The Inspiring Asia Micro Film Festival 2025 wrapped up on 25 October with its highly anticipated Grand Finals and Awards Ceremony at the National Gallery Singapore — marking the culmination of a year-long celebration of creativity with purpose.
This year’s theme, “Youth Mental Well-being,” invited filmmakers and social innovators to explore the inner struggles and emotional resilience of young people in a fast-changing world. Through stories of courage and compassion, the festival sparked vital conversations about mental health — not as an individual issue, but as a shared social responsibility.
Held across six regions — China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — the festival received over 860 submissions from more than 50 countries, including over 90 projects and 250 AI films . After nearly eight months of selections and preparation, the festival crowned winners across the Best Micro Film, Best Project, and Best AI Film Award categories, while recognising regional partners for their outstanding contributions to social innovation.
The 2025 festival featured three key programmes — the Grand Finals, Thought-Provoking Forums, and Award Ceremony — bringing together filmmakers, changemakers, and experts to celebrate storytelling, innovation, and social impact around youth mental well-being.
At the end of the awards ceremony, Mr. Lionel Li took the stage to announce the theme for the 2026 festival: “Community Empowerment.” The theme highlights how community offers a sense of belonging, strengthens resilience, and inspires perseverance. We believe that every individual and group is an asset to their own change, and film is a crucial medium for them to voice, connect, and act.
Inspiring Asia 2025 has illuminated one of the most pressing issues of our time—youth mental health. Through powerful stories and projects, the festival revealed how mental well-being is shaped not only by individuals but also by families, communities, and culture.
From its spark in 2021 — inspired by a single short film — Inspiring Asia has grown into a platform that connects voices across borders and disciplines. Over the past five years, it has continued to celebrate storytelling, innovation, and social impact, using film as a bridge to inspire empathy and change.
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to our Anchor Partners — Bluehill, Enlight Foundation, Li Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund — and our Platform Partners — Asia Community Foundation and Asia Philanthropy Circle — for their unwavering trust and collaboration, which have made this journey possible.
As Inspiring Asia continues to use film as a bridge, it will bring together creators and changemakers who strive to empower others, foster understanding, and inspire collective action toward a more compassionate and resilient world.
The book showcases how the participants challenged their limits and conquered the World Marathon Challenge and North Pole Marathon to inspire people to challenge their own limits and pursue their dreams boldly.
The book tells the stories behind the event which saw the largest number of people in history running 1045km round Taiwan in 19 days.
