Dated: 5 November 2007
Singapore films and filmmakers to be celebrated at leading film festival
Ten short films by Singapore’s most exciting young filmmakers will be screened at a special Singapore Showcase in the United Kingdom’s number one short film festival, the Encounters Short Film Festival. Held annually in November, it is one of Europe’s leading film festivals and attracts international audiences, film distributors and filmmakers.
The Singapore films include director Royston Tan’s two prize-winning shorts, Monkey Love and DIY, and two other films which played at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year - Anthony Chen’s award-winning Ah Ma and Pok Yue Weng’s SuperDong. In addition to playing in the Singapore Showcase, director Tan Wei Keong’s film, White, has also been selected by the Encounters jury to be part of the prestigious Emerging Talent strand, another programme of the festival focusing on animation.
All the Singapore films have either been shortlisted or won prizes at film festivals at home and abroad, and all will be receiving their first UK screening with Encounters. They reflect a range of filmmaking styles and present a vivid cross section of Singaporean life.
The Singapore Showcase was put together by Objectifs Films and the British Council, and is supported by the Singapore Film Commission (SFC). It will take place in Bristol on Thursday 22 November, as part of Encounters (21 - 25 November).
Five of the filmmakers whose work features in the programme – Royston Tan, Boo Junfeng, Eva Tang, Tan Wei Keong and Victric Thng – are scheduled to attend the Festival. After the screening, Royston Tan will take part in a special session looking at short film making and the transition to feature film making. There will also be a screening of Tan’s second feature, 4:30, plus glimpses of 881 - the first time UK audiences will have seen clips from the film, a major box-office success in Singapore.
The full list of films in the programme is as follows:
MONKEY LOVE by Royston Tan
SUPERDONG by Pok Yue Weng
FLAT DREAMS by Eva Tang
LOCUST by Victric Thng
QUIETLY by Jit Fong Oon
WHITE by Tan Wei Keong
AUTOGRAPH BOOK by Wee Li Lin
KATONG FUGUE by Boo Junfeng
AH MA by Anthony Chen
D.I.Y. by Royston Tan
Said Mr Man Shu Sum, Director, SFC: “Over the past year, many Singapore short films have been participating in and winning accolades at festivals around the world - a testimony to the growing strengths of our talents. We are delighted at this opportunity to screen Singapore films to an international audience at Encounters, and hope that through this exposure, our filmmakers will gain greater confidence and be inspired to produce more exciting and original Singapore films."
Mr Dan Prichard, Arts Manager at the British Council in Singapore said: “This is an exciting time for the film industry in Singapore. There are many very talented young directors coming up, and we are delighted to be working with the filmmakers, the SFC and Objectifs to provide an international platform for their work at Encounters, the UK’s most important festival for short film. We hope that long-lasting ties between filmmakers and the film industries in both countries will develop from this Showcase.”
Ms Sue Lion, Managing Director of Encounters, said: “We are truly delighted to be welcoming Royston Tan back to Bristol and Encounters. Our festival was one of the first to recognise his talent, giving him our top prize in 2002, and we have taken a keen interest in his career and success ever since. We are also very pleased that this time he will be joined by other Singaporean film directors who seem destined to enjoy similar international fame and Mr Man Shu Sum, Director of the Singapore Film Commission. One of the prime aims of Encounters is to be an ideas laboratory. Adding such splendid ingredients from Singapore to this already rich international mix is sure to give everyone something good to take home!”
Ms Yuni Hadi, Manager of Objectifs Films, said: “The recent years have proven that Singapore films can travel and do have a growing international audience. Objectifs Films has worked hard to put our films on worldwide platforms such as television channels and DVDs and we are happy to be part of this effort to continue our work. We are confident that the synergy between Objectifs, the Singaporean filmmakers and Encounters Film Festival will spark off many other initiatives and we look forward to future partnerships with the British Council and SFC to promote the Singapore filmmaking industry.”
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About Encounters
Encounters (http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/), which takes place in Bristol, is the UK’s leading short film festival and attracts an audience of leading UK and international filmmakers and programmers.
Encounters is the umbrella title for two of the UK’s leading film festivals, Brief Encounters, acknowledged internationally as one of world’s best-respected celebrations of short films, and Animated Encounters, which celebrates and showcases the productions, talent, creativity, technology and skills that make animation so popular, and which acts as the UK’s representative for the prestigious European Cartoon D’Or.
The two events united under the Encounters Short Film Festival banner for the first time in 2006, winning widespread media coverage, both at home and abroad, and attracting audiences of over 6,700. The competitions attracted more than 1,500 entries from an unprecedented 64 counties. A record 282 films were screened, with a further 3,046 viewings provided via the Video Library. The screenings formed part of 79 events, attended by over 600 delegates, which included an Animation Industry Day, Encounters’ flagship Film School and assorted masterclasses. Sponsors and partners included Cartoon Network, DreamWorks, Aardman Animations, the UK Film Council, the BBC, Film Four and Nickleodeon.
About the Singapore Film Commission
The Singapore Film Commission (SFC) is an agency under the Media Development Authority (MDA) which facilitates and assists in film development for Singapore. The SFC’s key areas of focus are: Funding, Facilitation and Promotion. Its mission is to nurture, support, and promote Singapore talent in film-making, the production of Singapore films, and a film industry in Singapore. For more information, please visit
www.sfc.org.sg
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations and the world’s leading cultural relations organisation, connecting people with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK to build lasting relationships around the world. The British Council operates in 110 countries and territories worldwide and have been in Singapore since 1947, focussing on the arts, science, education, English language teaching and UK examinations services. The British Council is a non-political organisation which operates at arm’s length from government, and its patron is Her Majesty the Queen. The British Council is registered in England (No 209131) and Singapore (No 0768) as a charity.
About Objectifs Films
Objectifs Films is the only international short film distributor based in Singapore and the Southeast Asian region, dedicated to bringing the world of Southeast Asian short films to a global audience.
Objectifs Films distributes Southeast Asian short films of all genres and types to television stations (broadcast, cable, pay per view and satellite), Internet sites, educational institutions, museums, galleries, airlines and other screening venues internationally. We select and represent quality short films from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Our films are carefully chosen based on quality, innovation and the profile of the filmmaker.
Driven by an executive team with experience in film development, marketing and education, Objectifs Films is poised to provide a launching pad for the myriad of visual voices from Southeast Asia to worldwide viewers. Objectifs Films is jointly owned by Kinema Entertainment (the media investment company that owns Singapore’s leading post-production facility, Infinite Frameworks), Objectifs – Centre for Photography and Filmmaking and Shooting Gallery Asia.
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