PURIN PICTURES ANNOUNCES
GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR FALL 2018
Nov 1, 2018 - Bangkok
Bangkok-based film fund Purin Pictures has finalized the grantees for the Fall 2018 session. We received submissions from nearly every Southeast Asian country and after evaluation and discussion, the reading committee chose three fiction projects to receive a production grant and two documentary projects to receive a post-production grant. The genres of the chosen projects range from drama to comedy to supernatural.
Production Grants (30,000 USD)
CU LI NEVER CRIES (Vietnam/Philippines)
Director: Pham Ngoc Lan, Producer: Phan Dang Di, Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew
A surreal comedy about widowed Lady M, who travels to Berlin to receive her inheritance: her estranged German husband’s ashes and his pet pygmy slow loris.
CITY OF SMALL BLESSINGS (Singapore)
Director: Chen-Hsi Wong, Producer: Fran Borgia
A drama about retired bureaucrat Prakash and his struggle to save his home from being torn down by the beloved city he has dedicated his life to.
YOU ARE THERE (Singapore/Japan)
Director: Nicole Midori Woodford, Producer: Jeremy Chua, Shozo Ichiyama
A supernatural coming-of-age story about Ami, who is able to communicate with the dead, and her journey from Singapore to Japan to search for her mother.
Post-Production Grants (50,000 USD in post-production services)
LAST NIGHT I SAW YOU SMILING (Cambodia)
Director: Kavich Neang, Producer: Davy Chou, Daniel Mattes
A documentary about the demolition of Phnom Penh’s iconic White Building, following three families as they are forced to pack up and relocate, including the director’s own.
THE LOST PRINCESS (Thailand)
Director: Kornpat Pawakranond, Producer: Kamontorn Eakwattanakij
A documentary about 88 year old Chao Doungduen Na Chiangmai, the grand-daughter of the last King of Lanna, and her struggle to reconcile her royal lineage with a country that no longer recognizes it.
This Fall 2018 session continues Purin Pictures’ support of the most promising Southeast Asian filmmaking talent. Says Fund Director Aditya Assarat, “This round we received a high number of cross-cultural stories taking place across multiple countries. This not only reflects the co-production strategy of financing, but also the increasingly international experiences of many up-and-coming SEA filmmakers.” Purin Pictures continues its partnership with well-known post house White Light Studios to offer the post-production grant. Adds Assarat, “Similar to the previous session, most of the applications we received for post-production support were documentaries. While we are happy to be spoiled for choice with strong documentaries, we also want to encourage more fiction projects to apply.”
Aside from funding film productions, Purin Pictures has also been ramping up support for film-related activities. Recently sponsored events with a Southeast Asian focus include the SEA Shorts Film Festival in Penang, Malaysia (July), the Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival in London, UK (August), the AsiaDoc Documentary Writing Workshop in Jogjakarta, Indonesia (September), and the AFiS Busan Asian Film School’s Project Pitches in Busan, Korea (October). In December, Purin Pictures will also be present at the Singapore International Film Festival to sponsor the Southeast Asian Film Lab’s Most Promising Project award. “Our objective is not only to get more Southeast Asian films made, but also to make sure they are seen,” says Fund Director Anocha Suwichakornpong.
