Singapore's inaugural Asian Short Film Awards receives 90 entries

10 May, 2011
Xinhua

SINGAPORE, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The inaugural Asian Short Film Awards, part of the film industry show ScreenSingapore, has received 90 entries from 15 countries and regions in Asia-Pacific in less than two months, organizers said Monday.

The entries were submitted by filmmakers in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, India, Iran, Bangladesh, Cambodia, New Zealand, Indonesia, as well as China including Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The majority of entries were in English and they deal with a myriad of topics ranging from friendship, family ties and teenage love, to serious issues such as violence, child abuse and death.

Greg Coote, chairman of the board of ScreenSingapore, said the board was extremely encouraged.

"It is clear from the overwhelming response that there is a vibrant and dynamic film community in Asia and ScreenSingapore is proud to provide an outlet for the growing passion and energy for this new generation of filmmakers," he said.

The Asian Short Film Awards is one of the highlight events at the inaugural media week ScreenSingapore on June 5 to 12. It had been open to "all citizens and permanent residents" of Asia from March to the end of April. The films submitted should be no more than 10 minutes and produced after January 2010.

The Media Development Authority of Singapore chose to launch the awards for short films instead of any other categories partly because it is trying to find a genre that is "as broad and nurturing as possible" and also manageable in exhibition, Kenneth Tan, chief operating officer of the authority, said.

Winners of the awards will get a cash prize of 20,000 Singapore dollars (15,810 U.S. dollars).

The jury of the Asian Short Film Awards will be headed by legendary filmmaker and three-time Oscar winner Oliver Stone. Greg Coote is an Australia film producers and one of the men behind Avatar 3D.

The inaugural ScreenSingapore "is not a film festival" but a film event that will include awards, technologies, content market, conferences and workshops, the authority said.

Editor: Fang Yang