Bay Sands' Roselle Simpor Ballroom on Dec 1.

For the complete line-up and ticket sales info, visit SGIFF’s official website.

This story was originally published in 8Days. 

For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/