Despite having a flourishing Chinese and Malay film industry in the 1950s and 1960s, Singapore's film industry declined after independence in 1965[1], with the government being more concerned with the bread-and-butter issues of economic nation-building. However, there were a few films featuring Singaporean actors and set in Singapore, including Saint Jack and They Call Her Cleopatra Wong. However, most of these did not get released in Singapore and are unable to be labelled as truly Singaporean productions. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Southeast Asian cinema refers to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, Southeast Asia. ... Cinema in Cambodia started in the 1950s, and by the 1960s the countrys film industry was experiencing a golden age, with many classic films being made and movie theaters throughout the country. ... The cinema of Indonesia has a long history but at present is a small, struggling industry. ... The Malaysian cinema experience began in 1933 with the screening of Laila Majnun, a well-known Sanskrit play of two ill-fated lovers. ... The cinema of Myanmar has a long history that dates back to the colonial era. ... The cinema of the Philippines has a history that can be traced back to the early days of filmmaking in 1897, when a theater owner named Pertierra screened imported moving pictures. ... The cinema of Thailand has a history that stretches back to early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorns 1897 visit to Berne, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. ... The cinema of Vietnam has a history that goes back to the 1920s and has largedly been shaped by wars that have been fought in the country from the 1940s to the 1970s. ... // Recovering from World War I and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Saint Jack is a 1973 fictional book by Paul Theroux and a 1979 film of the same name. ... They Call Her. ...

History

The first truly Singaporean film came in 1991's Medium Rare, based on a true-life local cult killer who was hanged in 1988 for murder. Although costing over S$2 million in production, it performed dismally at the box office, taking in merely S$130,000 locally but broke the ice for the next movie, Bugis Street, which was released in 1995, a gaudy film about the famous sleazy district where transvestites and transsexuals can be found. 1995 also saw the release of Mee Pok Man, made by Eric Khoo on a tight budget of S$100,000 and being the first local film to break even for profits. Concerning a lonely noodle seller who falls for a prostitute, Mee Pok Man earned much critical accolade worldwide and encouraged more experimental, independent filmmaking within the nation. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Medium rare is a description of how well or done a cut of beef, usually steak, should be cooked and served. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For a discussion of the history and current usage of the term transvestite, see transvestism. ... A transsexual (sometimes transexual) person establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to their assigned (usually at birth) sex. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mee Pok Man is a 1995 film directed by Eric Khoo. ... Eric Khoo // Eric Khoo Eric Khoo was born in 1965 in Singapore and was introduced to the world of cinema at a very early age. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... Mee Pok Man is a 1995 film directed by Eric Khoo. ...

Army Daze, made in 1996, took a humorous look into Singapore national service, and continued the trend of turning high profits at the box office. Army Daze is a Singaporean film made in 1996. ...

Next came another Eric Khoo film, 12 Storeys (1997), a highly acclaimed local production which was the first Singaporean film to be shown at Cannes. Interweaving 3 stories about life in the HDB high-rise flats, it is seen as a breakthrough for local films, combining a coherent plot with Singaporean production crew and actors, such as Jack Neo and Koh Boon Pin. Glenn Goei's Forever Fever (1998) was also picked up by Miramax for S$4.5 million and re-released in the U.S. as That’s the Way I Like It. These two years saw the releases of a number of films, such as A Road Less Travelled (1997), God or Dog (1997), Tiger's Whip (1998) and Teenage Textbook Movie (1998), to varying degrees of success. Cannes - receding storm Cannes, as seen from a ferry speeding towards lÃŽle Saint-Honorat Cannes (pronounced ) (Provençal Occitan: Canas in classical norm or Cano in Mistralian norm) is a city and commune in southern France, located on the Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes département and the r... HDB Logo The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is the government agency responsible for Singapores public housing programme. ... I Not Stupid, a successful film by Jack Neo Jack Neo (梁智强; pinyin: Liáng Zhìqiáng) is a Singaporean actor, host and film-maker. ... Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

But it was the phenomenal success of Money No Enough (1998) which eventually catapulted the nation's drive toward movie-making. Using a local crew of actors drawn from television comedies, this heartland comedy written by Jack Neo uses a smattering of Singlish and Hokkien to make a realistic, easily identifiable drama about everybody's quest to earn more quick bucks. Made for less than S$1 million, it raked in S$5,800,000, making it the most commercially successful local film to date. It also demonstrated the potential of the Singapore film industry, and the next year would be a boom year for local films. Eight Singaporean films were made in that year alone, the most notable being Liang Po Po: The Movie (starring Jack Neo in a reprisal of his television cross-gender role), That One No Enough, the first directorial effect of Jack Neo, and Eating Air, made by film critic Kelvin Tong and film editor Jasmine Ng on a budget of S$800,000. Eating Air did not break even; That One No Enough barely did and only Liang Po Po: The Movie continued the vein of commercial success of Money No Enough, collecting S$3.03 million. Money No Enough (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a Singaporean film written by Jack Neo, directed by Tay Teck-lock and produced by JSP International. ... Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore. ... Mǐn N n (Chinese: 閩南語), also spelt as Minnan or Min-nan; native name B ; literally means Southern Min or Southern Fujian and refers to the local language/dialect of southern Fujian province, China. ...

However, the year also marked a watershed for Singapore films. Raintree Pictures, the filmmaking subsidiary of MediaCorp Productions, was started, investing in two regional co-productions, Liang Po Po and The Truth About Jane and Sam, which merged Singaporean television lead actress Fann Wong with Taiwanese singer Peter Ho and Hong Kong director Derek Yee. Raintree Pictures would finance a number of local and Hong Kong productions in years to come, most notably the films of Jack Neo. Subsequent productions, such as 2000 AD (2000) and The Tree (2001) also draws on Hong Kong star power; the company invested in critically acclaimed regional films such as The Eye (2002) and Infernal Affairs II (2003). It produced two more English-language local productions, Chicken Rice War (2000) and One Leg Kicking (2001). As Singapore is a small and relatively modern amalgam of Chinese, Malay, Indian and European immigrants, the culture of Singapore expresses the diversity of the population as the various ethnic groups continue to celebrate their own cultures while they intermingle with one another. ... Dance in Singapore comprises traditional and contemporary forms. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The major public holidays in Singapore reflect the cultural and religious diversity of the country, including the Chinese New Year, Buddhist Vesak Day, Muslim Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha (known locally by its Malay names Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji respectively), Hindu Diwali (known locally by... The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans in the countrys four main languagues: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. ... Singapore has long had a burgeoning urban musical scene, and is a center for rock, punk and other popular genres in the region. ... The politics of Singapore is based on a unitary state with some aspects modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary government. ... Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore. ... // There are no statistics on how many homosexuals there are in Singapore or what percentage of the population they constitute. ... // MediaCorp (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a conglomeration group of commercial media companies in Singapore specializing largely in television and radio broadcasting, and to a lesser extent, in periodicals and newspaper publishing and filmmaking. ... The Truth About Jane and Sam (真心话) is a Hong Kong film co-produced by Hong Kongs Film Unlimited and Singapores Raintree Pictures. ... Fann Woon Fong (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; born January 27, 1971), better known by her stage name Fann Wong,[1][2] is a Singaporean actress, singer and model. ... This article is about the history, geography, and people of the island known as Taiwan. ... Derek Yee Tung Shing (Chinese: 爾冬陞) is a Hong Kong film director who has achieved fame and respect in Hong Kong and international film festival circuits for treading carefully commercial viability concerns with artistic integrity. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ... Nature plays a large part in many of John Fowles novels. ... The Eye, was the debut album of the Icelandic gothic rock group KUKL. This album was released in October 1984, through Crass Records and was recorded at Southern Studios in January 1984. ... A Singaporean film released in 2000, about a Romeo-and-Juliet love which blossoms amidst fierce competition between rival hawkers. ... One Leg Kicking is a 2001 Singapore comedy-film movie that is about the Singlish-speaking Singaporeans and the English-speaking people from other countries that competes in a soccer event for the 2002 World Cup Finals. ...

With the financing of a local production company and the setting of organizations such as the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), set up in 1998, budding filmmakers, especially independent ones, are finding it easier to make movies on subsidies and loaned fundings. The advent of digital video also meant that some novice filmmakers can experiment with cheaper alternatives. Features like Stories about Love (2000) and Return to Pontianak (2001) are both shot on digital videos, but they have not been commercial success. Digital video is a type of video recording system that works by using a digital, rather than analog, representation of the video signal. ...

But the success story since the turn of the century must be from local comedian-turned-director Jack Neo. Financed by Raintree Pictures, he has made a number of hits dealing with the heartland problems of Singapore in an engaging and deceptively light-hearted fashion. I Not Stupid (2002) is a peek into the ultra-competitive academic lifestyle as seen through three local students who do poorly in grades; its acerbic social commentary marks another height for Singaporean films. Homerun (2003) is a remake of the Iranian Children of Heaven in a local, pre-independence context; it won for its young lead Megan Zheng the first Golden Horse Award for Best Newcomer. The Best Bet (2004) takes a humorous dig at the heartlanders' obsessions with lotteries. Neo is averaging a film per year and his productions feature local (usually television) artistes in filmic roles. They have been successes locally as well as abroad, especially those places with a Chinese-language market, such as Hong Kong. He has started his own artiste management company, J-Team Productions. I Not Stupid (Chinese: ; pinyin: xiǎohái bù bèn) is a film by Jack Neo, among its themes are issues facing Singapore, such as the problems caused by educational streaming or nanny state government policy as well as the social values of Singapore, including the highly competitive kiasu... In baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run, with no errors on the play that result in the batter achieving extra bases. ... Children of Heaven is a 1997 Iranian film. ... Megan Zheng (born 8 October 1993) is a Singaporean child actress most well-known for her role in Jack Neos film, Homerun, released in 2003. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Best Bet is a Singaporean film written and directed by Jack Neo, and produced by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures. ...

Royston Tan, a young Singapore TV commercial director who has been making award-winning shorts for years, released 15: The Movie, his first feature, in 2003. An expanded version of an earlier short film he made, this 90-min movie on the fringe and drug-abusing delinquents uses bold subject-matter, some graphic scenes with non-professional actors. When the film censorship board passed it with cuts, it prompted a backlash from the director in the form of Cut, an all-singing musical satire a la Tsai Ming-liang lampooning the system. Interestingly, this short film was passed uncensored by the board and was seen during the Singapore International Film Festival, but there were open discussions about it during local parliamentary sessions prompting remarks that the government was "not amused" by the thinly veiled attack on Singapore censorship. Royston Tan is a young Singaporean film-maker. ... 15: The Movie (2003) is a Singaporean film by acclaimed film maker, Royston Tan. ... Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮, pinyin: Cài Míngliàng) (born in 1957 in Kuching, Malaysia) is one of the most celebrated Second New Wave film directors of Taiwanese Cinema, along with such contemporaries as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang. ... The Singapore International Film Festival (Siff) is an annual event first held in 1987. ...

2005 can be seen as another mini-boom year for Singapore cinema, with commercially successful fare like Kelvin Tong's horror flick The Maid and two Jack-Neo co-directed movies, I Do I Do and One More Chance; and less mainstream offerings like Eric Khoo's critically acclaimed Cannes opener Be with Me and Djinn's dark take on Scorsese's Taxi Driver, Perth. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Maid (Aug. ... Eric Khoo // Eric Khoo Eric Khoo was born in 1965 in Singapore and was introduced to the world of cinema at a very early age. ... Cannes Film Festival logo. ... For the Beach Boys song, see Be With Me (song) Be with Me is a 2005 film directed by Eric Khoo. ... Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (born November 17, 1942) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America award winner and critically acclaimed American film director. ... This article is about the 1976 American film. ...

In 2006, Singapore films began exploring new ways to find an audience with the independent feature Becoming Royston. Whilst paying homage to the above-mentioned filmmaker, new startup Originasian Pictures launched themselves into the industry with a comprehensive web marketing champaign. Becoming Royston's official movie site crash only after three days of its launch. Over half hour of the 90 minute film was made available free online. The film then went on its festival run in Europe and South Asia and is slated for a 2007 release. Becoming Royston is a full-length feature film directed by Nicholas Chee and produced by Originasian Pictures. ... Originasian Pictures is content producer for films and television programmes base in Singapore. ...

Further reading

• Ciecko, Anne Tereska (2006) Contemporary Asian Cinema. New York: Berg. ISBN 1-84520-237-6

• Millet, Raphaël (2006) Singapore Cinema. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet ISBN 981-4155-42-X

• Ramani, Vinita (January 26, 2006). "Speech Acts- Censorship and Documentary Filmmaking in Singapore". Criticine.

• Slater, Ben (2006) Kinda Hot: The Making of Saint Jack in Singapore. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 981-261-069-3

• Uhde, Jan and Uhde, Yvonne (2000) Latent Images: Film in Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-588714-X

See also

• Asian cinema
• Censorship in Singapore
• Southeast Asian cinema
• East Asian cinema
• Cinema of Malaysia
• World cinema
• List of Singaporean films
• List of films set in Singapore
• List of cinemas in Singapore
• List of highest-grossing films in Singapore

Asian cinema refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Asia. ... Censorship in Singapore mainly targets pornography, political, racial and religious issues. ... Southeast Asian cinema refers to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, Southeast Asia. ... East Asian cinema (sometimes called Far Eastern cinema, Eastern cinema, Asian cinema or Oriental cinema) is a term used to refer to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, East Asia. ... The Malaysian cinema experience began in 1933 with the screening of Laila Majnun, a well-known Sanskrit play of two ill-fated lovers. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This is a list of Singaporean films, including foreign films which involved collaborations or co-productions with Singaporean film makers or artists, marked accordingly in the list as follows: // Singaporean films by chronological order since 1991. ... The following lists local and international movies which were set in Singapore at least in part. ... This is a list of cinemas in Singapore: Categories: Cinema of Singapore | Cinemas in Singapore | Singapore-related lists ... Here are the top-grossing movies in Singapore based on total receipts to June 2005 in Singapore dollars: // Top-grossing movies of all time Top-grossing movies in 2004 Figures are as at 31 December 2004, with The Incredibles and Kung Fu Hustle were still being screened at that time. ...

External links

• Website of the Singapore Film Commission
• Singapore International Film Festival
• Southeast Asian Cinematheque (formerly Singapore Cinematheque)
• Asian Film Archive
• Singapore Film Society
• OhGenki Movies Singapore
• Incinemas.com.sg
• Criticine Singapore – Singapore page of Southeast Asian Cinema journal Criticine
• Singapore cinema timeline at Asian-cinema.blogspot.com
• Singapore movie discussion forum
• Sinema.sg

Film production companies

• Official website of Zhao Wei Films, film company set up by Eric Khoo
• Official website of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
• Official website of J Team Productions, artiste management/production company set up by Jack Neo
• Official website of independent filmmakers Originasian Pictures