SINGAPORE – In collaboration with Singapore-based Clover Films and China’s iQiyi (one of the largest Chinese streaming platform), four of our local directors – Kelvin Tong, Melvin Mak, Ong Kuo Sin and Tay Ping Hui – are set to each produce a movie.
Clover Films made the official announcement on Monday (Mar 15). It stated: “This collaboration between Clover Films and iQiyi seeks to merge talents between the two countries and create stories told by Singaporean filmmakers that cater to the wider Chinese language audience across Asia.”
The company will be in charge of distributing the four Mandarin-speaking movies internationally while iQiyi handles its distribution in China. Its production period for these movies will take about two years, each consisting of various genres such as comedy, drama, romance and even a horror-thriller.
Coming up first will be a comedy film, written and produced by director Ong titled Reunion Dinner. This movie follows a couple who stumble upon a series of unfortunate events with their parents in conjunction with their wedding plans, reported Screen Daily.
Many are expecting a good laugh after director Ong’s most recent film ‘男儿王’ starring Mark Lee, ranked number one in comedy. (The actor was nominated for a Golden Horse Award: Best Leading Actor last year.)
The second film in line is a horror-thriller by director Tong, who is widely known for The Maid and The Faith Of Anna Waters.
The remaining films will be a romance drama by director Mak, and a medical drama by director Tay, who has recently been occupied with work in China as he stars in The Condor Heroes and Handsome Siblings. On top of that, he’ll be co-starring with Qi Yuwu and Lawrence Wong in The Ferryman which will be released on iQiyi later this year.
According to Screen Daily, Clover Films will be closely working with the filmmakers on the creative aspects while Beijing’s iQiyi team will be working on the storyline, casting, and marketing.
“We are excited to be partnering with iQiyi on this excellent slate of movies by four sterling Singapore filmmakers. We have always believed in our local talent pool and are glad that our partners at iQiyi are as invested as we are in promoting Singaporean talent. We aim to produce movies that would connect to audiences in the China and Southeast Asian markets and this requires great support from iQiyi and our four directors,” said Lim Teck, managing director of Clover Films.
/TISG