City Singapore Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Funding from Singaporean state sources is involved in two features that make their debut at the Cannes Film Festival this month. A third film, “The Breaking Ice,” is directed by Singapore-born filmmaker Anthony Chen. “We are absolutely thrilled that we have the most number of Made with Singapore films debuting in Cannes this year,” said Justin Ang, assistant chief executive of media, innovation, communications and marketing at Singapore’s InfoComm Media Development Authority.Malaysian-produced “Tiger Stripes,” which will play in the Critics’ Week section, and Vietnamese-made “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” which will play in the Directors’ Fortnight section, both received cash injections from the Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant under the ‘Media Talent Progression Programme,’ which is backed by the Singapore Film Commission and the IMDA.

BTS member Suga recently brought singer Halsey onstage as a surprise guest at the Los Angeles stop of his ongoing world tour.On the final day of Suga’s three-day concert at the Kia Forum on May 14 in Los Angeles, as part of his ongoing ‘Suga Agust D’ world tour, the rapper surprised fans by inviting American singer-songwriter onstage as a guest.As seen in a clip uploaded by the Kia Forum on Twitter, the pair teamed up for a performance of their 2020 track ‘Suga’s Interlude’, from Halsey’s third studio album ‘Manic’. This marks the first time the two artists have performed ‘Suga’s Interlude’ together.“I’ve been trying all my life / To separate the time / In between the having it all and giving it up, yeah,” Halsey sings in the chorus.

B.I has unveiled the tracklist for his upcoming studio album ‘To Die For’, featuring collaborations with BIG Naughty, Jessi and more.On May 5, the ex-iKON member took to Twitter to share the tracklist for ‘To Die For’, which arrives June 1 at 6pm KST. The record will be led by two title tracks: ‘Dare To Love’ featuring rapper BIG Naughty, and ‘Die for love’ with Korean-American singer-rapper Jessi.The album also includes several other features, including one with rappers Kid Milli and Lil Cherry on ‘Wave’ and ‘Beautiful Life’ with South Korean punk band Crying Nut.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Glossy drama film, “Inside the Yellow Cocoon,” has unveiled its first trailer ahead of its world premiere this month in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes. Its world sales representative, Cercamon will give the picture a market launch with a buyers-only screening on May 16. The anticipated Vietnamese-Singapore co-production is the debut feature by Pham Thien An and is eligible for the Camera d’Or prize. Its narrative follows a man whose sister-in-law is killed in a freak motorcycle accident in Saigon. He is tasked with delivering her body back to their countryside hometown. It is a journey on which he also takes his young nephew, who miraculously survived the crash. Amidst the mystical landscapes of rural Vietnam, the man begins a search for his older brother who vanished years ago in order to be able to hand over the boy. His pursuit, interrupted by magical dreams and forbidden desires, leads him to question what is worth living for.

DEALSWarner Music Singapore and Cross Ratio Entertainment have agreed a new worldwide distribution deal. “Cross Ratio Entertainment and our talented roster of artists are excited to be joining forces with Warner Music Singapore”, says the firm’s founder Dean Augustine.

Naman Ramachandran “The Song of Scorpions,” starring Irrfan Khan, Golshifteh Farahani and Waheeda Rehman, written and directed by Anup Singh, will be released in India by Panorama Films and 70mm Talkies on April 28. The film’s release in India was withheld due to the pandemic in 2021. “The Song of Scorpions” is a story of twisted love, revenge and the redemptive power of a song. Nooran, carefree and defiantly independent, is a tribal woman learning the ancient art of healing from her grandmother, a revered scorpion-singer. When Aadam, a camel trader in the Rajasthan desert, hears her sing, he falls desperately in love. But even before they can get to know each other better, Nooran is poisoned by a treachery that sets her on a perilous journey to avenge herself and find her song.

Singapore is launching a S$10M ($7.5M) fund to attract international productions to work with local filmmakers and shine a spotlight on the city. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief To stimulate travel to Singapore through TV series and films, the city state’s Infocomm Media Development Authority and the Singapore Tourism Board are launching a $7.53 million (S$10 million) fund. The fund will support selected projects by international media and entertainment companies. These must be set in Singapore and launched before the first quarter of 2027. Successful projects will receive funding support of up to 30% of their qualifying costs related to featuring Singapore, including production and marketing costs. Project proposals will be evaluated based on their distribution and market reach, content concept and creative merit, opportunities to feature Singapore’s offerings and experiences, as well as the number of local talents involved in credited roles.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The high-profile film and TV production facilities Iskandar Malaysia Studios have been sold to Singapore’s GHY Culture & Media. GHY has paid RM8.8 million ($1.98 million) for an 80% stake in Studio Management Services, investment company, to RK Media Ventures Sdn Bhd and CL Media Holdings. According to a regulatory filing GHY and SMS must pay a further RM26.5 million ($5.99 million) within five days to state-owned Granatum Ventures to buy 100% of Iskandar Malaysia Studios. That gives a total purchase price of RM35.3 million ($8 million) for a controlling 80% stake. The remaining minority can be bought out in five years. The filing said that Iskandar Malaysia Studios’ net asset value at the end of 2022 was RM32 million ($7.23 million).

BTS member Jungkook has become the new global ambassador for fashion brand Calvin Klein.The appointment was confirmed today (March 28) by Elle Singapore in an Instagram post, ahead of the release of Jungkook’s first campaign with the brand.“I have been a fan of Calvin Klein for a long time, and I’m thrilled to be their newest global ambassador,” Jungkook said, per Elle Singapore. “This partnership is very special, as Calvin Klein’s heritage and brand values resonate with me.”“My music is how I communicate with my fans around the world, and I see this partnership as an opportunity to connect with them in a new way.

Red Velvet have announced their upcoming ‘R to V’ world tour.Today (March 27), the quintet revealed that they will be bringing their upcoming ‘R to V’ concert tour to major cities in Asia and Europe. The girl group had initially announced two shows in Seoul, South Korea for their concert tour.The Asia leg of Red Velvet’s ‘R to V’ world tour will kick off an April 21 in Singapore.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Writer and director He Shuming has signed with Sugar23, the multimedia and management company founded by Oscar-winning producer, manager and entrepreneur Michael Sugar. The signing comes following He’s breakout debut feature “Ajoomma,” about a widow obsessed with Korean soap operas who travels abroad for the first time to Seoul, finding more than she had bargained for in the process. That movie collected several nominations and prizes on the film festival circuit. It premiered at the 2022 Busan International Film Festival in the New Currents section; was nominated at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Film; received four nominations at the Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, including Best New Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actor; and won the Film AIUla Audience Award for Best Film at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

K-pop girl group IVE will be releasing a new single ‘Kitsch’, ahead of their first studio album.Today (March 21), the Starship Entertainment act unveiled a teaser clip announcing their upcoming pre-release single ‘Kitsch’. Due out on March 27 at 6pm KST, the song will be part of IVE’s first studio album ‘I’ve IVE’ arriving on April 10.Titled ‘It’s our time, Kitsch’, the teaser clip features individual close-up shots of IVE as a snippet of the energetic new track plays, with the members chanting “kitsch” over a thumping beat.In addition to ‘Kitsch’, IVE’s upcoming studio album will also include new tracks ‘Blue Blood’ and ‘Not Your Girl’, which the group previously performed at their first concert ‘The Prom Queens’ in Seoul last month.Following the release of ‘I’ve IVE’, the six-member group will be embarking on their first Asia tour ‘The Prom Queens’ in June.

NMIXX have announced their upcoming ‘Nice to MIXX You’ showcase tour that will take the group to cities in North America and Asia.The ‘Nice to MIXX You’ tour is set to kick off on May 2 on the West Coast of the US in Washington, followed by two shows in California. The girl group will the head south, with performance in Texas and Georgia, before moving up the East Coast with concerts in DC and New York.The following month, NMIXX will make their way to Asia, starting with a show in Thailand on June 4.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service has acquired Makbul Mubarak’s award-winning debut feature, “Autobiography,” for the Southeast Asian region. The film, which is being sold by Alpha Violet, follows young Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), whose father is in prison and whose brother works abroad. He works as the housekeeper in a mansion in a rural Indonesian town belonging to retired general Purna (Arswendy Bening Swara). Purna returns to the town to start his mayoral election campaign and Rakib, whose clan has worked for the general’s family for centuries, serves as his assistant. An act of vandalism during the campaign triggers an escalating chain of violence.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore’s Mocha Chai Laboratories and Emissary Pictures, a company that straddles New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia, have announced a strategic partnership for the development and production of cross-cultural films, series and content in Asia. The venture will have offices in all four countries and will identify, develop and produce content across genres and formats, including films, television series, documentaries and digital content. The agreement was announced in Hong Kong on the first day of the FilMart rights market. The pair say that they have scripted and unscripted projects in development and production. Slate details, however, remain under wraps as do distribution plans.

Naman Ramachandran Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen wears his producers hat at the Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) shepherding two projects from debut directors. Chen’s feature directorial debut “Ilo Ilo” (2013) won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes. His most recent film as director, “Drift,” bowed at Sundance earlier this year. As a producer, Chen’s recent credits include Locarno selection “Arnold Is a Model Student” and Busan selection and Red Sea winner “Ajoomma.” First up is the English-language animated feature “Skin Coat,” directed by Singapore’s Tan Wei Keong. Set in the 16th century, it will follow a son who returns to his village to see his aging parents, and his male lover has to put on a woman’s skin coat to accompany him back home.

EXCLUSIVE: Drift director Anthony Chen is gearing up to direct his first US-set project, Heartbeat: A New York Story, about the rarely-told experiences of the Asian gay community during the AIDS epidemic in 1980s New York.

Naman Ramachandran Janchivdorj Sengedorj’s “The Sales Girl” (Mongolia), Asif Rustamov’s “Cold As Marble” (Azerbaijan), Ken Kwek’s “#LookAtMe” (Singapore) and Nader Saeivar’s “No End” (Iran) were among the winners at the  Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema on Tuesday. “The Sales Girl,” which played at Busan and won awards at the New York and Osaka Asian film festivals, won the Golden Cyclo, the festival’s top honor awarded by the international jury. “Cold as Marble,” which has played at Talinn Black Nights and the Goa festivals, took home three awards, including the grand jury prize and the Marc Haaz and Netpac jury prizes.

The Curry Mile is undoubtedly one of the city's most famous streets. The stretch of Wilmslow Road connecting the city centre to Fallowfield and beyond is known far and wide for its historic selection of authentic curry houses, sweet shops, cafes, and more.

yeule’s music comes from a distinctly posthumanist perspective. So it’s only fitting that the remixes they’re so often tapped to make end up sounding more like full-on recreations, stripped for parts and rebuilt in the Singapore-born, London-based artist’s own cyborgian image. Premiering on The FADER today (March 1) is yeule’s take on “EASY PREY” — a track from Moderat’s 2022 album MORE D4TA — reimagined in collaboration with Kin Leonn (a fellow Singapore-born, London-based electronic experimentalist).

Naman Ramachandran Singapore and India-based Mumba Devi Motion Pictures is screening two films at Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM) and has unveiled a slate of future titles. The company, headed by producer Sweta Chhabria and producer-director Aditya Kripalani, makes issue-based films focusing on stories that are mostly to do with gender and burning topics like suicide prevention and mental health. The outfit makes it a point to minimize the male gaze by bringing on board heads of department who are all women. Kripalani and Chhabria’s just-completed Singapore-set film “Grand Sugar Daddy,” which has its market premiere at EFM on Feb. 18, follows a 70-year-old widower who is introduced to the world of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies. The film traces his conversations with a Singaporean Chinese woman, an Indian woman and a transgender Malay.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore-based film production outfit Potocol, whose “Tomorrow is a Long Time,” by Jow Zhi Wei bowed at the Berlin Film Festival’s Generation 14plus competition, has revealed a diverse Asian slate. Potocol’s recent triumphs include Bangladeshi filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s Cannes selection “Rehana Maryam Noor” and Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s Venice winner “Autobiography.” The company, led by Jeremy Chua who is currently at the Berlinale, has a growing reputation for championing the rise of young filmmakers from across Asia. Potocol has four films in post-production and several more in development. Nicole Midori Woodford’s debut feature “Last Shadow at First Light” is a supernatural road trip drama that follows a Singaporean teenager tracing the footsteps of her missing mother in Japan and explores the ripple effects of a traumatic event subconsciously buried within the family unit.

NCT Dream have announced US and Europe dates for their ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ world tour, and added new shows in Asia – find the full list of dates below.On Wednesday (February 15) the NCT sub-unit unveiled a poster revealing a fresh slate of tour dates alongside shows that had already been announced. The world tour will touch down in 22 cities with 32 performances, the group later confirmed on Twitter.NCT Dream kicked off their ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ tour in Japan last year.

BTS rapper Suga has become the first member of the K-pop group to announce a solo world tour.The group went on hiatus last year and plan to reconvene in a group around 2025, with separate plans to launch their own solo projects and undertake mandatory military service duties. All able-bodied men in their home country of South Korea are legally required to serve a military term of 18-21 months.Now, Suga has announced a string of tour dates in the US and Asia for later this year.

A “globetrotting” college boss racked up over twenty foreign trips before backing a redundancy scheme for staff.

EXCLUSIVE: Shooting on Fantastic Friends season two is set to wrap, with more Harry Potter and Game of Thrones alumni featuring.

Staff members at Twitter’s Asia headquarters in Singapore have been told to clear their desks and work from home indefinitely, according to a new report.

Ganesh Rajaram and Haryaty Rahman are rising at American Idol and Got Talent producer Fremantle.

The majority of submissions for this year’s International Feature Oscar category deal with serious issues, from major to minor, and while He Shuming’s feature debut Ajoomma (the title translates as Auntie) isn’t exactly the heaviest of them all, it does make a point of focusing on a character type that is vastly underrepresented in cinema across the globe: the older female.

Lovers on parade! Madison LeCroy and husband Brett Randle jetted off to Singapore for the first part of their honeymoon after tying the knot ahead of Thanksgiving.

Singapore-based producer and distributor Clover Films is teaming with filmmaker Jack Neo’s J Team Productions to launch a joint venture production company, HiJack Pictures. 

A rapidly spreading Covid strain has been dubbed the Nightmare Variant after it was found to double infections in a matter of days.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Singapore has banned the release of “#LookAtMe,” a feature film by local director Ken Kwek. The InfoComm Media Development Authority said that the film exceeds film classification guidelines because it denigrates a religious community. Supposedly based in true events, the film depicts a man who is offended by a pastor who preaches against homosexuality, but whose behavior contradicts his teachings. The protagonist’s viral video about the aberrant priest lands him in jail, causing the man’s gay identical twin to fight for justice. “#LookAtMe,” premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival and local media report that the film has been selected for next month’s Singapore International Film Festival. But the IMDA ruling means that it cannot now be shown in any form in Singapore unless Kwek is successful with an appeal.

Naman Ramachandran Indonesia’s KawanKawan Media has partnered with Singapore’s Momo Film Co on Nelson Yeo’s “Dreaming & Dying” and Duong Dieu Linh’s “Don’t Cry Butterfly,” it was revealed at this week’s Asian Contents & Film Market, held on the sidelines of the Busan International Film Festival. “Dreaming & Dying,” about three middle aged individuals who are forced to confront their inner demons as a long-buried love triangle between them resurfaces, is currently in production. Yeo said: “ ‘Dreaming & Dying’ is the accumulation of my obsession with dreams and memories. Primarily, it is about how we choose to remember things in our own ways, and as time passes, that fantasy becomes the reality.”