2012 saw a record 12 local films hitting the big screen in Singapore, bringing the total box-office takings for the year to S$12 million, with the top five local films earning a total of S$10.8 million, 32 per cent more than in 2011.

Ah Boys to Men was one of the biggest
local box office hits in Singapore, earning
S$6.2 million in its 13-week run

The feather in the cap was the success of Ah Boys to Men in 2012. It was one of the biggest local box office hits in Singapore history. Developed with the support of MDA’s Production Assistance grant scheme, the Jack Neo comedy about the trials and tribulations of National Service boys set the record as the top-grossing local film of all time, earning S$6.2 million in its 13-week run, second only to its sequel released in January 2013, Ah Boys to Men 2, which made almost S$8 million as of March 2013. The films have also travelled to Malaysia and Taiwan.

Besides receiving strong endorsement from local audiences, Singapore films also left their mark on the international stage last year.

The Fusion of Asia Television Forum and ScreenSingapore

In 2012, the 13^th edition of Asia Television Forum was held together with ScreenSingapore (ATF/SS) at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands. The joint event presented greater trading possibilities and networking opportunities, with ScreenSingapore carrying a stronger Asian theme.

The three-day market, which included three premieres and four days of conferences, attracted nearly 4,000 film and television trade participants, some 1,000 companies from 52 countries and served as the platform for some S$255 million worth of deals to be closed.

At the market, MDA also organised a number of business events to provide opportunities for collaboration. These included a business matching session which attracted some 100 local and international attendees and a China-Singapore dialogue session where Singapore TV producers had the opportunity to network with representatives from China’s broadcast stations for collaboration in dramas and documentaries.

Promotion of local films was also a priority. MDA organised Sneak Peeks to show upcoming Singapore feature films to buyers and media at ScreenSingapore. Nine films were showcased: Ah Boys to Men 2, Ghost Child, The Wedding Diary II, Menstrual Man, Red Numbers, Taxi! Taxi!, 3.50, Pickles and Judgment Day. The session was attended by some 60 trade delegates. Daily networking sessions were also held for international players to meet with local media companies.

A showcase of local films was presented at Sneak Peeks during the 13th ATF/SS Market

In December 2012, SFC awarded eight filmmakers who were directing their first and second films with the New Talent Feature Grant. The inaugural batch of recipients included Ric Aw of Building Waves, Abbas Akbar of Singapooru,
M Raihan Halim of Banting, Jason Lai of Ms J Contemplates Her Choice, Kesavadas S/O Rajagopal of A Yellow Bird, Tan Ai Leng of Sinema Paradiso, Tan Pin Pin of Hinterland and Teo Eng Tiong of The Confinement Nanny.

Where The Road Meets The Sun is one of the
films featured in Watch Local, a programme
aimed to deepen support for local films

SFC’s Film Mentorship Initiative which provides grants to help local filmmakers sharpen their skills in film directing, producing and writing in overseas film labs, also supported five filmmakers. They are Anthony Chen and Feng Kexin for Golden Horse Film Academy, Boo Junfeng for Jerusalem International Film Lab as well as Tan Pin Pin and Tan Bee Thiam for Rotterdam Lab.

During the year under review, the SFC also introduced new initiatives to deepen the support and appreciation of local films in Singapore. In October 2012, SFC introduced Watch Local, a programme that brought back more than 20 classic local films for reruns. The partners for this initiative are Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, Sinema+GV, The Arts House and MediaCorp.

Watch Local features rare Singapore films which have not been commercially released as well as iconic films of the 1990s. These films include Army Daze, a Michael Chiang movie about National Service; The Teenage Textbook starring Melody Chen and Caleb Goh; Eating Air, Kelvin Tong’s coming-of-age feature and Where The Road Meets the Sun by Yong Mun Chee which won the "Best Director" and "Special Jury" awards at the Houston International Film Festival 2011.

In February 2013, SFC launched the SGFilm Channel which is hosted on YouTube to stream Singapore short films and trailers of upcoming local releases. The channel will feature at least 40 films by end 2013.

Among the channel’s offerings are award-winning titles such as Boo Junfeng’s Keluar Baris (Homecoming), as well as experimental works such as Wrong Turn by Charles Lim, and defining ones such as Anthony Chen’s noteworthy short film Ah Ma which received a "Special Mention" award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in 2007 and Edward Khoo’s seminal work Late Shift, a 10-minute work about an elderly taxi driver’s encounter with a drunk passenger. Late Shift was in the running for "Best Short Film" at the 17^th Busan International Film Festival in 2012. The channel has attracted more than 1,000 subscribers, and over 40,000 video views.

Late Shift by Edward Khoo

Among the channel’s offerings are award-winning titles such as Boo Junfeng’s Keluar Baris (Homecoming), as well as experimental works such as Wrong Turn by Charles Lim, and defining ones such as Anthony Chen’s noteworthy short film Ah Ma which received a "Special Mention" award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in 2007 and Edward Khoo’s Late Shift, a 10-minute work about an elderly taxi driver’s encounter with a drunk passenger. Late Shift was in the running for "Best Short Film" at the 17^th Busan International Film Festival in 2012. The channel has attracted more than 1,000 subscribers, and over 40,000 video views.