Singaporean short film Buah wins top prize at Palm Springs International ShortFest

Singaporean short film Buah wins top prize at Palm Springs International ShortFest Set in an era where abortion is illegal, Buah tells the story of a pregnant woman whose repeated attempts to end her pregnancy fail until she meets a strange bus driver. Singaporean short film Buah ("fruit" in Malay) has nabbed the Best of Festival prize at this year's Palm Springs International ShortFest – the highest honour at the renowned short film festival. The festival took place from Jun 23 to 29 in California and saw hundreds of shorts from over 60 countries. The film follows a pregnant woman, Siti (Tysha Khan), who doesn’t want to be a mother and is secretly trying everything to rid herself of the foetus. When she meets a carefree female bus driver who is actually a spiritual entity, Siti realises that the only way out may be to become one herself. Written and directed by Jen Nee Lim and produced by Lee Ke Ning, Buah premiered at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in 2025. Since then, the film has been officially selected by 18 international film festivals across Asia, Europe, North America and Africa, including the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Buah's latest win adds to its growing list of accolades, which includes the International Special Jury Prize at the 48th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and Best Performance in Southeast Asian Short Film Competition for lead actress Tysha Khan at the 36th Singapore International Film Festival. It is also now eligible to be submitted for consideration in the Live Action Short Film category at the Academy Awards. In a statement, director Jen Nee Lim said: "This little seed of a film grew into what it is with the love and care from the entire cast and crew, as well as the many people who believed in us. So happy to be able to share a bit of Singapore folklore with the world. I’m on cloud nine!" Producer Lee Ke Ning added: "This award means so much to us, but what has stayed with us throughout this journey is seeing audiences from such different backgrounds connect with Siti and continue talking about the film long after the credits rolled. That's something we'll always be grateful for."