S’pore film financiers looking to invest in regional content

SINGAPORE — Come May, Singapore investors will be heading to this year’s Asean International Film Festival & Awards (Aiffa), held biannually in Kuching, Sarawak, to meet regional film-makers.

The Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (Saava), the region’s only media investment and creative-producing network, will be bringing Singapore-based film funds such as Aurora Media Holdings, Salt Media & Entertainment, Silver Media Group and Hub Media Group to the first Aiffa Biz World event, where regional film-makers will be able to pitch their projects to financiers from China, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Speaking to TODAY, Justin Deimen, executive director of Saava and group managing partner of Aurora Media Capital, a US$30 (S$42.3) million global media investment fund launched in Singapore, said the goal of Aiffa Biz World is to celebrate the best films and film-makers in the region, and to provide film-makers with access to the right tools and network to produce quality films.

Deimen added that Aurora Media Capital is looking to invest in regional content because it believes this is a scalable venture, and because the company sees a growing demand and marketplace for Southeast Asian products and media companies.

“We have had success in our monetisation model, and we want to expand in a bigger way by injecting the right knowledge and resources into the region,” Deimen said. “There’s huge potential and a great number of stories that can be told. All they need is the right direction and focus to be developed, produced, and ultimately distributed globally.”

Sherman Ng, whose company financed 100 Yards, a co-production among Singaporean, American and Filipino filmmakers starring Singapore actress Rebecca Lim, said he will be going to discuss ideas with industry participants from around the region at Aiffa Biz World.

“I will also be looking at projects, and networking with filmmakers who have a strong desire to push the envelope in terms of creativity and practices,” said Ng. “I believe we have, within South-east Asia, deep and varied wells of creativity. The culture that exists within South-east Asia and the expressions of artistry ... throughout the region give us evidence of that.”

In addition to Aiffa Biz World, the three-day festival, on from May 4 to 6, will feature events such as a movie marathon of international and Asean films and talks by film-makers at cafes in Kuching.

Previous editions of the festival have been attended by international film stars such as Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, and drawn more than 100 film-makers. 

“One of our objectives is to provide the way forward for Asean filmmakers to collaborate and take advantage of the Asean film market,” said Aiffa festival director Livan Tajang.

“Indonesia has millions of film-goers, the Philippines also has ticket sales in the millions. Some of the best filmmakers are from around the region. We believe Aiffa provides a ‘breeding ground’ for these filmmakers to recognise each other’s talent, and to use it to be among the best filmmakers in the world.”
“For Singaporeans in particular, they should see Asean, with a population of 600 million people, as a huge potential market. More importantly, we need the Asean filmmaking fraternity to work together to figure out how to tap this market, instead of only focusing on their local film market,” she said.