Singapore International Film Festival
Following a visit to Watershed by a delegation of Singaporean creatives, Mark Cosgrove, Watershed’s Head of Programme, was invited to Singapore to develop links between filmmakers and professionals and to present a series of short films.
Apr 2008
This online journal is a record of Mark Cosgrove’s (Watershed’s Head of Programme and Creative Director of Encounters Short Film Festival) visit to Singapore as a part of Watershed’s developing relationship with filmmakers and professionals in Singapore.
This relationship started in 2002 with screenings of Royston Tan’s short films at the Encounters 2001. Royston was the first of a younger generation of talented filmmakers who signalled a new wave in Singaporean cinema.
The subsequent year Encounters focused on this new generation, bringing a group of filmmakers to Bristol including Royston and Boo Junfeng. Their visit was organised by the British Council in Singapore who subsequently arranged for Mark to do an exchange visit and begin to deepen the links between Bristol and Singapore. The aim was to build on the filmmaking exchange and to widen the connection through visits to other cultural venues and to share cultural infrastructure experience with the Media Development Agency and the Singapore Film Commission.
As part of Mark’s visit he curated a programme of British short films which explored contemporary British life. They were screened as part of a symposium on film production at the Puttnam film school in Lasalle College of Art. Mark was accompanied by filmmaker, designer and artist Joe Magee. On their visit a series of chance encounters resulted in a publication of Joe’s work – Werk 16 - which has since gone on to win international design awards.
Mark also spent 3 days in Kuala Lumpur as a guest of the British Council in KL.
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