Foreign films are popular in Singapore and it offers many country specific film festivals throughout the year. The Singapore International Film Festival takes place in April, celebrating the diversity of culture and genres in film while bringing together artists and audiences from around the world. It includes the British Film Festival, the Chinese Film Festival and the Australian Film Festival plus many others. One of the more popular and inclusive film festivals, the event offers more than 200 full-length feature films, documentaries, animated films and shorts. It is by far the largest film festival in Singapore.

The Festival began in 1986 at a time when mainstream commercial movies dominated Singapore’s local cinemas. Considering the popular market this seemed like a potentially risky venture, however the festival developers believed in the expanding multi-cultural interests of audience members. This proved to be an accurate assessment as the festival gained in popularity and attendance each year. It became a competitive market force in 1991 offering awards such as the first Sliver Screen Award For Best Asian Feature and Best Asian Feature. This gave a new prestige to the quickly growing industry. It now has 3 award categories: Asian Film Competition, Singapore Short Films Competition and
Singapore Film Awards. There is a large guest audience population and the business hotels in Singapore are an essential aspect of accommodating them.

In 1997 the Festival celebrated its 10-year anniversary. This event showcased a special screening of some rare Singapore films. One of the more important features of the celebration was the first screening of St. Jack, written by Peter Bogdanovich. This was an important showing as it brought into popular awareness the celebration of film history and development. Bogdanovich is a highly admired writer, director, historian and critic. While he has worked on an endless list of projects, The Last Picture Show is his most critically acclaimed film.