SINGAPORE, Nov 5 — The winners of the Movie Makers Short Film Competition have been announced by mm2 Entertainment Pte Ltd and FOX International Channels’ Chinese movies channel SCM at an awards ceremony held at the Genexis Theatre in Fusionopolis yesterday.
You & Me, directed by Sean Ng, was picked as the best film by the panel of judges, which comprised top film-makers from the region such as Singapore’s Jack Neo and Eric Khoo, Malaysian director Chiu Keng Guan, Taiwanese director Raymond Jiang and Hong Kong actor-producer Gordon Lam.
Ng’s story, about a father who tries to deal with his cross-dressing son, earned the director a S$5,000 (RM15,348) cash prize and a Canon Cinema EOS C100 Mark II Camera (worth S$7,999).
The first runner-up prize was given to Ellie Ngim for her film Will You Be My Valentine?, which looks at a guy trying to bag a date for Valentine’s Day. Ngim bagged a S$3,000 cash prize and a Canon XC10 4K Camcorder (worth S$3,299).
The second runner-up prize was given to Come Home, directed by Sabrina Tan. She took home a S$2,000 cash prize for her tale of a young boy who decides to help his late grandfather return home on the seventh day after his death.
The winning short films will be broadcast on SCM. mm2 entertainment said it will also discuss the development of a feature film with these directors and plans will be announced at a later date.
Melvin Ang, CEO of mm2 Asia (the parent group of mm2 Entertainment), said: “We are amazed with our young and new aspiring directing talents, most of whom have submitted professionally produced works for this competition. We are confident our talented Singaporean directors, both the experienced and new ones, can go beyond our shores given time and opportunities.”
Two other film-makers, Koh Chong Woo and Sufyan Sa’man, were also earmarked as Special Mention honourees for their films Prank and Unspoken, respectively.
The ceremony featured performances by MediaCorp artiste Chen Tian Wen, rapper Shigga Shay and singer Sun Zi You, as well as a film tribute to the local movie industry.
Made by mm2 Asia and directed by Daniel Yam, the film The Story That Changed The World centres around the owner of a video rental store who touches the lives of his customers through his passion and love for films.
Ng Say Yong, managing director of mm2 entertainment, said the company commissioned this short film to “show our appreciation for the hard work, passion and sacrifices that many people in the local film scene have made — and continue to make — to keep this challenging industry alive”. — TODAY
