The two Singaporean films are making waves at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Boo Junfeng’s APPRENTICE is an Official Selection of the Un Certain Regard, while K. Rajagopal’s A YELLOW BIRD is an Official Selection of the 55th La Semaine de la Critique (Critics’ Week).
At the Festival, the Singapore Media Festival (SMF) also announced its third edition of the media event, happening in Singapore from 23 November to 9 December 2016. This year’s SMF constituent events include the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), ScreenSingapore (SS), Asian Television Awards (ATA), and the highly-anticipated Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF)!
Boo’s highly-anticipated psychological drama is a Singapore-Germany-France-Hong Kong-Qatar co-production that was shot in Singapore and Australia, while Rajagopal’s first feature, which had been picked for Cannes’ Cinefondation L’Atelier in 2014, is a co-production between Singapore and France.
Both films have cast actors from not just Singapore but the region, including Malaysia, India and China, and have already been picked up by international sales agents.
This year, three new members will join the SMF Advisory Board, lending their expertise and insights towards charting the Festival’s strategic direction. They are: Mr Albert Lee (Emperor Motion Pictures); Mr Jeff Cheong (Tribal Worldwide Asia); and Mr Aseem Puri (Unilever International).
Movie Still from K. Rajagopal’s A YELLOW BIRD
27th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF)
The 27th Singapore International Film Festival will continue to provide festival goers with the opportunity to learn the art of storytelling through film from the Asian directors-in-attendance and guest filmmakers, through programmes like the Southeast Asian Film Lab and SGIFF Masterclasses.
This year’s mentors include Anocha Suwichakornpong (Thailand), who was a recipient of a Hollywood Foreign Press Association Fellowship, and Bernard Chauly (Malaysia), who has created successful commercial films that capture Southeast Asian social trends.
This year will also see the introduction of another new initiative that seeks to nurture and showcase up-and-coming Singapore filmmakers. SGIFF will start commissioning a new short film by a Singapore filmmaker every year that will make its world premiere at the festival. Gladys Ng, winner of SGIFF 2015’s Best Singapore Short Film, is the first filmmaker to be commissioned under this initiative.
Full lineup of the upcoming SGIFF will be announced later this year.
Apprentice is slated to open InCinemas 30 June 2016!