Cartoons Underground 2025 Brings Two Screenings Of Dynamic Animation Shorts at *SCAPE's The Ground Theatre on 1 November 2025

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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Cartoons Underground 2024 - Watch 14 Stunning Animation Short Film Showcase at The Projector @ Cineleisure (19 Oct 2024)

Craving to feast on animation films other than those blockbuster aesthetics produced by Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks and the like? Then, it's time for you to head to Cartoons Underground 2024, Southeast Asia's largest independent animation festival.

The 13th iteration of the animation event will showcase a lineup of 14 specially curated shorts from Italy, the US, China and of course, Singapore, on 19 Oct 2024, 7 PM at The Projector @ Cineleisure. These films - which feature different styles of animation like 2D, 3D and stop-motion animation - were selected from 1,500 submissions from over 90 countries. Expect to watch stunning animation films with topics that range from sex positivity, mental health, friendship, horror and the classic good versus evil.

Premiering at the festival is “She and Her Good Vibrations” by Olivia Griselda and Sarah Cheok, a bold story a woman's sexual discovery. This film was developed in Cartoon Underground's Story Development Lab back in 2021. Other notable films include Dahee Jeong’s “Society of Clothes,” where everyone exists only as clothes; Greg McLeod’s comical, philosophical take about filmmaking entitled “Mee and Burd,” and Animation Youtube titan, Patrick Smith’s “Broken,” which tells the tale in his signature style about the eternal battle between good and evil.

Since the roots of Cartoons Underground originate locally, the event also highlights the wonderful work of Singaporean student filmmakers and artists of Asian heritage with 2 International Programmes and 1 Singapore Student Programme. In the Singapore Student category, NTU Art, Design and Media (ADM) makes a strong showing this year. Four out of the five films presented are from the school, and include “Neh Neh Pok” which tackles body positivity, and the dialogue-less and emotional drama “The Seamstress' Secret,” as well as Ning Xuan Tan's “I Think I'm Going to Die,” a striking film about a girl's odd affliction that uses diverse animation techniques.

For the full list of the 14 animation films featured, check out the programme list at www.cartoonsunderground.com. Here's the trailer so you can take a peek of the selected films:

For those who want deeper insights to the art of animation, Cartoons Underground will be hosting a special event called Behind the Screams: Masterclass on Singapore Horror Adult Animation, which will take place on 17 October 2024 from 6PM to 9 PM. The horror-themed masterclass (perfect for the Halloween season!) will feature two upcoming horror-themed animated TV Shows: “Zombie Safari” by Finding Pictures Studios, and “A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts” by Robot Media Playground! You will get to learn about TV animation production, and engage with the speakers Ervin Han (Robot Media Playground), Mark Wee (Finding Pictures Studios) and Jerrold Cheah (Finding Pictures Studios) at the Q&A.

Cartoons Underground is a fantastic way to appreciate the vast range of animation talent out there, especially those based here locally. Red Dot Diva attended the film showing for the first time last year, and it was an eye-opener. It is amazing that amidst layoffs and closures of large animation studios like Lucasfilm, there is still a strong presence and animation talent burgeoning on our island and in the region. So, if you want to try something different, go get a ticket at this very unique one-night-only premiere.


CARTOONS UNDERGROUND FILM SHOWCASE
Date: 19 October 2024 (Saturday)
Times: 7 PM
Duration: 1 hr 36 min
Venue: The Projector @ Cineleisure - https://theprojector.sg/films-and-events/cartoons-underground-2024
Admission: Standard tickets at $20 each. VIP Ticket at $40, includes exclusive Cartoons Underground 2024 Merchandise

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Cartoons Underground 2023 - Watch 15 Brilliant And Hopeful Animation Film Shorts At The Projector (25 November 2023)

Humanity is currently facing tough challenges of a global and personal scale - a devastating pandemic that brought life around the world to a grinding halt, ongoing political conflicts and wars, the effects of climate change, growing mental health issues all around the world as well as the encroachment of artificial intelligence. The annual Cartoons Underground event, SE Asia’s top Indie Animation Festival held in Singapore, aims to offer fun and hope to its audience as they navigate these growing concerns.

“There isn’t an elephant in any room anywhere that can’t be improved by being coloured pink and given a speech bubble,” says festival co-founder Vicky Chen. Chen began the community-driven Cartoons Underground in 2012 together with Patrick Smith, Director of MTV Daria.

“We are living through turbulent, challenging times as individuals and as a society. It’s a time of change and while change is inevitable it’s ultimately how we respond and adapt to it that defines us. And I hope that watching these films will help our audience to make sense of these challenges,” adds Festival Director, Jerrold Chong.

Cartoons Underground 2022 (22 Oct) Heads To Projector x Picturehouse - Get Your Tickets Now!

After two years of producing a virtual format during the Covid-19 pandemic, Cartoons Underground is back with a one-day in-person event for its 11th edition! The festival will be held on 22 October 2022 at at Projector X: Picturehouse cinema.

Cartoons Underground is Southeast Asia's largest animation festival. This year, it attracted 1,681 entries submitted from 96 different countries, which is the highest number of submissions received during the festival's 11-year run. 16 animation works have been specially selected to be screened during the event, followed by a Director Q&A, and a celebratory music-pumpin' afterparty.

Did you notice the many cats in the Cartoons Underground is banner? The drawing is by this year's festival artist Sarah Lim, a Yale-NUS graduate with a degree in Life Sciences and a minor in Arts and Humanities. Sarah scored an internship with Finding Pictures after attending animation courses for 2 years. She was then involved with prop and character design for their latest TV series, Puberteens, and is now eager to tell more stories through animation and art.

HBO Asia's "Grisse" - Feisty Gun-slinging Western set in the Rojakness of South-East Asia

As a child from a primarily English-speaking home, Red Dot Diva has always fantasized of being able to watch South-East Asian tales on TV or in the movies which were spoken in English. Local TV dramas and sitcoms in the 1990's helped to bring Red Dot Island stories to the forefront, but international exposure was very limited.

It has been a long time coming, but in recent years, HBO Asia has been passionate about showcasing stories from this region to the world, and Red Dot Diva is always delighted to see and support the shows that they invest in.

Tonight, 4 November (Sunday), "Grisse", another new English language original series by the cable channel will be premiering at 9 PM. Set in 1800’s Indonesia, during the time when the Dutch East Indies were busy colonizing this region, the period drama has a unique look - a South-Asian story with an Old Western aesthetic, complete with all that dirt, dust, feisty heroines, and gun battles. The series is created by Mike Wiluan, and has eight 1-hour long episodes.

Step into the town of Grisse, and you will be greeted by people from different creeds and agendas. The Indonesian rebels have taken a stand in the gritty town, leading the way to eradicate colonialism and tyranny. Occasionally fighting alongside them are the factions consisting of the Chinese, and the "Half-breeds".