The students from LASALLE share their journey to winning Best Art Direction at Singapore Youth Film Festival 2026.

This story was first featured on Majulah Melayu SG

Fira: When I heard our names announced for Best Art Direction at the Singapore Youth Film Festival (SYFF) 2026, everything went blank. For a second, I genuinely thought I was dreaming. I had imagined that moment before, but standing there on stage still felt unreal.

Syaf: My reaction was a lot simpler. When our names were called, the first thing that went through my head was just: damn. It took a while for the moment to sink in.

Learning to trust creativity

Fira: I didn’t grow up thinking I would become a filmmaker. Growing up in a lower-income household meant entertainment often came from making things myself. I remember watching Comic Con videos on YouTube and being fascinated by how people created their own characters.

I always had this inner fire to custom-build a character. I didn’t have proper materials, so I used whatever I could find — strings, old clothes, random objects around the house. Looking back, those small experiments probably shaped how I approach art direction today.

But my path into film wasn’t smooth. I failed my O-Levels, and for a long time I believed I simply wasn’t artistic enough. Eventually, I decided to try media studies anyway. That decision led me to LASALLE, where I first enrolled in the Broadcast Media diploma before continuing with a BA in Film.

Tindakake Timbalku eventually became my thesis project.

Finding stories in spaces

Syaf: My path into art direction started differently. I come from an interior design and animation background, but I’ve always been interested in art and media. What fascinated me most was how environments could tell stories. The idea of revealing a character’s background through set design has always been really interesting to me.

When I joined the film, my role was to design the sets and help build the visual world of the story. One of the biggest adjustments for me was learning how collaborative filmmaking is.

In animation, I was used to working independently. In film, you constantly work with other people and departments. Learning how to communicate my ideas clearly was one of the earliest challenges.

Building a world from limited resources

Fira: When I started designing the costumes, I wanted every visual choice to reflect the characters’ personalities. I even studied MBTI personality types while developing the characters. I tried to imagine what colours or clothing styles each personality type might gravitate towards.

For example, the older sister in the story wears darker, tighter clothing to reflect rigidity and control. The younger sister’s softer colours and looser silhouettes represent compassion and emotional openness. Those visual decisions help communicate the story without dialogue.

Syaf: Of course, having creative ideas is one thing. Making them happen on a student budget is another. The creative process was exciting because we had so many ideas. But the budget always brought us back to reality.

Many Indonesian cultural elements we wanted were difficult to find in Singapore, so we had to rethink and simplify many design choices. At the same time, we were learning practical skills along the way.

We weren’t taught things like makeup or even how to hang a picture frame properly. A lot of what we learned came from watching YouTube tutorials or reading forums online.

When everything came together

Fira: Film school wasn’t easy for me. When I first entered LASALLE at 18, I didn’t have strong art skills. I pushed myself to learn quickly, often sacrificing sleep and personal time to keep up with projects.

I lost sleep and even relationships just trying to attend one more shoot. So, standing on stage at SYFF meant a lot more than just winning an award. It reminded me that it’s okay not to follow the conventional path. Sometimes discovering something you truly love takes time.

Syaf: For me, the award felt like validation for the entire journey. All the late nights, revisions and creative problem-solving had led to something tangible. But more than anything, it also felt like a beginning.

Passion starts somewhere small

Fira: One thing I’ve realised from this experience is that creativity doesn’t always start with big opportunities. Sometimes it starts with curiosity. Sometimes it starts with experimenting with whatever you have.

“There’s always something so pretty under the skies you walk under every day,” I like to say. Sometimes all it takes is pulling out your phone and capturing it. You never know where it might lead.

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