Singapore as Sollywood ?

Atobe SG

Did anyone read this not so complimentary article of Singapore's attempt to be the Media Hub of the 21st Century ?

Can Singapore achieve this ambitious vision with tough Government censorship laws and tight regulations towards Foreign Media operating in Singapore ?

Singapore as Sollywood?
Asia Times
September 24, 2003
SINGAPORE
By Tony Sitathan

IT has been almost a year since the government unveiled yet another blueprint to attempt to transform Singapore into Asia's media hub. This is a two-decade-old dream that has invariably foundered on the reality of the government's poisonous attitude toward the foreign media.

The international media, often regarded locally as certain to bring perdition ashore, all too often have faced legal actions and libel suits that would have been laughed out of court in 1950s Bulgaria. Magazines and newspapers have had their circulation cut drastically for stories that contained the slightest amount of government criticism. That has made the international media deeply suspicious about the government's perennial blandishments to move their operations to the island republic.

But with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong having taken over in 1990 from Lee Kuan Yew, tolerance seems to be growing. Goh's leadership style is more consultative and consensus-driven than the combative former prime minister's.

Singapore's communications infrastructure now makes it ideal for broadcasting international media content by a host of foreign media companies. BBC World, ESPN, MTV Asia, the Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) have all decided to make Singapore their regional home.

Diverse viewpoints have gingerly begun to surface - to a point.

"As long as international broadcasters do not tamper with the domestic political scene or meddle in Singapore's internal affairs, international broadcasting companies are churning out programs for an international audience," said Andrew Marshal, a regional programming specialist with an international media house based in Singapore.

The fact is that local political events remain off-limits to the print media on pain of being censored, gazetted or banned from circulation. The broadcast media run the danger of losing the right frequency allocations to air their programs. The international press faces the choice of transmitting knowledgeably to a local audience of 3 million or to a broader audience across Asia. It thus makes economic sense, if not journalistic bravery, for the international broadcasters to fold their hand when reporting on Singapore's internal affairs. And they do.

Singapore, technologically streets ahead of the rest of Asia, is still faced with the oxymoronic conundrum of being a creative vortex or an authoritative straitjacket. The media, ever ready to be seduced, are contemplating the unlikely possibility that the government has mellowed. In its latest incarnation as a media center, the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts (MITA) has been entrusted with a mission, called Media 21, to springboard Singapore into a mini-Hollywood - Sollywood? - churning out international TV programs and regional films, including documentaries.

David Lim, the former acting minister for information, communication and the arts, calls it a way to enhance the Singaporean identity and multicultural heritage as well as a vision to capture a creative and connected Singapore. Still, obviously there is a price to pay for being creative and connected, and Singapore, with its straitjacket broadcasting policies and restrictive censorship, so far has resisted all serious attempts at transformation.

The government has made some inroads on its media-center campaign, working with NGCI and the Economic Development Board (EDB). Both sank close to US$2 million two years ago into a joint development effort to make documentaries on Asia from a local perspective and broadcast them internationally.

The EDB-NGCI documentary production fund is designed to help budding local and other Asian filmmakers and production companies produce original programs with an international appeal. It has also recently announced a further injection of $8 million to $10 million over a five-year period.

"When Singapore first started in the direction to be a media or broadcasting hub, there were not many foreign media talents in Singapore with the exception of the Yellow River Network, which was an amalgamation of production, talent and post production houses," said a local source who started his own production house in 1999 before closing it down two years ago. "Then the Singapore Broadcasting Corp [SBC] had a virtual monopoly of the media industry before it became a semi-government entity under the Television Corp of Singapore [TCS].

"Times were really tough for those that wanted to do documentaries, as budgets were comparatively small compared even to commercials and docudramas made for television. Although the Singapore government put emphasis on training of media practitioners and graduates of mass communications, the reality at that time made it impossible for smallish run production outfits to survive."

A technical sound expert with Turntable Music Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, maintains, however, that even today the opportunities for new companies starting up are not many, since the market is relatively small and its creative talent is limited.

"I find it difficult for Singapore to be another Hollywood or, for that matter, another Bollywood, as the Singapore market of less than 4 million people makes it rather difficult for the documentaries or films to be absorbed locally," he said. "Production companies are therefore dependent on the outside market for their distribution of content. And even in terms of location shooting, countries like Malaysia and Thailand have much more to offer in terms of natural scenery and contrasting landscapes."

Atobe SG

cont

However, Michael Chin, formerly operations director in a local production company, said he is hopeful that the issue of grants and funding allowances is different now. In the past, he said, when the EDB dished out grants it did not physically give money but rather converted the grants into tax holidays that were later accounted into final production costs. "It was a counter-productive effort, since small companies had no way to claim their money upfront and were only given tax holidays that were later factored as grants from the EDB," he said.

So it is little surprise that one of the first documentaries made using the EDB and NGCI fund was Hidden Genders, shot in Thailand by a Singapore-based production company called Right Angle. It examines Thai kickboxing and looks at the world of transsexuals and transvestites. It received about US$200,000 in funding, a large amount by local standards.

Now there seems to be a concerted effort by the newly anointed Media Development Authority (MDA) to push Singapore's idea across as a global media city, said Lim Hock Chuan, the chief executive officer of MDA.

"Media 21 is our vision of how we can co-create our future of Singapore as a global media city," Lim said. "It represents a holistic approach to develop the whole media ecosystem, covering the whole range of processes ranging from content production and delivery, the education system, talent development, infrastructure and facilities, and media literacy."

There are also concrete plans to double the media sector's contribution from $2.5 billion or 1.56-3 percent of gross domestic product. According to the latest statistics, the film and video production industry has been growing at 13.5 percent on average each year from 1995 to 2000, and its total output of the industry was estimated at $30.2 million in 2000.

Is all this going to happen? David Yew, the strategy director of Fusion Consulting, based in Singapore and with regional offices in Asia, says having money alone is not a good consideration for boosting the creative side of the business that is needed to drive the media industry.

"The talent industry needs to be nurtured," he said. "Singapore's vision is parochial in nature. It needs to change the way it uses creative talents from overseas while nurturing its own talent base. Also the current attempts at making movies makes it difficult to be a regional success. When there is use of Chinese dialects like Hokkien or Teochew, the majority of even the Chinese may be alienated. It has to look at universal themes instead of cultural themes that may only work in the beginning."

Thus, despite Singapore's bid to catapult itself into Asian media- hubdom, there are some considerations that Marcel Fenez, a media specialist with PricewaterhouseCoopers based in Hong Kong, brought up during one of the recent forum discussions organized by MDA in Singapore. He said Singapore should loosen its censorship laws and deal with its external perception when attracting overseas investors to invest in its media industry.

"Singapore also has to deal with [places] like Hong Kong and Dubai that have adequate protections for intellectual property as well as a regulatory environment which encourages creativity and freedom of _expression," he said.

That would mean financial carrots alone aren't sufficient. Singapore needs to look at its regulatory framework, its talent mix as well as its prohibitive censorship laws that could well be a stumbling block to achieving its dream.

http://www.singapore-window.org/sw03/030924at.htm

[email protected]_arms SG

If I had any humour left in me, believe me, I would laugh my brains out.

In its latest incarnation as a media center, the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts (MITA) has been entrusted with a mission, called Media 21, to springboard Singapore into a mini-Hollywood - Sollywood? - churning out international TV programs and regional films, including documentaries.

Why doesn't Singapore be a Hub for Hubs, wouldn't that be exciting? Be a Hub for every god forsaken thing in this world?

Still, obviously there is a price to pay for being creative and connected, and Singapore, with its straitjacket broadcasting policies and restrictive censorship, so far has resisted all serious attempts at transformation.

It took england 700 years to transform.

since the market is relatively small and its creative talent is limited. I find it difficult for Singapore to be another Hollywood or, for that matter, another Bollywood, as the Singapore market of less than 4 million people makes it rather difficult for the documentaries or films to be absorbed locally," he said. "Production companies are therefore dependent on the outside market for their distribution of content. And even in terms of location shooting, countries like Malaysia and Thailand have much more to offer in terms of natural scenery and contrasting landscapes."

Hell YEAH!

]David Yew, the strategy director of Fusion Consulting, based in Singapore and with regional offices in Asia, says having money alone is not a good consideration for boosting the creative side of the business that is needed to drive the media industry.

"The talent industry needs to be nurtured," he said. "Singapore's vision is parochial in nature. It needs to change the way it uses creative talents from overseas while nurturing its own talent base. Also the current attempts at making movies makes it difficult to be a regional success. When there is use of Chinese dialects like Hokkien or Teochew, the majority of even the Chinese may be alienated. It has to look at universal themes instead of cultural themes that may only work in the beginning."

Nope, you people need to restructure your entire system and perhaps culture. But i think the system is the problem. Now as I have so meticulously pointed out, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO BE CREATIVE because all the time is spend pursueing books and acumen, not only that, the time is spend doing that IN A HIGHLY REGIMENTAL ENVIRONMENT. Its like trying to grow the Singapore Orchid in the desert for christ's sake. Only after transformation can you even think about "nurturing talent", ridiculous!

He said Singapore should loosen its censorship laws and deal with its external perception when attracting overseas investors to invest in its media industry.

Exactly what I have been saying years ago.

That would mean financial carrots alone aren't sufficient. Singapore needs to look at its regulatory framework, its talent mix as well as its prohibitive censorship laws that could well be a stumbling block to achieving its dream.

I remember what some minister said: "Creativity can only be achieved in a disciplined environment", bullshit, with all the local ads I've seen, they suck. Same with the movies.

oldbreadstinks SG

bullshit lah like when they buy old buildings and kick out the occupants then turn it into tourist attraction
who the F would want to visit places like those
someone need to tell them to stop wasting money

[email protected]_arms SG

I hate to sound like those PAP people comparing Singapore will places like Switzerland, but i think Singapore should have… notice my words, should HAVE, (Since its too late now), followed France in preserving old buildings, all buildings are preserved by modernised in the interior. Like cottages, I’m sure “angmohs” would pay heaps to live in old modernised kampongs. But alas they were all wiped out since 94.

SingaporeTyrannosaur SG

As an aspiring filmmaker, I all the more can attest to the "condusive" way the gar'men encourages the fledging arts...

How sad, we are a nation with hardly any soul. Or more likely, $$$ is our soul.