Inspiring young filmmakers to tell stories

Mr David Chua, Chairman of *SCAPE and CEO of the National Youth Council,   
Distinguished guests 
Award nominees
Ladies and gentlemen

1. A very warm welcome to the very first edition of the National Youth Film Awards!
   

2. We're all part of history making because this is the first time we're doing this. And we are doing this for a very good reason – because for the past few years, we have been seeing a growing interest in filmmaking among our young people. We looked across all the institutions, be it the ITEs or the polytechnics and universities, and there's a lot of interest in filmmaking by students, not just in the film and media schools, but beyond.
   

3. All the institutions have their own award ceremonies, showcases and platforms, but we realise that there is nothing that brings all these young people together and recognises them at a national level. As we looked at the landscape, we thought it was timely to have a national level award that recognises the best of our young filmmakers; not just the directors or actors and actresses, but all the people who are involved in the filmmaking process. That's why we decided to initiate this new national level film awards.
   

4. Let me start by congratulating all the award nominees who are here. Having these awards is timely because our film industry is growing and our filmmakers are all doing very well. At the national level, we have 20 Singapore films this year. That is already double the number from the usual because we usually have 10 to 12 Singapore films. This year, we have a bumper crop of 20, and you see many more filmmakers involved in putting out feature films.

5. A few weeks ago, the movie 7 Letters premiered at Capitol Theatre. Seven of the best filmmakers in Singapore, including our two judges who are here, Jack Neo and Royston Tan, put together seven stories as a tribute to Singapore for our Golden Jubilee. And in case you missed the premiere, 7 Letters is going to be shown during the Jubilee Weekend at the National Museum. So you can still get tickets, although I think they are running out fast because it is first-come-first-served. So that's just one example, but there are many more. I think Jack has a movie, Long Long Time Ago, coming out. Royston's Tan movie, 3688, is also coming out at the end of the year or next year. So I think we can look forward to many Singapore movies, not just this year because it is the Golden Jubilee and SG50, but next year and beyond.
   

6. As for our young filmmakers, we have people like Boo Jun Feng and Anthony Chen; they've done well, and have won accolades at overseas film festivals, for example in Busan and Cannes. So all this is encouraging young people to get into the film sector to start doing their own films. And through the National Youth Film Awards, we hope to find and nurture more talented young filmmakers so that the Singapore film sector will continue to flourish and grow. And we have on board a very distinguished panel of judges to help with this effort. As I mentioned earlier, we are very glad to have two of Singapore's most successful filmmakers Jack and Royston on the judging panel, as well as a very distinguished group of judges.
   

7. I don't envy your task; I hear that it was very difficult to shortlist the winners because of the quality of the submissions. They were all so good, as you saw from the trailers just now. And I understand the judges were all very impressed by the submissions. Not just in terms of the production quality and the quality of the acting, but also in the maturity in which the stories were conveyed, particularly in dealing with emotional and sensitive social issues. So I think it bodes well for the future of film in Singapore that we have young people with the depth, maturity and capability to produce such short movies. In fact, I understand that there is interest by some of our filmmakers to extend the 20-minute segments to longer feature films because there's such potential to do so. So, we look forward very much to the award ceremony tonight to recognise and celebrate the best of youth talents in Singapore's film sector, across the entire process of filmmaking, including production, as well as in areas like sound design and animation. And we hope that this award ceremony will motivate and inspire even more young people to continue and to pursue their passion in filmmaking in Singapore.
   

8. Of course, we don't just want to have a once-off awards ceremony. So the awards ceremony tonight is really meant to be part of a broader support eco-system that we want to provide to our young filmmakers. And so to our young filmmakers, I would say that you can look forward to more support like apprenticeship and mentorship opportunities with established media practitioners. That's something we hope to provide for you. And we will connect you with industry practitioners and professionals who will be able to help you and mentor you, and give you a leg up in your careers in filmmaking. They will also give you a reality check and let you know how difficult it is to make a full-length feature film. So it's not something you should just go in with starry eyes thinking it's such an easy thing to do. It's actually a challenging business, but it's also deeply fulfilling. And by linking you up with established practitioners in this sector, you'll be able to have a better understanding of what it takes to succeed as a filmmaker, and we hope that you will then be able to make more original quality films to inspire Singaporeans, and also to share with the world.
   

9. Organising the awards is part of what we in the National Youth Council and *SCAPE are trying to do to better support youth aspirations. We want to create more programmes for our young people and by our young people, whether it is in music, media or dance.
   

10. Our plans are still evolving. But I would say that overall they're on track. And I'm happy to share that we will be setting up a media hub within *SCAPE to provide a space for youths to collaborate on their media projects and also to network with one other. And this media hub in *SCAPE is expected to be ready later this year. So in the *SCAPEmedia hub, we will host more programmes to connect talented young filmmakers like yourselves with industry partners and to provide more opportunities for young filmmakers to learn from experienced professionals and develop their craft.
    

11. Finally, I'd like to thank the organising committee, the judges, and also the sponsors for making this event possible. I should make a special note to thank all our sponsors and partners. Let's give them a round of applause because we could not have done it without them as well.
    

12. And I thank all the participating filmmakers for your contributions. Continue to pursue your aspirations and tell your stories through film. And I hope that you will continue your efforts to strive for excellence, to tell good stories that will entertain and inspire Singaporeans over many years.
    

13. So on that note, I wish all of you a very good evening ahead. Thank you very much.