16 March 2012 - 33 Singapore companies will contribute to the growing appreciation of Asian films and will exhibit their strengths in producing stories with strong Asian appeal... Read more
Three top- grossing Singapore films make their market debut
33 Singapore companies will contribute to the growing appreciation of Asian films and will exhibit their strengths in producing stories with strong Asian appeal at the 16th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART), 19 to 22 March 2012.
Led by Mr Yeo Chun Cheng, Director of Broadcast, Animation, Film and Music at the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), these film and television companies will bring to FILMART some 37 titles and more than 120 hours of content.
Some of the highlights include:
Asian-inspired content
Light-hearted entertainment film and TV programmes with Asian themes, set against a Singapore backdrop, and carrying universal themes of love and redemption, will be showcased at the 90 square-metre Singapore Pavilion.
We Not Naughty, a light and heartwarming story about child-parent relationships, directed and written by Jack Neo;23:59, a horror film by Gilbert Chan;and Dance Dance Dragon a family comedy set in an Asian household, scripted by Kelvin Tong, are three top-grossing Singapore films that will debut at the market.
In addition, TV programmes on Asian cuisine, art and cultural influences will also be making a strong showing at FILMART, demonstrating Singapore companies’ ability to create content that resonates with Asian audiences. These include Almost Extinct, a documentary on endangered South East Asian animals;The Royal Chef, a 12-episode lifestyle show that travels to key Asian cities to uncover the likes and dislikes of past Asian kings and emperors;and Artistic Journeys, which delves into the origin and evolution of traditional Asian art forms. Included also is A Song To Remember, a historical-musical drama expounding values of loyalty, friendship and love set in the 1930s to 1940s in early Singapore.
Spotlight on Singapore’s film directors
Award-winning film directors such as Eric Khoo and Jack Neo will be at FILMART. Eric Khoo’s Tatsumi (2011) was in competition in the Un Certain Regard category at the 64th Cannes Film Festival. It won “Best Film” and “Best Composer” in the Muhr Asia/Africa Awards at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival. This international recognition complements Eric Khoo’s role as Jury President of the 6th Asian Film Awards co-located at FILMART, where he will lead 11 judges in deciding the best of 32 films from 11 countries and regions. Another award-winning director, Jack Neo, has produced films on social themes that have a comedic slant. He holds the record for Singapore’s best performing local movie at the box office with his film Money No Enough (1998) which grossed S$5.8 million locally. Money No Enough 2 (2008) was exhibited in Taiwan for a record number of 29 months while his I Not Stupid (2002) did well at the box office in Hong Kong grossing more than S$1 million. Multi-talented actress-turned-director Michelle Chong, who made her first movie Already Famous, will attend FILMART for the first time and Wee Li Lin, a recent Tisch Asia Fine Arts graduate, will showcase her new documentary film Singapore Country.
Singapore - a hub for digital media services in Asia
As a showcase of Singapore’s media digital services, MM2 Entertainment and Mocha Chai Lab will jointly launch a range of digital cinema package conversion services at FILMART. This service targets regional cinemas and distribution companies which require film digitisation services for exhibition.
Joining MM2 and Mocha Chai are Widescreen Media and Yellow Box Studios. Widescreen Media provided production services for Tsui Hark’s 3D martial arts flick Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. Yellow Box Studios is equipped with a Dolby Certified Mix studio and its resident composer Ricky Ho won “Best Original Score” at the 48th Golden Horse Awards in November 2011 for the epic film Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale. He is also nominated for “Best Composer” at the 6th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. These highlight Singapore capabilities in end-to-end 3D filming services and music scoring services for regional production houses.
For more details of the 33 exhibiting Singapore companies, their content offerings, as well as director bios, please see attached Annexes.
Annex A –List of Programmes at the Singapore Pavilion
Annex B –List of Singapore companies at Hong Kong Filmart 2012
You can also catch some of Singapore’s Asian-inspired content at FILMART at https://www.youtube.com/user/MDASingapore
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About Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA)
The Media Development Authority of Singapore (www.mda.gov.sg) promotes the growth of globally competitive film, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation and interactive digital media industries. It also regulates the media sector to safeguard the interests of consumers, and promotes a connected society.
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