News and Notes: October 10, 2007

Exciting Start to Film, TV Markets

What’s the buzz in Pusan and Cannes? Here are highlights of Singapore’s participation.

Singapore, Korea release three HD co-productions at MIPCOM

Three exciting documentaries – offering a probing insight into Asian culture and psyche – have come out of co-production efforts between Singapore and Korea.

These programmes, all in High Definition (HD) format, are being unveiled at MIPCOM 2007, which opened in Cannes, France, on 8 October.

• Text in the City by Sitting in Pictures (Singapore) and Digital Plus (Korea) takes us through the lives of four women in four Asian metropolises – Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo – and explores their entanglement with four basic emotions: bliss (喜), anger (怒), sadness (哀) and happiness (乐).
  
  
• FestivAsia – Moondance by Big Communications (Singapore) and Creo Contents (Korea) presents a colourful kaleidoscope of festivals and cultural events celebrated across Asia and the people that have kept to traditions or modernised them.
  
  
• Asian Youths by Upside Down Concepts (Singapore) and Media Special (Korea) is a four-part series that digs deep into the psyches and sub-cultures of our youths.
  
  

The co-production agreement signed between the Media Development Authority of Singapore and the Korean Broadcasting Institute last November is a first-time effort to bring together producers from both countries to create television content for international distribution.

This year, Singapore is leading its biggest-ever delegation to MIPCOM, which is the international market for the buying and selling of audiovisual and digital content.

The Singapore Pavilion has been a hive of activity from the word go. A record 24 companies are offering a total of nearly 100 programmes for sale and distribution. The slate is a robust mix of animation and factual programmes, with a strong bias towards HD programming.

Among the initiatives announced by Singapore companies was Six-Six-Eight’s US$40 million Europe-Singapore Co-production Fund, which will match leading European producers and broadcasters with Singapore-based counterparts to work on internationally viable projects.

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Man Shu Sum honoured as one of Asia’s top film leaders

Many would know Mr Man Shu Sum, Director, Singapore Film Commission and Strategic Relations, as a heavyweight who has done much to transform Singapore’s TV industry.

But do you know that he is such an avid film buff that he has a TV set in every room of his home, and was informed by a cable company that he is one of the country’s top movie consumers?

Now, the man leading the country’s delegation to the Asian Film Market in Pusan, Korea, has also been cited as one of the top 16 Asian film leaders to watch.

The inaugural Asian Film Leaders Report by Variety magazine has placed him alongside Hong Kong's award-winning actor Tony Leung and Taiwan's acclaimed director Ang Lee, in a tribute to filmmakers leading the charge and making an impact on the local and international film scenes. A celebratory lunch was also held in Pusan in their honour.

Described as the “leading movie administrator in the ambitious territory”, the report highlights
Mr Man’s “excellent” qualifications and his efforts in developing strategic relations with the movie-producing powerhouses of Asia.

Indeed, in Pusan, the Singapore Film Commission and Japan's Ministry of Economic Trade and Industry have held fruitful talks to discuss collaboration and co-production opportunities between Singapore and Japanese content producers.

This year, Singapore is presenting a record of five films at the concurrent Pusan International Film Festival 2007. Ekachai Uekrongtham's Kuaile Gongchang (Pleasure Factory) has taken to the screens in the Midnight Passion category, while Lume Kan and Loo Zhi Han's Solos was featured in A Window on Asian Cinema category.

Royston Tan’s 881, which made its international debut with the cast gracing the red carpet in full getai (song stage) glory, has also secured sales distribution by Arclight/Easternlight Films.

To read the full press release, please log on to www.smf.sg

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