The Infocomm Media Development Authority(IMDA)is building stronger media capabilities for the Singaporean industry through several strategic industry partnerships announced during the Singapore Media Festival 2021. The main objective is to reinforce the country’s regional leadership as the main content hub in South East Asia.
Three top agreements were confirmed by Josephine Teo, Singapore Minister for Communications and Information, on her speech during the Opening Ceremony at Marina Bay Sands.
First, Singapore prodcosBeach House Picturesand Clover Films are partnering global players to co-create content for a global audience. These agreements, facilitated by IMDA’sCapability Partnership Programme (CPP), will see the first company creating a series of premium documentaries for international platformssuch as CuriosityStream, and the second partneringiQIYI on a slate of online films. Both deals are expected to benefit +80 localSMEs and more than 500 media talent through job creation and opportunities for upskilling inthe next two years.
Second, leading global SVOD Netflixwill be organising a Series Writing Workshop in 1Q 2022. Up to 20 writers from Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia will participate, aiming to help writers sharpen their series writing abilities. Theworkshop will be conducted by industry experts Christopher Mack, Director of Grow Creative, and screenwriter and producer Joe Peracchio.
Third, six new Southeast AsiaCo-Production films have been selected for IMDA’s Talent Progression Programme (TPP) Content Development grant. These comprise two collaborations each with Malaysia andThailand, and one collaboration each with Philippines and Vietnam. The films are helmed byfive Singapore producers from Akanga Film Asia, August Pictures, E&W Films, ThreesixzeroProductions and Zhao Wei Films, and are anticipated for completion between 2022 and2023.
A training and mentorship program with YouTube, Titan and KOBE to supportSingapore’s online creators to be launched in 2022 has also been confirmed by the Minister Teo. IMDA is looking athow to help local online creators to reach global audiences and capture value from overseasmarkets.
The VidCon Summit Asia held on November 25 celebrated local online creators who haveestablished themselves as Singapore’s most influential creators, where their successes wererecognised in their respective niches and creators such as Jian Hao Tan, Dharni, AnnetteLee were spotlighted based on data from Tubular across various categories.
This year ATF, IMDA is supporting 41 local mediacompanies that are showcasing contents under the Singapore Virtual Pavilion. The robust selection includes +600
hours of stories from Singapore and Asia, spanning over 160 titles and genres such as
documentaries, dramedy, feature films and original content spearheaded by local
companies.
