Movies in 2016: Will S’porean films scale back?

Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen, 1965, 3688, 7 Letters: Local film-makers churned out 20 films this year — a pretty impressive output during a very important year. Next year, cinematic fatigue would not set in just yet, with at least 13 movies as of press time, running the gamut of genres. 

“(These) range from period dramas such as Long Long Time Ago to sci-fi and horror thrillers such as Equals and The Faith Of Anna Waters,” said Joachim Ng, director of the Singapore Film Commission, who added that local film-makers have improved storytelling and production values. 

Movies currently slated for next year include offerings by directors featured in 7 Letters: Kelvin Tong’s Hollywood-backed The Faith Of Anna Waters is a horror flick about a journalist who travels to Singapore to investigate her sister’s death; while Boo Junfeng’s Apprentice tackles the issue of the death penalty; and K Rajagopal’s A Yellow Bird sees an ex-con trying to reconnect with his family. 

Jack Neo’s much-talked-about kampung period film, Long Long Time Ago, will be released during the Chinese New Year period; and his company jTeam is also slated to work with local movie company mm2 Asia on two other productions: The fourth Ah Boys To Men movie and That Girl, based on Neo’s segment in 7 Letters. Another period film to look out for is My Love, Sinema, which is produced by actress Irene Ang’s Fly Entertainment and directed by Tan Ai Leng. 

But perhaps the most exciting prospect of 2016 will be the emergence of new film-makers. Top of our list is recent Young Artist Award recipient Kirsten Tan, whose debut feature Popeye is hoping for a 2016/2017 release. 

Produced by Anthony Chen’s Giraffe Pictures, and producer Huang Wenhong and Lai Weijie of E&W Films, the Singapore-Thailand production tells the story about a disenchanted man who encounters his long-lost elephant on the streets of Bangkok and goes on a redemptive journey across the country.