Singapore MDA’s International Film Fund Shortlists ‘The Harvest and Cooktales’2 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn boosting Singapore’s film industry, Media Development Authority (MDA) announced today that it has shortlisted two projects The Harvest (working title) and Cooktales (working title) for funding under its International Film Fund (IFF).
The Harvest (working title) is to be produced by Singapore’s Blackmagic Design Films with Australia’s Goalpost Pictures.
It is a stereoscopic 3D thriller-horror about the misadventures of a group of backpackers.
Blackmagic Design Films is the film arm of post-production company Blackmagic Design, which has won several awards for its work on global television commercial campaigns. The company is in the midst of producing its first stereoscopic 3D feature film Bait, also with Australian partners, namely Arclight Films, Story Bridge Film and Pictures in Paradise.
Cooktales (working title), an epicurean drama set in the food paradise of Singapore about a coming-of-age tale of an amateur cook who at the same time has to deal with the twisted fate of his family, will be a film directed by Gina Kim (Never Forever).
This is the second collaboration between Bang Singapore and Korea’s CJ Entertainment following Neon Sign, a project that was announced at last year’s American Film Market.
Mr Aubeck Kam, Chief Executive Officer, MDA, said: “Singapore has long been a champion of transnational co-productions, which effectively pool together creative and financial resources of media companies in different countries for a heightened outcome.
The MDA International Film Fund is an initiative in this direction and we are glad that it has opened up opportunities in cross-border projects for Singapore’s filmmakers.”
IFF was launched by MDA in 2009 to encourage Singapore-based production and post-production companies to executive produce and/or co-produce films of global appeal with international partners. Hong Kong-based Distribution Workshop is a distribution partner of IFF.
IFF has since supported two projects, namely Bait and Neon Sign.
Bait, a stereoscopic 3D thriller about a pack of hungry tiger sharks and the first official co-production under the Australia-Singapore Film Co-production Treaty, has been pre-sold to 24 territories. Principal photography commenced in October 2010 in Australia’s Gold Coast.
The Singaporeans among its international cast include Asia Television Award Best Actor Adrian Pang and MediaCorps leading man Qi Yuwu. The film is targeting for release in 2012.
Neon Sign (working title) is the first Singapore-China-Korean film co-produced by Bang Singapore and Korea’s Nabi Pictures. Backed by CJ Entertainment and Beijing Film Distribution, the film by Korean-Chinese director Gam-sung Pil is about a scandal-plagued Korean star who flees to Yunnan, China where he finds redemption and is slated to hit the cinemas in 2011.
