Watch the Best Asian Short Film on CinemaSHORT YouTube
Commemorating CinemaSHORT’s 5-Year Milestone
The second edition of the CinemaSHORT Asian Short Film Competition concluded last Friday, 10 October, with the Awards Gala Night, sparking the start of a new beginning for CinemaSHORT and our community of filmmakers and film lovers.
With over 600 submissions from 25 countries in the region, we are truly thrilled to witness the enthusiasm of so many emerging talents in Asia, all with a unique story to tell. From the hundreds of short films emerged 20 brilliant works. And once again, big congratulations to all the winners of the 2025 CinemaSHORT Asian Short Film Competition, recognised for their creativity, storytelling, and technical excellence.
Best Narrative Short Film — Fishtank, by Wendi Tang (China/USA)
Best Animated Short Film — Stacy, by Lin Yi-Ling (Taiwan)
Audience Choice Award — One Last Supper, by Jerold Lim (Singapore)
Singapore Spotlight Award — One Last Supper, by Jerold Lim (Singapore)
Jury Award — Matriphagy, by Heidi Yau Ryu Ying (Malaysia)
Jury Award — Once upon a time there was a Mountain, by To Chun-Him (Hong Kong)
Jury Award — Searching For Sol, by Jaime Morados (Philippines)
Special Mention — How An Apocalypse Ends, by Đặng Thùy Trang (Vietnam)
A Night to Remember
What an intimate and inspiring evening it was, with guests from a diversity of film backgrounds, all drawn together by their love for storytelling and film. The gala was attended by the award winners, judges, industry professionals, aspiring filmmakers from LASALLE and Singapore Polytechnic, and more. We screened four of the winning shorts—Fishtank, Stacy, One Last Supper and How An Apocalypse Ends—rousing laughter, cheers and tears, and conversations that buzzed late into the Friday night.
This day also marked several firsts for CinemaSHORT: we held our first workshop with producer and screenwriter Kris Ong, the co-writer for Golden Horse Award Nominee Ahjooma (2022). Joined by the award winners, Singapore shortlist and film students from Singapore Polytechnic, the workshop titled “I’ve Lost The Plot” focused on overcoming writer’s block and finding inspiration in writing.
We're on YouTube!
At the Awards Gala, CinemaSHORT also celebrated our 5-year milestone with a bold new chapter—CinemaSHORT’s entrance into YouTube!
In our continued efforts to bring the works of emerging Asian filmmakers beyond Asia to global audiences, we launched CinemaSHORT YouTube to provide film lovers an extensive curation of full-length short films. Bridging entertainment and education, CinemaSHORT also aims to be a regional resource hub for audiences interested in learning more about filmmaking and the industry. Here, you can find unique stories from all around Asia, inspiration and get connected with our filmmakers.
CinemaSHORT: A Community of Filmmakers & Film Lovers
We are deeply grateful to all our judges and partners that made this competition possible, and for coming down to support this growing film community.
Thank you to our judges Josune Hahnheiser, Mark Peregrino, Leslie Lee, Phạm Gia Quý and Mayu Nakamura—your insights and expertise shone through in the winning films selected. To Mediacorp, our Official Regional Partner and the sponsor and judge for the Singapore Spotlight Award, as well as our Indonesian and Taiwan streaming partners, Cubmu and MyVideo. Along with our Vietnamese partner Spring Auteurs, and Official Media Partner Television Asia.
Of course, a hearfelt thank you to the filmmakers and audiences who brought this event to life last Friday night—you make our community.
Submit Your Works, Join Our Community
Though the competition has come to a close, CinemaSHORT is always looking out for bold new stories by regional filmmakers. Submit your short films to us anytime through the submission form.
Now, you can find our curation of the best Asian short films on CinemaSHORT YouTube.
Watch, Subscribe and Join our community today.
Find all event photos here. Don't forget to tag us on Instagram (@cinemashortasia)!
