Singapore

SINGAPORE bright lights

Image: Westworld at the National Gallery Singapore © 2020 Home Box Office, Inc. Box office smash Crazy Rich Asians is one of the most recent films that highlights the country’s large-screen potential. The film shot in some glamorous locations that are possible to shoot in Singapore, from elegant and luxury Marina Sands Bay to the Sky Garden.

Sci-fi dramas like the thrid season of HBO’s Westworld and feature film Equals are also attracted to the modern feel of its architecture and city settings. According to Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy the city appealed due to the way nature entangles with modernity on the island, such as the Helix Bridge and the island of Pulau Ubin.

singapore’s unique skyline creates a lasting impact on screen. the island has an enthusiastic and well equipped production ecosystem that has worked on large international titles, while a selective 40% rebate is in place to entice feature films.

lthough Singapore is not as busy as some of its neighbouring countries in South East Asia, the island city-state attracts high quality work looking for impact on screen.

Guilad Kahn, producer and director at Aasia Productions, explains that the island hosts a wide variety of projects each looking for different things. “Singapore is a perfect mix of east and west. You can shoot pretty much ‘anywhere in the world’ in Singapore –except desert and snow –because of the wide variety or architectures and landscapes. From European or Arabian streets to Borneo jungles, exotic beaches to futuristic office buildings, Formula 1 Race track to Asian villages.”

Recent projects that Aasia has worked on include Netflix’

“singaporean crew are hard workers and very dedicated to their craft. they are responsive, proactive and usually really fun to work with.” Somebody Feed Phil that focuses on the food scene, and Discovery’s Impossible Engineering that looked at the engineering behind the world’s largest free-spanning dome at Singapore National Stadium, as well as campaigns for F1’s Petronas, Mercedes, Lalamove, Siemens, and Schneider Electric.

According to Khan one of the strengths of the local industry is its great crews: “Singapore is the only country in Asia with English as a first language. Singaporean crew are hard workers and very dedicated to their craft. They are responsive, proactive and usually really fun to work with.”

To help attract larger feature films the Singapore Development Authority Singapore has a selective cash incentive programme for feature films that gives back up to 40% of eligible expenses.

lOCAtiOn HigHligHt

Marina Barrage

The Marina Barrage Dam stretches 350 metres across the Marina Channel, creating a 10,000 hectare reservoir that plays an important part in alleviating flooding on the island. The barrage is also a recreational area. The reservoir is calm enough for water sports such as kayaking or dragon boat racing as well as providing an attractive green space for relaxing. It is powered by a 400 panel solar park and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery has multimedia exhibits on environmental and water issues.

The Barrage features briefly in sci-fi romance Equals as well as more popular filming destinations such as Keppel Bay and the Henderson Waves Bridge.