Dated: 14 July 2005
Film-makers in Singapore now have a new source of funds to draw upon for their projects, along with a higher co-investment quantum. In addition, the Singapore Film Commission (SFC) is also raising the amount available for film-makers under its popular Short Film Grant. The good news was announced at the SFC Film-makers’ Roundtable today attended by over 120 industry players.
This new source of film funding comes about because the SFC recognises the need for development funding here as well as the importance of proper project development to a well-produced feature film.
Its new Project Development Scheme (PDS), which will award up to $40,000 for five feature film projects each year, thus plugs this gap. The PDS will help to defray costs arising from the development phase of a feature film -- from scripting, budgeting, casting, to sourcing and securing investments and distribution commitments.
Commenting on the introduction of the PDS at the Roundtable, SFC Chairman Jennie Chua said: “With the introduction of the PDS, the SFC has now put in place a series of schemes that will see a film-maker through all the stages of a feature film production, from scriptwriting to project development and finally, to film production.”
With these schemes in place, the SFC –which plays the role of catalyst and helps develop the local film-making industry -- would like to see Singapore film producers and companies dedicate time to developing feature film projects, and in the long run, work on a pipeline of projects that would contribute to increasing the annual output of Singapore feature films. Revision of Schemes –SFC Co-Investment Scheme and Short Film Grant
In addition, more film-making money is also being made available via the new SFC Co-Investment Scheme (SCS), which is a merger of the SFC’s Co-Production Investment and the SFC’s Feature Film Investment Programmes.
Under the new initiative, the SFC’s investment quantum has been increased from the previous $250,000/$500,000 to $1million. This increase in the Commission’s investment quantum, commented Ms Chua, “reflects our commitment to raising the production value and quality of Singapore-made films and our desire to encourage more international co-productions.
“Singapore films such as Jack Neo's Homerun and Eric Khoo's Be With Me have won awards and acclaim at international film festivals and the SFC is prepared to put in additional resources to support Singapore films to ensure their commercial competitiveness at an international level.”
In view of the increased popularity of High Definition (HD) and film-format productions amongst the local short film-making community, the SFC is also fine-tuning its Short Film Grant to provide more assistance to film-makers who choose to shoot on such formats. This is because higher budgets are necessary for such productions due to the additional film processing &lighting requirements etc, and short film-making serves as an important training ground for budding filmmakers. Therefore, the quantum for the Short Film Grant will be raised to $10,000 for HD &film-format productions where it will exceed $20,000 to produce, while the grant quantum will remain at $5,000 for all other short film projects.
The SFC acts as a catalyst and facilitator in the development of the Singapore film industry, and these changes have been made in response to industry feedback and changing industry needs. The SFC will continue to work closely and together with the film industry to put Singapore on the international film scene.
For more information on the new SFC initiative and other funding programmes please visit the SFC website at www.sfc.org.sg. A brief write-up on the SFC is attached at Annex A.
For more information, please contact:
Ms Koh June May
Senior Manager, Corporate &Marketing Communications
DID: 6837 9363
Fax: 6336 4142
Email: june_may_koh@imda.gov.sg
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ANNEX A
The Singapore Film Commission (SFC) is an agency under the Media Development Authority (MDA) which facilitates and assists in film development for Singapore. The MDA’s aim is to develop Singapore into a Global Media City, where its Media 21 strategy seeks to establish Singapore as a media exchange;export Singapore-made content;internationalise local media companies;nurture local media talents and develop digital media.
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”.
Since its establishment in 1998 to date, the SFC has: • Established six funding programmes for Singapore film-makers to tap into to produce a short film, a feature film, write a script or participate in overseas film festivals;
• Co-invested in nine completed feature films, namely, Chicken Rice War (2000), One Leg Kicking (2001), City Sharks (2003), 15 (2003), Perth (2004), Rice Rhapsody (2004), S11 (2005), Unarmed Combat (2005) and The High Cost of Living (2005);
• Supported up to 200 short films, with the number rising from 11 projects in 1998 to 67 projects last year;
• Supported around 50 filmmakers every year under its Overseas Travel Grant, under which they receive funding to attend festivals where their films had been selected for competition/screening;
• Given out 25 awards under its Script Development Grant;
• Established a Film &Location Service that provides assistance to local and foreign TV and film producers by recommending suitable venues for filming, and in getting local contacts for talents and film-related services;and
• Supported local film-related events that showcase Singapore films and filmmakers, such as Screen Singapore: A Festival of Singapore Films, The Substation’s Moving Images programme and the Singapore Short Cuts series at Singapore History Museum.
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