By Daniel Yun
CEO, Raintree Pictures/ Vice President, Productions 5, Television Corporation of Singapore
For Words
Recently, there has been a flurry of activity in the Singapore film industry. I think there are three factors responsible for this - the success of Money No Enough, the establishment of the Singapore Film Commission and the profile of Raintree Pictures.

There are expectations of Raintree Pictures. To at least provide the output level to sustain a semblance of a movie industry. As Raintree Pictures is a subsidiary of the Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) and Temasek Holdings, expectations are higher in relation to our production resources and experience.

As someone heading Raintree Pictures and English productions for TCS, I see it somewhat differently. Raintree Pictures is the first movie company in Singapore. We are not a production house, a mere investor, or a distribution company. We are a movie company that looks at the entire business of movie making. From the inception of an idea to getting it green lit, producing it, marketing it to as many markets as possible. The pioneers of the movie industry in Singapore, for example Eric Khoo, would rather just be a director. Jack Neo would rather just concentrate on being an artiste. But then, there was no movie company looking at the business and they had to set up their own companies or look for investors

When we talk about movie making, invariably being a scriptwriter, a producer, a director, or even an artiste comes to mind. There is no awareness as yet beyond the creative product. Yet there is a whole industry in distribution, project development and investment of movies. Here there is a lack of understanding of the business aspects of movie making. This ignorance is critical and is one of the reasons why the movie business is wrapped up in mystery. More focus on these areas would debunk the myth that the movie business is exceptionally risky. In reality it is no more risky than real estate or retail.

The Hong Kong movie industry is at its lowest point. For Singapore and any other Asian country, any serious player should see this period as a window of opportunity, as the entry level is also at its lowest. A new player also needs to understand why the Hong Kong movie industry has managed to be the only country in Asia to produce films that travel to several markets. And to understand why it has almost collapsed in the last few years.