Singapore
Directors Kelvin Tong and Royston Tan were among the main winners of Singapore's film awards last week, the first time the city state's filmmakers were accorded separate prizes. Previously, the Singapore International Film Festival (Siff) - which hosted the competition - only presented silver screen awards to Singaporean short films and Asian feature films.
Festival co-director Wahyuni Hadi says the audience response to the introduction last year of a Singapore Panorama section had been so good the organisers felt it was 'time to take the next step'.
'Questions have been raised about whether the local film industry produces enough films to sustain such an award. The answer is we don't know; but when we started, we didn't know the festival would still be here after 22 years either and I think we have to take a chance. This new award is a chance for us to celebrate local talent,' she says.
Other winners last Friday included Sherman Ong, who won the best screenplay award for the experimental Hashi - a movie he also directed - that centres around the lives and dreams of three women from three different age groups; Mark Lee won for best performance for his dramatic turn in Jack Neo's Money No Enough 2.
The award for best cinematography went to the film Lucky 7 and its omnibus team of Roszali Samad, Brian Gothong Tan, Sharon Loh, Jaye Neo, Cain Chui, Andrew Mark Sobrielo, Chris Yeo and Adrian Lo.
'I think these new awards are a big encouragement for the film community. They open a new window especially for people who are currently doing short films,' Royston Tan says.
While this year's winners are stalwarts of the local film industry, the nominees also included a few of the new generation of filmmakers, such as Han Yew Kwang for his drama 18 Grams of Love and Cheng Ding An for his football flick Kallang Roar the Movie.
'I think it's just the right time for such awards,' says Jack Neo, whose film was also nominated in the best director category.
'Many Singapore-made films could not qualify to take part in the festival's Asian competition because, according to the rules, you're not supposed to screen before the festival.
'But most of our films have to show based on commercial factors. In my case I have to release at Chinese New Year, there is no way I can wait for the competition. So I could never enter my films in the Asian film awards,' Neo says.
Tong believes the new awards will raise awareness of the Singapore film community and 'will pull Singaporean filmmakers together in a way that the Thai filmmakers are very tightly knit'.
'A lot of us are working in isolated pockets; we're a very scattered bunch, which is very ironic given the size of Singapore. Something like this is like a clubhouse; it forces a sense of community,' Tong says, adding that he and his peers 'look forward to the day when there will be a lot more competition'.
The winner of the Asian Feature Film Competition was Laila's Birthday by Gaza-born director Rashid Masharawi, the moving and humorous tale of a Palestinian taxi driver trying to get home in time for his daughter's birthday.
In the Singapore Short Film Competition, Kat Goh's Swimming Lesson, about an over-protective mother gaining new understanding from an old memory, won the best film and best director awards.
Organisers say the short film competition received more than 90 submissions this year, another sign the local industry is developing. Royston Tan, who was a jury member on the panel which whittled the submissions to nine finalists, says he is excited by the 'new burst of energy' in the Singapore short film scene. 'I've seen huge potential this year,' he says.
The Siff once again featured a Singapore Panorama section with diverse entries such as Invisible Children, the debut feature film by young multimedia artist Brian Gothong Tan, about the regrets and disappointments that Singaporeans bear every day, and Brother No2, a documentary by Jason Lai that gives a voice to survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide.
