A good film can entertain us for a couple of hours. A great one can stay with us long after the credits roll.
This September, the 9th MINDS Film Festival (MFF 2026) returns to the heartlands with two international films that offer something more than just an afternoon at the movies. Hosted at SAFRA Choa Chu Kang and SAFRA Punggol, the annual community event invites audiences to experience stories that celebrate resilience, individuality and the determination to pursue one’s dreams, while shining a light on the experiences and potential of Persons with Intellectual Disability (PWIDs).
Organised by MINDS in partnership with the Singapore Film Society, this year’s festival brings together two very different stories from opposite sides of the world. Yet both films share a powerful message: sometimes, the greatest journey is not about getting to where you want to go, but discovering who you are along the way.
First up is Please Stand By, a heartfelt American comedy-drama about Wendy, played by Dakota Fanning, a young woman with autism whose passion for Star Trek inspires her to write an original screenplay for a writing competition.
When an unexpected setback threatens to stop her submission from reaching its destination, Wendy makes a bold decision: she sets off on her own cross-country journey to deliver it herself.
What follows is more than a road trip.
As Wendy navigates unfamiliar places and unexpected challenges, Please Stand By becomes a story about independence, courage and the desire to be understood on your own terms. Her love for writing and Star Trek may be the catalyst for her journey, but what she is really searching for is the confidence to step beyond the boundaries others have placed around her.
It is easy for society to define people by what they may struggle with. The film gently challenges that instinct by allowing Wendy to be much more than a diagnosis. She is imaginative, determined, funny, frustrated and fiercely passionate about the things she loves.
For anyone who has ever felt underestimated or held back by expectations, Wendy’s journey is a reminder that finding your own voice sometimes requires the courage to step into the unknown.
The festival’s second featured film takes audiences from the American road to the ice rink in China.
Super Wang Wang (超级望望), a Chinese film presented in Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles, follows a young boy named Wang Wang with intellectual disability who has grown up in the forest and discovers an unexpected gift: a talent for speed skating.
His journey eventually leads him to a Special Olympics team, where he begins training and pursuing his dream despite the prejudices and setbacks that stand in his way.
On the surface, it is a sports story. But at its heart, Super Wang Wang is about what happens when someone is given the opportunity to discover what they are capable of.
Sport has always had a way of revealing character. It tests physical strength and endurance, but it also demands discipline, perseverance and the ability to get back up after disappointment. For Wang Wang, the ice becomes a place where assumptions can be challenged and limitations can be redefined.
His story is especially resonant because it reminds us that talent does not always reveal itself in the places we expect. Sometimes, all a person needs is the chance, encouragement and support to discover what they can do.
As Wang Wang pushes forward towards his dream, audiences are invited to look beyond labels and expectations, and instead see the individual, their potential and the possibilities that can emerge when they are given room to shine.
Together, Please Stand By and Super Wang Wang may tell very different stories, but they arrive at a similar destination.
Both films are about people who refuse to let others decide what is possible for them.
One finds the courage to take a journey across a country to share a story she believes in. The other finds freedom and purpose on the ice, turning an unexpected talent into a dream worth fighting for. Their paths may be different, but both remind us that resilience is not always loud or dramatic. Sometimes, it is simply about taking the next step, trying again and continuing to believe in yourself.
Beyond the screenings, visitors can also look forward to interactive quizzes, lucky draws and the MINDS Marketplace, where unique products and crafts created by trainees from MINDS social enterprises will be available. Early arrivals (the first 25 registered guests to arrive on event day) will enjoy door gifts, while SAFRA members attending the screenings can also look forward to exclusive event-day perks, while stocks last.
Most importantly, the MINDS Film Festival creates an opportunity for the community to come together through the universal language of film.
Because while the stories on screen may introduce us to people whose experiences are different from our own, the emotions at their core are instantly recognisable. The desire to belong. The fear of failure. The joy of discovering something you love. The determination to prove that you are capable of more.
These are stories that belong to all of us.
So if you are looking for a meaningful way to spend a Saturday with your family or friends, make some time for the MINDS Film Festival this September. You might arrive expecting to watch a film. But you may just leave seeing the world, and the people in it, a little differently.
MINDS Film Festival 2026 at SAFRA
SAFRA Choa Chu Kang
Date: Saturday, 19 September 2026
Time: 10am to 4.30pm
Venue: Atrium, Level 1
SAFRA Punggol
Date: Saturday, 26 September 2026
Time: 10am to 4.30pm
Venue: Atrium, Level 3
Admission is free, with seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
To reserve your seats, visit the MINDS Film Festival registration page here. Visit MINDS Film Festival 2026 | SAFRA for more information.
