'S'poreans should never feel obliged to watch a made in S'pore film': 'I Not Stupid' film producer

"How much responsibility do Singaporeans have to support their own film industry?"

Veteran Singapore film producer Daniel Yun raised this question in an Instagram post on Oct. 18, and argued against overemphasising the need to support local films.

He was responding to a recent incident where some cast members from the independent Singapore mockumentary "The Sandbox" went to surprise moviegoers at a screening, and found only seven people in the cinema hall.

Posting a video of the incident, one of the film's actors Nathan Hartono encouraged people to see the movie to show the industry that they "want to see more local films like The Sandbox in theatres".

'Sending the wrong message'

Yun believes that asking Singaporeans to support a film because it is a Singapore film can "invariably take away the focus from its worthy merits".

As an example, he said that asking Singaporeans to watch ‘The Violinist’ because it is a Singapore animated film would do the film "a disfavour".

Such an approach to encourage audience support can do the films a disfavour, and is "sending the wrong message", he said.

He shared that when people say "please support local films" to help promote a film he was involved in, he would "recoil with both awkwardness and some exasperation".

Yun, who founded film production company MediaCorp Raintree Pictures in 1998, was behind various  Singapore films including "I Not Stupid", "The Maid", and "881".

He further argued that the "support local" approach can create a sense of obligation:

"Singaporeans should never feel obliged to watch a made in Singapore film.

We should not saddle a film experience with forced nationalism, guilt, or worse pity. When the want to watch a film is blurred with the need to watch, it removes the joy and diminishes its value."

Can turn people off

Yun also pointed out that in Singapore, the attempt to "sell nationality" can backfire and turn people off the film.

Rather than highlight the fact that the film is made in Singapore, he finds it more important to make sure the film has good quality and strong marketing.

That would help to get people interested about these Singapore films.

On the point about marketing, Yun said that many Singaporeans are often not aware when a Singapore film is showing at the cinema.

"This lack of awareness is lack of promotion, which should not be an accepted norm for Singapore film practitioners," he added.

Expressing optimism about the state of Singapore films this year, Yun urged that films be marketed on their appeal and quality rather than "reduce them to a Singaporean plea, however well intended and sincere".