There are tons of film festivals to look forward to in the coming months. As much as we love brain-numbing blockbusters, a thoughtful indie film is so much better. Here are the dates to book into your calendar.

Italian Film Festival (Apr 9-15)

This one's already underway but there are still films like Hungry Hearts, Leopardi and the classic 1967 drama, China is Near, about two brothers with conflicting political ideologies, to catch over the weekend. Plus, these screenings feature both new creations and old, restored classics from the recent 71st Venice Film Festival.

Southeast Asian Film Festival (Apr 10-May 3)

Singapore Art Museum's annual film fest is back with its fifth edition. This time, they're showing rare documentaries and indie films from the region. Films include Giancarlo Abrahan's Sparks, French-Indonesian film Garuda Power: The Spirit Within by Bastian Meiresonne and our very own Wukan: The Flame of Democracy by Lynn Lee and James Leong.

Endeavours Docu Film Fest (May 13-17)

There's an open call to this documentary film festival for any aspiring directors and filmmakers. This edition showcases films about people and their lives, with awards handed out for categories like "Best Documentary" and "The Emerging Filmmaker", which is an open call to all new filmmakers based in Singapore.

The O.P.E.N (Jun 17-Jul 4)

Although this one's not a film festival, per se, there are still 15 international films showing at this 18-day festival that's a pre-cursor to the Singapore International Festival of Arts. On the roster are films including Chilean director Pablo Larrain's trilogy comprising Tony Manero, Post-Mortem and No.