Cinema is as much an auditory experience as a visual one. To mark the fourth ASEAN Film Festival, we are shifting the focus from screen to speaker with a dedicated listening programme at our Moving Image Centre. Partnering with programmer Viknesh Kobinathan, this weekend series unpacks Southeast Asia’s distinct film scores, soundscapes, and sonic traditions. From insightful talks on sound design to relaxed music sessions, drop in anytime to discover how sound drives the rhythm and emotion of screen storytelling.

22 August (Saturday) | Deep-Dive Talk: Film programmer Viknesh Kobinathan leads a session on the dialogue between music, sound design, and cinema across the ASEAN region. Drawing on selected festival highlights—including Lewat Djam Malam (After the Curfew), Turn Left Turn Right, and the short film showcase New Frequencies: Short Films of Youth and Whimsy—this talk explores how sound constructs world and mood on screen.

23 August (Sunday) | DJ Mixer & Casual Listening: Unwind alongside featured festival filmmakers for a laid-back DJ set celebrating the grooves, rhythms, and musical eclecticisms of Southeast Asia.

Viknesh Kobinathan is a Singapore-based cultural worker, film programmer, and DJ. Working across cinema and sound, they treat communal gatherings around music and image as shared spaces for care, healing, and resistance. As a programmer at Singapore’s Asian Film Archive (AFA), Kobinathan shapes the screening repertoire at the Oldham Theatre. They also run This Where Film Club and hold a residency at Intervention. Kobinathan got their start in programming in 2013 with the student-led Perspectives Film Festival while studying filmmaking at Nanyang Technological University. They went on to spend two years programming for local indie cinema The Projector, before earning an MA in Film Studies, Programming, and Curation from the UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS).