Singapore’s Media Development Authority (MDA) and Singapore Airshow & Events have unveiled further details of inaugural film showcase, ScreenSingapore, to be held in the city-state next June.
The week-long event (June 5-12) aims to be a major launchpad for releasing Hollywood and mainstream Asian films into the pan-Asian marketplace at the beginning of the peak summer box office period.
The main focus of the event will be a series of red carpet premiere screenings - around 12 in total with one or two each evening. “Around three or four of those will be for Hollywood studio films - the others will be major releases from Bollywood, China, Singapore and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region,” said Greg Coote, chairman of Latitude Entertainment, who has been appointed chairman of the ScreenSingapore board.
Coote added that the screenings would be aimed at cinema operators and media from across the region. However, advance screenings of upcoming releases will also be held for the general public, to get the Singapore community involved.
The event will also feature a three-day trade show Expo@ScreenSingapore (June 7-9) for equipment and technology companies and content suppliers. The organisers said they would start on a small scale with the content side of the market, but are mindful of the fact that not all Asian buyers and sellers can make it to Cannes (May 11-22).
The week-long programme will also include seminars, press conferences, workshops, master classes and an awards ceremony.
ScreenSingapore has also been carefully timed to avoid a clash with the CineExpo trade show in Amsterdam (June 27-30). “The studios are delighted that they can screen their product in Asia just two weeks before CineExpo, using many of the same materials,” said Coote. “It’s now our job to bring people in.”
The organisers are still finalising the exact location of the event, but venues under consideration include Resorts World Sentosa - an integrated resort complex with beaches that is close to downtown Singapore.
The board of ScreenSingapore also includes Hyde Park Entertainment chairman Ashok Amritraj, out-going MDA CEO Christopher Chia, DDA chairman Dennis Davidson, consultant Wayne Duband, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Fortissimo chairman Michael Werner.
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