A Year Of Comebacks

AT 29 YEARS OF AGE the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) doesn't look worse for wear. There were years when crises of funding or leadership led to dramatic organisational changes. But as it pushes 30, the festival has settled into a more comfortable rhythm and found its core audience again.

It's perhaps apt then that some of the biggest names at this year's edition are comeback kids who've been out of the limelight for some time. Their presence allows the festival to look back at their decades-long achievements and celebrate their return to form - as well as the festival's own.

Stanley Kwan, once a leading light of what's known as the Second Wave of Hong Kong cinema, has not made a film in eight years. His new film First Night Nerves is set to have its Southeast Asian premiere in Singapore, with Kwan and star Sammi Cheng in attendance. As if mindin…