Singapore – The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) will be leading 30 Singapore media companies to the 18th edition of the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART), bringing over 190 hours of film and TV programmes.
The Singapore delegation offers content from a wide range of genres – romance, drama, comedy, television documentaries, lifestyle travelogues, to food and cultural programmes, appealing in particular to Chinese audiences.
These will be showcased at the 108-square-metre Singapore Pavilion at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (Booth 1A-E01, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre Level 1, Hall 1A) from 24 to 27 March 2014.
Singapore media companies will showcase titles co-produced with Chinese partners, featuring cast from Hong Kong and China. There are also stories revolving around cultural traditions.
Singapore-Chinese partnerships
Slated for release in Singapore and China this June is Meeting the Giant, a co-production by Singapore’s Clover Films, G&J Creation, Aquila Energy, StarHub, Golden Village Pictures and China’s Stellar Mega Films Ltd. The film is popular Singaporean artiste Tay Ping Hui’s directorial debut. It features a story about friendship and rivalry in a team of basketball players. Starring in the film is a mix of cast from both countries, including Singaporean artiste Ian Fang, as well as Na Guangzi and Zhuyan Manzi, two budding young actresses from China.
Also to be released this year is a soccer-themed TV blockbuster titled World At Your Feet, produced by Singapore’s national broadcaster MediaCorp. The show will star popular Singaporean artistes such as Jeanette Aw, Tay Ping Hui and Elvin Ng, alongside veteran Hong Kong artistes Har Yu and Zhang Guo Qiang.
Another co-production title featured at the market is Turn U Around, which is directed by Singaporean filmmaker, Chai Yee Wei, and features the finalists of China’s popular reality singing contest, The Voice of China. The film is jointly produced by China’s Star China Media, Zhejiang Star TV, and Beijing Enlight Pictures and mm2 Shanghai, the Shanghai office of Singapore-based company mm2 Entertainment.
Stories inspired by Chinese cultural traditions
Produced by mm2 Entertainment and Brainchild Pictures, Wayang Boy is a film about an Indian boy who joins a traditional Wayang (Chinese Opera) troupe. Another film by mm2 Entertainment titled The Lion Men, jointly produced with J Team Productions, features a story about love and rivalry between two lion dance troupes.
Little Medium Boy (aka A Chinese Ghost Wedding), produced by Scout Pictures, is a drama-comedy about an ex-singer who hires a famous child medium to find a bride for her late son. The film stars Singaporean actor Mark Lee, alongside cast from Hong Kong and Taiwan – Sandra Ng, Jim Chim and Wang Bo-Chieh. The script was selected by the Sundance Institute Screenwriting Lab, and the Taiwan Golden Horse Film Project Promotion for development.
Factual entertainment TV programme Artisans Reboot, which won the award for “Best Infotainment Programme” at the Asian Television Awards last year, features a series of challenges in which a novice has to pick up a traditional crafts and art forms from the few remaining artisans in the trade. The show features art forms such as the making of Chinese ink sticks, hand puppets and pottery. The programme was filmed in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, and produced by Sitting In Pictures Ltd.
Other Singapore Pavilion Content Highlights
Other content highlights include Singapore’s box-office record breaking movie Ah Boys to Men, a movie about young men serving in the army. Ah Boys to Men 2raked in $7.9 million last year, and ranked 2nd place in Singapore’s list of top 10 grossing films for 2013, among other Hollywood and Asian blockbusters screened in Singapore.
The film’s director, Jack Neo, will make an announcement on his next Chinese New Year Movie, Ah Boys to Frogmen, at the Singapore Pavilion on 25th March.
Other notable film titles by first and second-time directors that will be featured include Banting, a story about a young woman who fights for her dream of becoming a professional wrestler by Papahan films, and 30 Days of Ginger by Pilgrim Pictures.
There will also be titles that range from love stories to thrillers and comedy, such as Carnation, a story about a mother’s love by mm2 Entertainment; Everybody’s Business, a light-hearted comedy on public hygiene by SIMF Management, Scorpio East Pictures, and mm2 Entertainment; and Game of Suspects, a thriller story about a mysterious murder case by Scout Pictures. It is one of the titles selected for the 2014 HAF-FOX Chinese Script Development Award at Hong Kong FILMART.
TV titles on showcase include Expensive Eats, a lifestyle series by Filmat36 which takes viewers on a global culinary tour of some of the world’s priciest food. The show clinched an international distribution deal with UK-based Passion Distribution. Another title is Halal Galore: China, a Halal food travelogue series filmed entirely in China by Monstrou Studios.
