S’pore films headed to 2016 Berlin International Film Festival.

SINGAPORE – The first film co-production between the Philippines and Singapore, A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery (Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis), by Filipino director Lav Diaz has been chosen to compete in the main competition section of this year’s Berlin International Film Festival or Berlinale, which will run from Feb 11 to 21.

This is first time that Singapore is represented in the main competition section of the festival, where feature-length films compete for the top prize of the Golden Bear (for best film) and the Silver Bears awards for acting, writing and production.

The 482-minute film will also have its world premiere at the 66th edition of the Berlinale on Feb 18. Set during the Philippine Revolution of 1896 against the Spanish colonials, A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery interconnects four narrative threads revolving around this historic event. It stars a bevy of Filipino stars including Piolo Pascual, John Lloyd Cruz and Hazel Orencio.

Epicmedia and Ten17P from the Philippines is producing the film alongside Singaporean partners POTOCOL and Akanga Film Asia, with support from executive producers Henry Wee and Empyreal.

Akanga Film Asia and POTOCOL previously collaborated to produce K Rajagopal’s The Flame (one of the short films in the 7 Letters compendium) and will soon release Rajagopal’s first feature film, A Yellow Bird, together with French co-producer Acrobates Films.

A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery will be competing against productions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. American actress and three-time Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep will be serving as the International Jury President.

Meanwhile, the 10th Culinary Cinema will also be held during the 2016 Berlinale, with local auteur Eric Khoo’s telemovie Wanton Mee flying the Singapore flag. Held between Feb 14 and 19, the programme will present 11 topical feature-length films from various countries on the relationship between food, culture and politics, all revolving around this year’s motto: “Make Food Not War”.

To drive the message home, following the screenings of the films in the main programme, star chefs will take turns serving a menu inspired by the films. Khoo’s docu-fiction Wanton Mee, for example, which is a look at the transformation of Singapore’s versatile street food scene, will see one Michelin star Chef Alexander Dressel and some of the “Jeunes Restaurateurs” serving up the night’s themed menu.

“I was at the Berlin Film Fest 20 years ago for Mee Pok Man and am hungry to go back,” Khoo told TODAY. “I am thrilled to share our local food to an international audience and the celebrated Michelin star chefs attending the festival. It’s great to be able to wave the Singapore flag proudly for our beloved hawkers.

“It’s incredible that our little telemovie has gone so far and that it’s being embraced by all these major festivals,” he added.

Wanton Mee is a made-for-television movie first shown on Mediacorp’s Okto channel in March last year and is also showing on Singapore Airlines’ inflight entertainment programming. It was also featured in the Culinary Zinema section of the 63rd San Sebastian Film Festival last September.