Dated: 18 June 2006
Singapore’s MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and Eyeworks Touchdown, New Zealand’s leading entertainment television production company, today signed a Letter of Intent to co-produce two feature films The Tattooist and Altar (working title). The signing ceremony held at the Auckland Town Hall, New Zealand was witnessed by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.
The Tattooist and Altar are the first feature film co-productions resulting from the Singapore-New Zealand Films Co-Production Agreement that was signed on the sidelines of the second Ministerial review of the Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership (ANZSCEP) on 13 July 2004. The Co-Production Agreement is administered by the Media Development Authority (MDA), together with the New Zealand Film Commission.
Said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, MDA, “We congratulate MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and Eyeworks Touchdown for taking the Co-Production Agreement further with their feature films partnership. It is a significant step forward for more co-production ventures with New Zealand and it recognises the value of our Singapore media companies to the international markets.”
Singapore is the first Asian country to sign such a co-production agreement with New Zealand, paving the way for creative minds in both countries to collaborate on film, TV, animation and other media projects. Following the conclusion of the Co-Production Agreement in 2004, three animation television co-production deals between Singapore and New Zealand have been sealed, namely Master Raindrop, Milly Molly and Jane and The Dragon. These projects were supported by MDA’s Scheme for Co-investment in Exportable Content (SCREEN), which aims to encourage the production and distribution of original, high quality Made-by-Singapore content for international markets. Please refer to Annex for more information on the animation projects and SCREEN.
The Tattooist has also benefited from the support of the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), an agency under MDA to facilitate and assist film development in Singapore. Under its Project Development Scheme, a grant was awarded to MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, co-producer of the film, to develop the project.
“The SFC aims to nurture the development of high-quality Singapore films that appeal to both local and international audiences. Through our Project Development Scheme, we seed the production of Made-by-Singapore film projects by Singapore production companies by providing support for the development phase of a film. We are happy to see MediaCorp Raintree Pictures partnering Eyeworks Touchdown, to take The Tattooist to the international circuit,” said Mr Man Shum Sum, Director of SFC and Director of Broadcast &Film, MDA.
Please refer to Annex for more information on the SFC Project Development Scheme.
For more information, please contact:
Ms Chia Pei Siang
Manager, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: (+65) 6837 9010
HP: (+65) 9368 9920
Email: chia_pei_siang@imda.gov.sg
Ms Phoebe Seow
Assistant Director, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: (+65) 6837 9369
Email: phoebe_seow@imda.gov.sg
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