Eric Khoo-produced anthology film Kopitiam Days and drama series Emerald Hill are among projects, badged SG60 and backed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), launching this year to celebrate Singapore’s 60th year of independence.
Khoo’s Zhao Wei Films, along with Fran Borgia’s Akanga Film Asia and Lim Teck’s Clover Films, is taking charge of Kopitiam Days, which showcases six stories about reconnecting and mending relationships. They span different time periods from the past, the present and the future and all revolve around a kopitiam, which is a local coffee joint where people gather for local food and beverages.
The six segments will be directed by six established and rising filmmakers from Singapore, including Locarno Golden Leopard-winning Yeo Siew Hua who will present an action-packed love story as a tribute to the wuxia genre; Shoki Lin who will celebrate a woman’s diverse identity through Hainanese opera; and Raihan Halim will feature an elderly woman who has an android as assistant.
Also on board are Tan Siyou who will chronicle the homesickness of a young Singaporean woman working abroad; Don Aravind who will follow an everlasting love story after the collapse of the Hotel New World in 1986; and Ong Kuo Sin will portray the relationship between a grandfather and his granddaughter.
Filming is due to start later this month, with a string of gala premieres and community screenings scheduled from July onwards, leading up to Singapore’s 60th birthday on August 9, the National Day. The project is expected to be subsequently launched on international streamers.
Further SG60 projects include Singapore’s public broadcaster Mediacorp’s Emerald Hill, a spin-off of 2008 hit series The Little Nonya. Spanning the 1950s to 1970s, the 30-episode drama celebrates the rich heritage of the Peranakans, a community primarily found in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It became Mediacorp’s first Chinese drama to top Netflix’s most watched list in Singapore right after its debut on March 10.
Mediacorp will also explore new storytelling formats through the production of micro-drama series, a format that is gaining increasing popularity in Asia.
IMDA has been a driving force behind the development and promotion of local media and creative industry. In Cannes this year, the joint Philippines-Singapore pavilion will return at the Marche du Film’s Village International. It will be jointly organised by the Singapore Film Commission and the Film Development Council Philippines (FDCP). A delegation of Singapore companies with their latest line-up will be featured.
Japanese director Chie Hayakawa’s Renoir, co-produced by Borgia’s Akanga Film Asia, is the second Singapore co-produced film running in Cannes main competition.
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