August is shaping up to be another great month for film fans in Singapore. Along with the return of Films at the Fort, where you can lean back on a puffy pillow in the grass and drink wine while watching titles like Forrest Gump, there are also a lot of artier options for you celluloid snooty-types. Here's what to catch.

IndigNation Queer Film Festival (Aug 5-6)

We've written about this already, but when the island's annual queer arts festival teams up with the island's coolest indie cinema, it's cause for excitement. IndigNation's queer film festival kicks off on Aug 5 with Strike a Pose, a documentary about gay dancers on Madonna's Blond Ambition tour, followed by a disco dance party afterwards. Other titles showing that weekend are Papa Rainbow, a story on China's fathers and their experiences with LGBT children; Queer Shorts which has four short films in one screening with their highlight, That's My Boy about Sonu, who struggles with his biological gender; and Funny & Fabulous that has two short films in its segment: The Dragon and Phoenix Show and Angmo & Amoi (A Film about Difference).

Painting with Light at National Gallery (Aug 6 & 7)

Celluloid buffs should catch the 1967 Malaysian film Sesudah Suboh by the legendary P Ramlee, about a bored bookstore on a mad and ill-advised romance, and 2003 mockumentary The Big Durian by Amir Muhammed, dealing with racial tensions in KL after a Malay soldier opens fire in a Chinese neighborhood, at the National Gallery's Southeast Asian film series Painting with Light. It's $10 per film. 

13 Little Pictures at The Projector (Through Aug 13)

Since July, The Projector has been screening films by a local film collective. 13 Little Pictures was founded in 2009 and since then, we've been privvy to some very creative and daring films that have seen success both locally and internationally in places like Berlin, New York, Tokyo, and more. One of the key highlights about 13 Little Pictures: A Programme, is that you can get personal with the collective's key members during the post-film dialogue session. Much of the series has elapsed, but you can still catch Lei Yuan Bin's 03-Flats (Aug 6) and Daniel Hui's Snakeskin (Aug 13).

Love & Pride Film Festival (Aug 19-31)

Golden Village will also be holding their very own LGBT-centric film festival, screening films curated by the Singapore Film Society. The Love & Pride Film Festival is eight years old this year, and will be taking place over 12 days at Golden Village Suntec City, and Golden Village Grand at Great World City. On the opening night, Golden Village will be screening a feature documentary titled Oriented, which follows three gay Palestinian friends dealing with their sexual and national identities during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, after which you’ll be able to “meet” the film’s director via Skype. For the full line-up, click here.

Asian Restored Classics at Capitol Theatre (Aug 25-28)

The Asian Film Archive's Asian Restored Classics will involve screenings of restored titles from the region, screened at the fancy schmancy Capitol Theatre over four days. Highlights include Singapore's half-hour Malay language musical Gado Gado (1961), 1964 Satyajit Ray classic Charulata, based on a novel by Tagore about a doomed romance, Kurosawa's famous period piece Ran (1985) and four other films. Tickets are $15 a pop.