The Singapore Film Commission's New Feature Film Fund, which was launched last year, saw its first project get off the ground when the film Blood Ties was released this year. In the supernatural thriller, a brutally murdered policeman possesses his 13-year-old sister in order to wreak vengeance.

In all, nine projects were chosen to each receive a grant of S$250,000. Recipients of the New Feature Film Fund will have their films distributed by cinema chain Golden Village Pictures. This is important as it means the films will have a chance to reach an audience.

Winning the grant means more than a financial helping hand. It is a stamp of approval, which encourages other sponsors and potential partners to come on board.

Look Both Ways by Yong Mun Chee, is another beneficiary of the New Feature Film Fund. The film was shot in Los Angeles and aims for international appeal. The cast for the movie about four men from four corners of the world crossing paths in a cheap hostel includes Eric Mabius, best known for his role as fashion magazine editor Daniel Meade on the American soap Ugly Betty. The film is slated for release in Singapore next year.

"The project gained momentum only after I got SFC funding. I was able to obtain more funding relatively quickly and we got some names attached," said Yong.

According to SFC, the other recipients include Boo Junfeng's family drama Sandcastle, seen from the perspective of an adolescent boy and his partially blind grandmother; T.T. Dhavamanni's 24 Hours Of Anger, about 14-year-old Prakash, his drug addict parents and his mentally challenged brother; and Wee Li Lin's Forever. All are due to begin production this year.

Forever is a dark comedy in which wedding vows turn into wedding woes. It is Wee's second feature after Gone Shopping (2007), which did not receive funding from the SFC.

Wee believes the New Feature Film Fund is a great help: "Few organisations want to take that first step, especially with a new feature film-maker. It definitely takes away some stress and helps us focus on making the story right and getting the right team in." Boo said that the fund "lends credibility to the project".

Dhavamanni will self-finance his feature through his company Blue River Pictures. The $250,000 from the commission will make up half of his film's budget. He said: "We spoke to potential sponsors but they wanted creative input and we didn't want to compromise on that. Such a decision would have been much tougher to make without the commission funding."

Also helpful is the infrastructural support from the fund, he added. The fund has helped the filmmakers meet potential distributors such as Fortissimo Films, a Dutch company known for promoting Asian films in the world market.

Blood Ties had its humble beginnings as a short film which won third prize at the Panasonic / Media Development Authority (MDA) Digital Film Fiesta in 2007.

Executive producer Jason Lai, head of content at Oak3 Films, was suitably impressed as it stood out from the rest of the short films he had seen. He got in touch with director Chai Yee Wei immediately after the competition.

"Blood Ties was really entertaining and fun. Above all, the director himself comes across to me as a man on a mission – to make films," Lai recalls. Oak3 went on to produce the feature length version of Blood Ties.

Lai said: "The biggest difficulty of financing is actually raising that first dollar. Someone has to put in money first and having a stamp of approval from the commission is good. The distribution deal is also important."

In addition to Oak3 coming in as producers, director Chai put in 'a couple of hundred thousand' from savings he accumulated while working as a sourcing consultant in the United States. He also brought some private investors on board.

For a first-time feature film director, the fund-raising was fairly smooth, he said. In fact, he was prepared to go ahead and shoot even before the commission showed him the money.

"Once the additional funds from SFC came in, it allowed us to pay for the cast a little more comfortably. It helped to improve the quality of the production,' Chai said.

The final budget for the film was S$850,000, of which, 20 per cent or about $170,000, was put up by Oak3. The company has co-produced mini series and television films for the European market.

The fact that Chai put his own money on the line demonstrated how strongly he felt about getting the project made.

He said: "I wanted to show people that with this amount of money I could do something of this level. Hopefully, they would see the potential of putting in money for my future productions."

Singapore Film Commission director Kenneth Tan said of Blood Ties: "Its production values, entertainment appeal, and combination of local and regional talent is a good example of how made-in-Singapore movies can progressively become more international."

The commission will announce the next batch of recipients at the year's end. While it gave comments 'like any investor would' of the rough cut, Chai said: "Creatively, they didn't interfere at all."

Blood Ties was given an M18 rating and while Chai said he would have wanted a broader rating in order to reach a wider audience, he also had to find a balance: "If the violence is too toned down, the justification for vengeance is not there."

Among the challenges he had to juggle on set were convincing his producers to hire some fresh faces for the cast and crew as well as listening to others' suggestions and then trying to top them.

"How do I manage everyone else's expectations? And finally deliver something that's of my own," he reflected.

Having directed his first full-length feature, he is eager for more. "I can't wait to make my next film and do a better job. After all, practice makes perfect."

Going Places

Singapore filmmaker Chai Yee Wei (right) has captured the eye of Los Angeles-based media company Convergence Entertainment, Inc.

On its recent Asian business trip, Convergence Entertainment previewed Chai's directorial debut, Blood Ties, and signed a deal to represent him (as a director) outside Singapore under their management division.

Convergence Entertainment's head of Convergence International, Andrew Lam says, "We're very excited to be working with Chai whom we feel represents a new generation of Singaporean directors who have wonderful commercial sensibilities making films that will travel well internationally and beyond."

Currently, Convergence Entertainment has several productions in development and pre-production including Wicked City directed by Mark Dippe (Spawn), slated for release in 2011.

Chai will now be in the good company of other international film talents represented by Convergence Entertainment such as Hong Kong's Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China, Seven Swords) and Gordon Chan (Fist of Legend, Painted Skin); Japan's Shunji Iwai (Love Letter, New York I Love You), and Shinho Lee (The Chaser –

screenwriter).

This is a heartening surprise for Chai whose supernatural thriller was two years in the making, "It has always been my wish to make films that have the potential to cross cultural boundaries. I am grateful that Convergence came along and offered me this opportunity. Hopefully it will open more doors to directing films that can travel."

Blood Ties' executive producer, Jason Lai from Oak3 Films –

one of the co-investors, is thrilled to have Chai represented outside of Singapore. "The funny thing about being an artist is that sometimes we must travel far only to find the place where we belong and started. Chai's signing by Convergence will provide him with opportunities to venture out and practice his craft on different and bigger canvas. Hopefully, when he returns, he'll tell stories from this small island in a different light."

This opportunity to tap into the international film market is also welcoming news for one of the film's investors, the Singapore Film Commission (SFC). Blood Ties is one of the nine films that was awarded the SFC's New Feature Film Fund in late 2008.

Director of SFC, Kenneth Tan, is encouraged by the news and said, "We are thrilled at the international opportunities rapidly opening up for Chai just after the successful launch of Blood Ties. The SFC is proud to have played a key role, via our New Feature Film Fund, in realising the theatrical debut of this promising young Singaporean talent. Now that the world has noticed, we can only look forward to more good news from Chai, and the start of a bright filmmaking career."

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