If you have not noticed, the Red Dot Diva blog was in hiatus for most of this year. Red Dot Diva had to deal with her mom's declining health and dementia. Due to this, her mom had to be placed in a nursing home for better long time care. With the loss of the matriarch in the home, other family and personal matters had to be managed as well. However, Red Dot Diva is now ready to revive the blog in some limited capacity, and she is delighted to bring this piece of announcement about an event that adds so much colour to the local arts scene.
Cartoons Underground, South-East Asia’s top indie animation festival, is back this year despite a major setback regarding the loss of the favourite and longtime venue, The Projector cinema. After the unexpected news of The Projector's closure, Cartoons Underground 2025 was almost cancelled. Fortunately, with the last minute help of new venue partner *SCAPE, the festival is raring to go with a bigger than ever programme on 1 November 2025. For the first time, there will be two screenings held for the afternoon and evening programme, consisting of 2 1/2 hours screening of a selection of bold and creative indie animated shorts. Included in the programme are also live Q&As, and the event's iconic Golden Durian Awards, presided by judges Huang Junxiang, Khoo Siew May and Ning Xuan Tan.
“We were very close to not being able to stage the festival this year,” says Festival Co-founder Vicky Chen. “Thanks to *SCAPE, we can bring our community together once again—and on a bigger scale than ever before.”
As in past years, the event's screening will feature an eclectic mix of local and international animation shorts, which include four films by homegrown student filmmakers and 16 global entries that include award-winning entries screened at international film festivals like Annecy, SXSW and Cannes. Festival attendees might want to look out for these film highlights - Mountain Mountain by Singaporean students Grace Cheu and Ben Tan, a story about two young adults searching for “mountains in Singapore” on a Mount Faber cable car ride; S The Wolf by Egyptian filmmaker Sameh Alaa, whose previous work won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; and Pear Garden by Iranian animator Shadab Shayegan, a BAFTA-longlisted film exploring the bond between a granddaughter and her grandmother after breast cancer surgery.
LASALLE College of the Arts is also continues to support young filmmakers as Education Partner for the festival. Chris Shaw, Head of LASALLE’s Puttnam School of Film & Animation, says: “We are excited to partner Cartoons Underground once again this year. Collaborations like these that bring education, industry and community together are absolutely vital to develop a thriving animation scene. Singapore and the region have an incredible wealth of creative talent that deserves to be showcased on significant platforms like this. Festivals like Cartoons Underground are essential for our students. Having their work seen by the wider community and industry, not only motivates them with a sense of accomplishment, but also builds confidence and creates pathways onto the international stage.”
On 25 October 2025 (Saturday), a week before the festival, Cartoons Underground will be presenting a masterclass and panel entitled Animating Tomorrow at LASALLE College of the Arts. This session will feature indie and industry professionals Paul Fu (Ubisoft Singapore), Ervin Han (Robot Playground Media), Vann Law (Rouge Collective), Race Krehel (Metamo Industries), and Exyl (Independent Filmmaker & Programmer), who will share about their individual journeys in the art of animation and help participants explore how they can keep their animation fresh and future-ready.
Check out the details of this industry event below. Do hurry, as there are only a few tickets left!
Animating Tomorrow – Industry Meet-Up
Date: 25th October 2025 (Saturday)
Venue: LASALLE College of the Arts, 1 McNally Street Blk F, Lvl 2, Room F208 Singapore, 187940
Time: 2PM – 530PM
Tickets: Free, but please sign up at https://tinyurl.com/AniTmr-panel
*SCAPE will be transformed into an animation playground for the upcoming festival. Expect to experience an interactive virtual street-art gallery inspired by Kampong Glam (created with Metamo Industries), enjoy scrumptious food from Kult Yard and Lavi Tacos, and check out creative booths that bring Southeast Asia’s animation community to life.
For a taste of what will be in store on 1 November, here's a trailer of the brilliant animation films that you would be able to catch at the screenings:
Having attended a few iterations of Cartoons Underground, Red Dot Diva recommends those who want to support local creative endeavour or wish to do something different to come for the screenings. You will be wowed by the amazing filmmakers that we have nurtured here. Who says Red Dot Island is boring???
Cartoons Underground 14th Edition
Date: 1st November 2025 (Saturday)
Venue: *SCAPE, The Ground Theatre, 2 Orchard Link #04-05 Singapore, 237978
Time: 4PM – 11PM
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/cartoons2025
Festival Pass (Programme A + B):SGD 35
Programme A Only (4PM):SGD 15
Programme B Only Q&A + Awards Ceremony (7PM):SGD 25
Festival Pass (Programme A+B) (Student):SGD 25
10% Off Group Buy: SGD 157.50
Website: www.cartoonsunderground.com
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