Nine Budding Directors Get S$2.25 Million Boost From New Feature Film Fund

Singapore’s first co-production film with Japan – Thunder Boys by Alaric Tay – is among the projects awarded by the Singapore Film Commission.

EACH is a gem of a tale, capturing myriad slices of Singapore life that promise to resonate with audiences far and wide. Each is a story deemed worth telling, and a film waiting to be made.

For showing this latent talent to carry a Singapore-made tale that can potentially travel beyond its shores, nine budding directors have each received S$250,000 to direct their feature-length film under the Singapore Film Commission’s (SFC’s) New Feature Film Fund.

They are:

• Alaric Tay – Thunder Boys

• Ellery Ngiam – Forever Tears

• T T Dhavamanni – 24 Hours of Anger

• Boo Junfeng – Sandcastle

• Yee-Wei Chai – Blood Ties

• Yong Mun Chee – Look Both Ways

• Mika G Yamaji – Koi

• Wee Li Lin – Forever

• Chen-Hsi Wong – The Innocents - A Time for Youth

The first batch of the New Feature Film Fund awardees will be announced in South Korea, where the Media Development Authority of Singapore is leading a team of Singapore filmmakers and industry players to the Pusan International Film Festival and Asian Film Market. Two of the directors, Alaric Tay and Boo Junfeng, are also at the festival to promote their films.

Launched in June this year at SFC’s 10th anniversary celebrations, the New Feature Film Fund aims to nurture aspiring film talent looking for their first big break in feature-film directing. Besides receiving up to S$250,000 in funding, awardees are also paired with an experienced director to work on their maiden efforts. Their films will also get local theatrical release through Golden Village Pictures.

The inaugural batch of nine films selected presents a balanced slate of genres, ranging from comedy to drama and social commentary, and touching on the supernatural, horror and crime. Except for Wee, whose first feature film Gone Shopping was released in 2007, the directors are all venturing into feature films for the first time. They also either wrote or conceptualised the script for their winning stories.

According to Mr Kenneth Tan, Director, SFC, and Chief Operating Officer, MDA, many of the films are “pure Singapore stories that can be told only by Singaporeans” and they reveal a “dormant pool of hidden creative talent” among filmmakers in Singapore.

“Excellent in storyline, and refreshing in tone and unique in content, they masterfully capture the myriad scent and flavours of Singapore life,” he said. “We are very hopeful that these films will travel and find a place in the hearts of an international audience.”

Here are highlights of three winning projects:

Thunder Boys directed by Alaric Tay

Casting actors from Singapore, Japan and China, Thunder Boys will go down in film history as the first-ever Japan-Singapore co-production film. It is being helmed by Singapore’s Mediatribe, Shooting Gallery Asia and Japan’s Adways Entertainment Co and hopes to break into Japan – the trend-setting pop culture market in Asia.

A tale about redemption, it is seen through the eyes of Kenichi, an ex-footballer who is given a second chance to relive his sports dream through the help of a cast of characters – a cocky ex-volleyball player, a suave bartender and a happy-go-lucky lifeguard.

For director Alaric Tay, the SFC award is a “significant personal achievement” and a gift that empowers him to inspire people to overcome failure.

He added: “With Thunder Boys, I also hope to show the world the tropical side of Singapore – that we are not just an urban jungle, but a lush, tropical Singapore, with beautiful beaches, greenery and waterways that come alive.”

24 Hours of Anger directed by T T Dhavamanni

24 Hours of Anger is a story about sibling love, and puts the spotlight on two brothers from a dysfunctional family who are left alone to fend for themselves.

“In my work with children in theatre, I see a lot of kids forced by circumstances to take on adult responsibilities to perform roles that they are not yet able to handle,” said director T T Dhavamanni.

“My objective is to tell a simple story about a truthful issue that is happening in our own backyard. I hope to make people sit up and realise that Singapore may be leaving behind a generation of disaffected children in our haste to achieve economic feats.”

On the SFC funding, the New York Festival award-winning director of children’s television programmes said it would help him reach out to a broader audience. “With films, I can reach out to a wider viewership, touch more people, or even have my body of work critiqued by a larger audience – I am ready for that.”

Sandcastle directed by Boo Junfeng

In his own words, Boo Junfeng, 25, is one of the “very fortunate” directors in Singapore to receive continuous support from the SFC. Receiving the award is a “gratifying progression” for this distinguished director, who has won acclaim for his body of short films (Keluar Baris, Katong Fugue, and A Family Portrait).

Boo’s first foray into feature-film directing is an intimate story between an adolescent boy and his dementia-stricken grandmother. It is also a deeply personal story for this young director, who often brings his own experiences into his films.

The film is also among 30 international projects being showcased under this year’s Pusan Promotion Plan. The plan is a platform for filmmakers and producers to meet potential co-producers to explore financing and co-production opportunities.

To read more about Singapore’s presence at the Asian Film Market and the Pusan International Film Festival, read MDA Leads Delegations to Cannes, Pusan and Frankfurt.

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