SINGAPORE, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) will lead 37 Singapore media companies to the 17th edition of the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) where they will meet with producers, distributors and investors to promote their content, negotiate deals and network with key industry players from 18 to 21 March 2013.
More than 320 hours of locally-produced content including films and TV programmes will be showcased at the 90-square-metre Singapore Pavilion at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (booth 1A-D01, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre Level 1, Hall 1A).
The content line-up includes recent locally-released film comedies Ah Boys to Men and Ah Boys to Men 2, about recruits in the Singapore military directed by prolific Singapore director Jack Neo; Taxi! Taxi!, inspired by a true story of a retrenched microbiology scientist who turns to taxi driving; Red Numbers by first-time director Dominic Ow about a guy who has three lucky minutes in his miserable life according to a Chinese geomancer; and The Wedding Diary II, the sequel to The Wedding Diary, which depicts life after marriage.
Also on show are new entertaining lifestyle TV programmes, from New York Festivals nominee Signature, a TV series featuring world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie and singer Stacey Kent; reality-style lifestyle series Threesome covering topics with Asian TV celebrities Utt, Sonia Couling and Nadya Hutagalung; to light-hearted infotainment decor home makeover show Project Dream Home and Style: Check-in, an interactive 360 content fashion lifestyle programme which uses social media to interact with viewers.
Singapore-produced documentary works with globalised, cross-cultural themes will also be featured. Homestay, explores family togetherness, community spirit, racial and cultural harmony; Explore the Day follows a Muslim child in a different country, sun up to sun down in a playful cinema verite style; Salam Ramadhan explores how Muslims around the world usher in Ramadan, the month of fasting; while Halal Galore is a global food travelogue series on the dietary requirements of Muslim travellers in non-Muslim countries.
A slew of upcoming feature-length films in development are also seeking business opportunities. These include Wa is for Wayang, a discovery of the mystical world of Chinese Opera by three underdog students; Little Medium Boy, a narrative about an 11-year-old child star medium who is hired to find a wife for a dead boy; and Building Waves which reflects the lives of four damaged souls who suffer loss from the reservoir of Singapore and find salvation through the waves of change.
Singapore Film Commission to promote SGFilm Channel to international audiences at FILMART
The Singapore Film Commission will promote the recently launched SGFilm Channel (www.youtube.com/sgfilmchannel) to international audiences attending FILMART. This will extend the reach of Singapore short films beyond festivals. Kicking off its first year in 2013, the channel will showcase 40 short films with 10 new titles released for online viewing every quarter.
Among the film offerings currently available are 10 festival works with heart-warming stories of family ties and friendships including Ah Ma (2007), a 14-minute short film by Anthony Chen which secured a "Special Mention" at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in 2007; and Keluar Baris (Homecoming) (2007) by Boo Junfeng whose debut feature film Sandcastle (2010) was invited to the International Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
Spotlight on Singapore veterans and up-and-coming film business executives
Singapore's participation will be headlined by a stellar line-up of veteran directors and producers, alongside up-and-coming film business executives, as they collaborate with internationally renowned talent for their latest works.
Veteran director-producer Jack Neo whose comedy films carry social themes makes his comeback at the market. He holds a new record for Singapore's best performing local movie at the box office with his latest film Ah Boys to Men 2 (2013) which has crossed the S$7 million mark at the local box office.
Other veterans include Chan Pui Yinwho has produced 17 features in her illustrious career with recent comedy film Taxi! Taxi!; Chai Yee Wei, who has directed horror and supernatural comedy Blood Ties (2009) and Twisted (2011) respectively, returns with That Girl in Pinafore, a coming-of-age film about teenage first love and the pain of dreams clashing with reality set against the backdrop of the rise and fall of Singapore folk songs in the early 90s; and writer-director Han Yew Kwang whose action comedy Qing Gong is one of the five finalists for the 2nd Annual Hong Kong Asia Financing Forum/Fox Chinese Film Development Award on the sidelines of FILMART.
Former Miss Singapore Universe Eunice Olsen will produce and star in Oscar-nominated director Chhay Bora's latest feature film 3.50. This multi-layered story crosses the narrative threads of a disgraced doctor, a foreign journalist, a taxi-driver, a street peddler and a prostitute, as they navigate the socio-economic tensions that allow poverty and its problems to flourish. Chhay Bora's Lost Loves is Cambodia's official Oscar entry for the "Best Foreign Film" at the 2013 Academy Awards.
Actress-turned-director Michelle Chong, whose film Already Famous (2011) was Singapore's entry for the 2013 Academy Awards in the "Best Foreign Film" category, will direct and produce her sophomore title 3 Peas in a Pod in Australia, featuring ex-U-KISS boyband member Alexander Lee Eusebio from Korea and Calvin Chen a member of popular Taiwanese boyband Fahrenheit.
Highlights of recent Singapore box office revenue and regional co-productions
Singapore films continue to record a steady increase in revenue at the local box office. Last year, the revenue for Singapore's top five films more than tripled to S$8.9 million (US$2.17 million) from S$2.7 million (US$7.15 million) in 2010[1].
The top five grossing Singapore films last year were Ah Boys to Men, We Not Naughty, Dance Dance Dragon, Greedy Ghost and Imperfect.
Singapore's Scout Pictures and Hong Kong's Imagine Nation Films are collaborating on Hong Kong-Singapore-Taiwan horror-suspense film co-production The Second Coming, which is Hong Kong director Herman Yau's (Ip Man: The Final Fight) stereoscopic 3D film debut. The project is funded by Hong Kong's Film Development Fund and MDA's Production Assistance grant[2].
Singapore's Clover Films and Hong Kong's Star Chinese Movies co-produced The Wedding Diary II and recently inked a regional distribution deal for Ah Boys to Men and Ah Boys to Men 2 covering Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Philippines and Taiwan. Both films are slated to screen this year in Malaysia and Taiwan in March and April respectively.
[1] Figures are compiled by the Singapore Film Commission from various sources based on estimates
[2] Production Assistance funds media productions that contribute to Singapore's media sector through hiring Singapore talent in credited roles and generating Singapore spend. It is part of the MDA grant schemes support productions across all media sectors, namely Animation, Broadcast, Film, Games, Interactive Media, Music and Publishing, from idea development to content production, providing access to international markets and talent development. See http://www.mda.gov.sg/Schemes/Pages/GrantSchemes.aspx for more information. Singapore Spend refers to a project's expenditure on the cost items incurred in Singapore or on Singaporeans (regardless of residence/location) or Permanent Residents (based in Singapore). This includes third-party costs incurred and paid directly to a Singapore business entity or Singaporeans overseas. Any goods and/or services supplied by a Singapore business entity must be substantially supplied, performed or value-added in Singapore.
Media Contact:
Ephraim Loy
Assistant Manager (Industry Communications)
Communications
Media Development Authority
DID: +65-9726-3157
Email: ephraim_loy@mda.gov.sg
