Singapore Media Festival Sets Agenda for Fifth Edition

The Singapore Media Festival (SMF), hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), will return for its fifth edition from November 29 to December 9.

The SMF comprises established constituent events including the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), ScreenSingapore and IMDA-led SMF Ignite.

Robert Gilby, chairman of the SMF advisory board, said, “The SMF has experienced year-on-year growth alongside the region’s media industry, offering different experiences and perspectives from a diverse pool of storytellers. Over its past four editions, the festival has crossed the $1 billion mark in deals and partnerships, proving SMF’s importance in facilitating collaborations.”

He added,” This year’s festival continues its celebration of Asian storytelling, but with a stronger focus on digitalization, being the key connector for regional talent and the rest of the world, as well as building and transferring of capabilities from industry thought leaders to new talent. Bringing the industry together at SMF provides an abundance of creative and commercial opportunities powered by innovative stories that embrace new technologies.”

This year, the Philippines has been chosen as the Country-of-Focus, highlighting the country’s stories, talents and achievements across the SMF’s various constituent events. Liza Diño, chairperson and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), said, “It is an incredible honor for us to be the Country of Focus at this year’s SMF, as it allows us to strengthen our partnership with Singapore and the IMDA to build a bridge between Philippine and Singapore Cinema and foster more productive collaborations between the two countries. It is also a special milestone for us as we are celebrating the ‘One Hundred Years of Philippine Cinema.’ We believe that the next big thing for our Cinema is to go global and SMF is certainly a great platform where we may be able to connect more of our Filipino filmmakers with partners and supporters in the further development of quality stories and content that we can share with the world.”

This year’s SMF will also see the premiere of a documentary commissioned by the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), detailing its milestones and vision in celebration of its 20-year anniversary. The SFC will also hold a series of outdoor screenings of iconic local films in the second half of the year as part of its 20th Anniversary celebrations.

Joachim Ng, the director of the SFC, said: “As the SFC celebrates its 20th anniversary and reflects on its accomplishments, we are also charting the future direction for the film commission. We will enhance our support for Singapore film talents and companies to strengthen their storytelling capabilities, harness distribution of their content onto new digital platforms, and facilitate regional opportunities for filmmakers.”