Southeast Asia’s Cinema Shrines

Three celluloid sanctuaries celebrate the region’s love affair with film

Words: Sarita Urupongsa
Photos: Cinema Oasis, Asian Film Archive, Meta House, and M+ Cinema

Across Southeast Asia, a wave of independent and alternative cinemas is reshaping how stories are told and shared. From Bangkok’s cosmopolitan Cinema Oasis to Singapore’s Asian Film Archive, and Phnom Penh’s creative playground Meta House, these venues champion artistic freedom and cultural dialogue beyond the commercial mainstream.

They serve as sanctuaries for experimentation, preservation, and collaboration – spaces where filmmakers, artists, and audiences come together to pursue authentic expression. Together, they illuminate the region’s vibrant arts landscape, proving that the future of Asian cinema thrives wherever creativity dares to breathe freely.

Cinema Oasis
Fountain of free and fearless cinema

Tucked amid the leafy calm of Sukhumvit Soi 43 in central Bangkok, Cinema Oasis is more than a microcinema – it’s a sanctuary for creative freedom and a celebration of celluloid dreams. Founded by Thai filmmakers once silenced by censorship, this small but significant venue champions independent voices from Thailand and around the world, proving that artistic vision can flourish even in the face of repression.

Visitors expecting a makeshift underground space with beanbags, egg-carton walls, and sackcloth drapes will be surprised: Cinema Oasis oozes elegance. Plush red velvet seats, state-of-the-art projection and sound, and an intimate screening room create an atmosphere that balances comfort with reverence. The programming is eclectic and fearless, featuring rare gems and independent works that never reach commercial multiplexes.

The cinema’s signature event, the Amazing Stoner Movie Fest, is both playful and profound: a joyful celebration of outsider creativity where films compete for the tongue-in-cheek Golden Ganja award. Upstairs, an art gallery hosts rotating exhibitions, while a tranquil garden pond offers a literal oasis for audiences to relax and reflect after screenings.

The story behind Cinema Oasis is as fascinating as the films it screens. In 2012, the Thai government banned Shakespeare Must Die, a daring local adaptation of Macbeth, declaring it a threat to national security and pride. Filmmakers responded with the documentary Censor Must Die, only to see that film banned as well.

Refusing to be silenced, a group of artists founded Foundation Cinema Oasis, a non-profit to create a haven where banned, neglected, and overlooked movies could be shown, celebrated and discussed. Its mission is threefold: to encourage creative freedom in cinema, revive the joy of shared movie-going, and nurture emotional sensitivity, cultural openness, and spiritual depth in Thai society.

Cinema Oasis champions resistance through beauty – an island of laughter, contemplation, and community in a sea of commercialism and censorship.

Open Thursday to Sunday; 4 Sukhumvit Soi 43, Bangkok; www.cinemaoasis.com

Asian Film Archive at Oldham Theatre
Lights, camera … heritage

A cinematic time machine, the Asian Film Archive (AFA) invites visitors on a journey through a century of the region’s stories, sounds, and moving images. Founded two decades ago in Singapore’s cultural district, AFA has grown into a cornerstone of film preservation and appreciation, devoted to keeping the rich legacy of Asian cinema alive while nurturing contemporary voices.

Far more than an archive, AFA is a buzzing hub of filmmakers, scholars, and audiences. Themed screenings, educational initiatives, and cultural programmes ensure that Asia’s vast cinema landscape remains visible and accessible to contemporary visitors. From forgotten classics to experimental works and modern indies, its programming explores how cinema both reflects and shapes Asian societies and cultures.

AFA’s collection is itself a treasure trove, gleaming with sole surviving copies of Asian filsm that attract researchers and cinephiles alike. The archive can be explored online at asianfilmarchive.org or physically at the AFA Reference Collection located in the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library at Singapore’s National Library. But for regular AFA film programmes and events, you must head to the Oldham Theatre in the National Archives – a fitting home for the region’s cinematic heritage. Here, visitors can also explore exhibitions like “Matter Matters” (October 2025-January 2026), which uncovers fragmented memories and repressed histories as part of the Singapore Biennale.

Oldham Theatre, National Archives of Singapore, 1 Canning Rise, Singapore; asianfilmarchive.org

Meta House
Crossroads of cultures and creativity

Meta House is a flickering beacon of artistic collaboration and cultural exchange in the heart of Phnom Penh. Founded by German filmmaker Nico Mesterharm, this cosmopolitan hangout grew from a simple private villa into one of the city’s most dynamic and inclusive art hubs.

Setting Meta House apart is its commitment to nurturing the budding local arts community. In a city where creatives grappel with rapid change, Meta House provides a sanctuary for artists of all disciplines, from visual art and film to music, theatre, dance, and new media. Its calendar brims with exhibitions, screenings, performances, and workshops that showcase local talent but also spark dialogue across generations and cultures. Meanwhile free or affordable access to many of its events ensures that art remains a shared and inclusive experience.

Meta House serves as both a community hub and a cultural laboratory. Its indoor gallery and event space regularly hosts exhibitions by emerging and established Cambodian artists, while the open-air stage transforms into a lively venue for concerts, film nights, and theatrical performances under the Phnom Penh sky. Complementing these are a multimedia library, two restaurants, and a German language school under the Goethe-Institut, a reminder of the centre’s cross-cultural roots.

Meta House has helped drive a renaissance of contemporary art in Cambodia. Through artist exchange programmes, community-based projects, and collaborations with local and international institutions, it encourages artists to experiment, learn, and connect with audiences beyond national borders. Many of Cambodia’s rising filmmakers, visual artists, and musicians have passed through Meta House’s doors, finding not only a showcase but also mentorship and community within its walls.

Beyond exhibitions and performances, Meta House also serves as a forum for discussion of Cambodia’s cultural heritage and its place in a globalising world. Here, artists and audiences alike are invited to explore memory, identity, and resilience – themes that resonate in a country rebuilding its creative soul after decades of upheaval.

Today, Meta House continues to thrive as an award-winning arts and media hub, bridging tradition and innovation, local and global. Its success lies not only in the events it hosts but in the creative conversations it inspires – conversations that keep Phnom Penh’s artistic pulse alive and remind the world that Cambodia remains as dynamic and diverse as ever.

#48, Street 228, 12207 Phnom Penh; meta-house.com

Reframing Legends

Hong Kong’s big-screen heritage takes centre stage daily at M+ Cinema, the blockbuster attraction of the city’s M+ museum of contemporary visual culture. Its programme of screenings pays tribute to Hong Kong cinema’s golden era, spotlighting visionary filmmakers who framed the region’s identity. Beyond local classics, M+ also celebrates the Chinese diaspora’s trailblazers in Hollywood, whose artistry bridged East and West and reshaped global cinema.

Audiences take their seats amid the striking architecture of M+ museum, a grand setting in which to rediscover the emotional and aesthetic power of Hong Kong’s cinematic legacy.

Open Friday 7-10pm, Saturday-Sunday 2-10pm; M+, West Kowloon Cultural District, 38 Museum Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong; www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema