Now for that Singapore brand ?
$230m in funds set aside for filmmakers, but are any strings attached? :
Lin Yanqin
yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg
THE Government has set aside $230 million to develop Singapore’s media industry. Do filmmakers have any concern that they may not be able to produce biting socio-political commentaries if they tap the fund?.
None whatever, according to those Today spoke to.
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Filmmaker Pek Siok Lian, whose documentary Mad About English — capturing the efforts of the Chinese learning a once-forbidden tongue — was made with grants from the Media Development Authority (MDA), said Government funding did not restrict her from deciding on content.
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“That hasn’t been the case in our experience, and we plan to turn to them for funding,” she said.
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Director Royston Tan agreed.
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“MDA will always be our top priority for funding,” said Mr Tan, who has made films with the backing of MDA as well as private investors. “Obviously, the increase helps to take some of the financial and emotional stress off filmmaking.”
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Mr Benjamin Toh, whose company Axxis Group produces 3-D animations, said one restrictive factor could be that the funding sometimes includes conditions like shooting the film in Singapore.
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“Whether this will be a factor depends on what you’re planning to make,” he said.
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While he has secured the funds needed for his company’s productions for the next few years, Mr Toh said that it would help if there was more clarity on how such funds might be made available.
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“Sometimes there are so many avenues, it’s a bit confusing,” he admitted.
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They agreed the $230 million to be disbursed over five years — approved in Parliament on Friday — was a significant boost as media companies too, were feeling the pinch of the downturn. Ms Pek said it was timely and signalled the Government’s commitment to developing the sector.
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“Given the current recessionary environment, the additional funding is crucial to the sustainability of the industry,” she said. “Many broadcasters are tightening their belts, whether it’s commissioning or acquiring new co-productions, this funding will help cushion that and give production companies a good chance of riding it out.”
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Mr Toh supported the measures to develop capability — which include a new attachment programme for media professionals — something he felt was even more crucial than the funding itself.
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“Without the right manpower, you can’t deliver quality productions,” he said. “We have to turn to hiring foreigners sometimes.”
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To develop sustainability in the sector, Ms Pek suggested Singapore concentrate on an area in which it was strong, such as documentaries, modelled after the United States’ Public Broadcasting Service channel.
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“What might be useful is for the Government to consider supporting another channel for Singaporean producers ... What’s to stop us from creating an international channel like PBS or Arte, dedicated to quality Asian content? Right now, we’re knocking on the doors of western outlets whose interest in Asia can be somewhat cursory. Creating a channel would help ... solidify a Singapore brand that puts local media producers out there.”
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Meanwhile, artists in Zimbabwe calls on their unity government to abolish the Censorship Act.The Censorship Act was enacted to “regulate and control the public exhibition of films, the importation, production, dissemination and possession of undesirable or prohibited video and film material, publications, pictures, statues and records and the giving of public entertainment; to regulate theatres and like places of public entertainment in the interests of safety; and to provide for matters incidental to the foregoing”.
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