Learning Through Collaboration and Co-Production in the Singapore Film Industry : Opportunities for Development

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Wong, Caroline and Matthews, Judy H. (2009) Learning through collaboration and co-production in the Singapore film industry : opportunities for development. In: ANZIBA : Australian and New Zealand International Business Academy Conference – The Future of Asia-Pacific Business: Beyond the Crisis, 15-17 April, 2009, Brisbane, Australia.

Learning through Collaboration and Co-production in the Singapore Film Industry: Opportunities for Development

ABSTRACT

Co-production and strategic partnerships may generate valuable learning opportunities for firms to access to the knowledge and expertise of their partners. Such sharing and transfer of knowledge has become an increasingly common way for organising corporate finance and resources. However, not all collaborations result in a net positive experience for both partners. It can be a zero-sum game in which the partner learning the fastest dominates the relationship. In some cases, failure to gain access to partner knowledge results in unequal benefits accruing from such alliances.

By examining the Singapore film industry from a learning perspective and taking into account particular forms of alliances, the study contributes to our understanding of the potential benefit and challenges of coproduction as a strategy for development.

Keywords: Film Industry, Coproduction, Knowledge, Learning, Singapore

1 Introduction

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been an important factor in Singapore’s economic competitiveness

(Chia, 2002) and its success as a knowledge-based economy (KBE). Singapore adopts a liberal FDI policy that saw the establishment of 6,000 multinational companies (MNCs) set up their manufacturing and financial operations in Singapore (EDB Media Releases, 2004). Singapore has continuously relied on knowledge transfers through partnership with MNCs to generate direct and multiplier economic growth (Wong, 2004). In the 1990s, the Singaporean government, responding to global developments, has recognised that creative industries, including the motion picture, television and digital media production industries are becoming powerful engines of economic growth

(UNCTAD, 2004).. Film is one of the contenders in the new era as Singapore seeks to rebrand its image from a conservative society to a ‘new Asian creative hub’ (ERC Report, 2002, p.8).

Singapore’s Creative Industries Development Strategy was a pragmatic outcome of findings conducted by the Economic Review Committee (ERC) in 2002 to enable Singapore to compete in the global KBE

(ERC Report, 2002). Specifically, the Media 21 blueprint seeks to transform Singapore into a global media city and to increase the GDP contribution of the media cluster from the current 1.56 per cent to 3 per cent in 10 years (ERC Report, 2002). The government therefore instituted efforts to tap the economic aspects of culture by identifying filmmaking as one of the creative industries that has potential economic growth area such that Singapore would become a regional hub for international film production and distribution with state-of-the art media production and postproduction facilities (Tan et al., 2003).

Strategic alliances have increasingly become a common management practice for organising corporate investment in the past several decades (Inkpen, 2000; Palia et al., 2007). In the last three decades, there has been a growing body of research in the area of alliances and learning (Inkpen and Crossan, 1996;

Kogut, 1988; Powell et al., 1996), some of which focused on the conditions under which organisations

2 exploit alliance learning opportunities (Inkpen, 2000, p.1020) and others who examined )different strategies of learning in knowledge networks (Larsson et al.,1998). Not all alliances result in a net positive experience in which both partners gain in learning (Inkpen, 2000, p.1011). According to Hamel

(1991), it can be a zero-sum game in which the partner learning the fastest dominates the relationship. In some cases, failure to gain access to partner knowledge results in unequal benefits accruing out of such collaboration. Ideally, the primary interest of international joint ventures is aimed at joint innovative efforts in which both organisations share technical knowledge (Buckley & Casson, 1996; Kogut & Singh,

1988). This 50:50 equity-based IJVs are considered for two reasons namely active participation is commonly associated with having parents with equal participation in management, which is important in the formation of an organizational learning culture in newly established IJVs (Salk, 1997) and effective learning and knowledge transfer is often realized in R and D joint ventures in which both parents have equal levels of equity (Killing, 1980).

Since 2003, Singapore is also fast becoming a regional hub for multimedia companies as a total of 53 foreign media companies have set up regional headquarters or hubs in Singapore, providing job opportunities in Singapore’s creative sector (MICA Press Release, August 28, 2007). One of the more notable developments has been the establishment of the production base of Lucas Film Animation in

Singapore. The studio in Singapore is Lucasfilm (USA)'s first outside of California and Singapore's first digital animation studio by an Oscar-award winning company. This is a joint venture with the Economic

Development Board (EDB) of Singapore and a consortium of local companies. EDB holds a 25 per cent stake in the venture and Lucas Film, the remaining 75 per cent (Singapore Investment News, August

2004).

In the film industry, an alliance usually takes the form of co-financing or co-production when one company collaborates with another to develop and finance a movie jointly (Palia et al., 2007). Such

3 collaboration brings about a reduction of risk, economies of scale, access to markets, and the search for legitimacy (Contractor and Lorange, 1988; Harrigan, 1986; Hennart, 1988, Kogut 1988) and provides a platform for organisational learning, giving firms access to the knowledge of their partners (Grant, 1996;

Hamel, 1991; Khanna et al., 1998; Kogut, 1998). The areas of knowledge include both explicit

(language and documentation) and tacit aspects (experience and skills) (Nonaka 1991).

The objective of this paper is to examine the ways in which coproduction is used in the Singapore Film industry as a strategy for local firms to gain benefits of international firms tacit knowledge and ideas and to build on accumulated memories and experiences. The trend of continuously relying on knowledge transfers through partnership with MNCs is illustrated in the number of strategic alliances such as bilateral co-production agreements that have been signed in the last 5 years in the Singapore film industry. Through this form of strategic alliance, firms acquire intangible competencies such as creativity, experience and reputation which enable learning and knowledge transfer to take place. This approach is seen as one of the key initiatives to help transform the Singaporean film industry from its marginal status in the global circuit of film production and distribution to that of a regional hub for international film production and distribution.

First, we discuss the role of the Singapore film industry in the context of the creative industries. Second, we examine multiple perspectives of collaboration and co-production as a strategy to achieve knowledge and learning experiences through capturing the benefits and drawbacks of coproduction with multinational firms. Finally we look at the contributions and implications of co-production for the

Singapore film industry.

This paper presents one aspect of a larger research project which investigates a qualitative multiple-case study of the Singapore film industry through the opinions, attitudes and experiences of key decision- makers in the Singaporean film industry such as feature filmmakers, independent filmmakers, animation

4 filmmakers, government funding bodies and cultural institutions, private cultural institutions, film distributors and suppliers, and film training schools. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 34 representatives from major film production houses, government representatives and multinational firms and an online questionnaire. Analysis of secondary data collection of published commentary and analysis linked to the production houses (also known as film companies or production firms) and film industry in Singapore included archival material, such as newspapers (online), press releases from government agencies and ministries, trade magazines, book publications, web sites of production houses and relevant agencies and institutions in Singapore from the last two decades.

Singapore Film Industry and Creative Industries

In recent years, there has been an intense interest in the creative industries. In the advanced economies of the OECD countries, creative industries are showing annual growth rates of between 5 and 20 per cent

(Creative Clusters, 2004). The film industry is one of 13 sectors that make up the creative industries

(DCMS, 1998) closely associated with the new economy in that it has a project-based nature, largely organised as networks of knowledge and creativity-based teams and individuals (DeFillippi & Arthur,

1998). The film industry has been defined as typical of the intangible, information-intensive growth sectors deemed to characterise the contemporary knowledge-based economy (KBE) or network society

(Castells, 1996).

In the 1990s, the Singapore government instituted efforts to tap the economic aspects of culture by identifying filmmaking as one of the creative industries that has potential economic growth area such that

Singapore would become a regional hub for international film production and distribution with state-of- the art media production and postproduction facilities (Tan et al., 2003).

Singapore’s film industry had been a regional powerhouse from the 1950s to the late 1960s especially in

Malay films. Local movie companies like Shaw Organization and Cathay Organisation had a combined

5 average annual output of about 18 feature films (Udhe & Udhe, 2000). These two companies together made some 300 Malay language movies, which reportedly reached numerous ethnic communities (Uhde

& Udhe, 2000).

Between the periods of 1970 – 1980, the Singaporean government focused on developmental economics, emphasising strategies that stimulated export-driven economic growth and technological upgrading into science-based industrial production (Carnoy, 1998). The government did not try to revive the once vibrant filmmaking industry as film had no part to play in nation building. As a result, Singapore was the only country in South-East Asia without a filmmaking industry of its own in the 1970s and the 1980s. In the

1970s, Singapore produced less than 10 feature films a year (Cheah, 2002) a big drop in production from the golden age, when more than 300 films were produced by Shaw Organization and Cathay

Organisation. (See Figure 1 below).

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An unprecedented growth in cinemas in the form of multiplexes (Uhde & Uhde, 2000) and the launch of the first Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) in 1987 led to a resurgence of cinema in Singapore in the 1990s. By the 12th SIFF in 1999, a total of 305 films including 190 feature films and 115 short/video films were presented (Udhe & Udhe, 2000, p. 223). The festival is well known for its focus on Asian cinema as half the films screened are from Asia (Cheah, 2002). The festival proved to be an important factor in spurring the creative drive of local film talent. According to Philip Cheah, the current SIFF director, the festival serves to broaden film appreciation in Singapore, build a platform for the Singaporean film industry and expose Singaporeans to the process of film through seminars and workshops (Udhe & Udhe, 2000).

The Singapore International Film Festival has proven to be one of the most important catalysts behind the revival of local production and the appreciation of many aspects of cinema (Udhe & Udhe, 2000). Eric Khoo, a renowned local scriptwriter and producer started off as an

6 independent filmmaker who won the best Singapore short film entitled August in 1991 (Cheah, 2002). He later went on the produce feature films such as Mee Pok Man (1995), 12 Storeys (1997) and Be With Me (2005).

Since 2000, there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of locally made films, averaging about 4 to 5 feature films. The success of Jack Neo’s I Not Stupid Too in 2006 and Roystan Tan’s 881 in 2007 has brought renewed confidence regarding the future of Singaporean films. These two films captured the imagination of local audiences, with box office earnings close to S$4.18 million and SS$3.4 million respectively (Channelnewsasia.com, September 6, 2007). In response to the rapidly growing film industry in Singapore, the Singapore Film Commission (SFC) and the Media Development Authority (MDA) were set up to develop Singapore into a vibrant global media city as well as a creative economy. The MDA invested S$25 million for film development in Singapore to help the local film industry grow and is targeting about 15 to 20 locally produced films annually (Singapore Film Commission e-Bulletin, 2003).

From 1995 to 1999, an average of less than four local films was produced per year. Singapore aims to build a sustainable industry producing 10 to 15 films per annum in three to five years. This evokes comparisons with the ‘golden age of cinema’ in the 1950s and 1960s, when the combined average annual output for Malay films was about 18 features. Singaporean film remains marginal in the global circuit of film production and distribution.

The importance of knowledge in value generation, has long been recognised (Hayek, 1945) especially in creative industries where value creation is based on intellectual content in the form of texts, music, media and script et cetera (Caves, 2000; Scott, 2000). To be successful, firms must acquire and create new information and knowledge (Inkpen, 2000, p.1037). In the film industry, this competence translates to the ability to control creative resources and their output in the form of a texts, music, media or script.

Singapore has a distinct challenge of finding good scriptwriters who can measure up to international

7 standards (Curtin, 2007). A survey of manpower needs of the television and film industry conducted in

2001(see Figure 2 below) demonstrated that majority of the key media roles were held by expatriate staff, including producer, director, editor, animator, art/design and writer.

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To broker this gap in the supply of talented scriptwriters, coproduction is seen as one of the opportunities to harness the creative inputs needed to create a good product in the film industry - in this case, a good story for filmmaking. In particular, the current film industry is not producing enough local scriptwriters who can measure up to international standards (Curtin, 2007) and majority of the key media roles are still held by expatriate staff. To broker this gap in the supply of talented scriptwriters, coproduction is seen as one of the opportunities to harness the creative inputs needed to create a good product in the film industry

- in this case, a good story for filmmaking.

Co-production for Industry Development

Co-productions now account for a significant part of film activity in many countries. This suggests that film production is increasingly not taking place within a cluster and a national context but is the result of joint efforts among producers from different countries (Morawetz et al., 2007). Evidence of this growth can be found in the rise in the number of co-productions in various Europe countries between 1998 and

2005, as illustrated in Table 1 below.

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There is also very strong co-production activity in countries such as Canada, Hong Kong, South Africa,

Australia and New Zealand (Morawetz et al., 2007). According to Morawetz et al. (2007), an institutional

8 (legislative) change has opened up the opportunity. Financial innovation favours co-productions together with tax incentives by governments to encourage private investment in film. Co-production projects are recognised as national productions for both partners, and they count as domestic content for quota purposes. They are eligible for investment from any government-funding agency, and private investors are eligible for tax incentives (Hoskins et al., 1997).

In addition, firms search for linkages to promote inter-firm learning and for outside partners and networks to provide complementary assets (OECD, 1996). One area of tacit knowledge gained in coproduction is experience which is seen as knowledge gained through life observations, often based on different perspectives and learning that are the result of collaboration with different industry partners. This kind of competence, which is often tacit in nature and more readily transferred through knowledge-bearers— namely, people (Johnson & Lundvall, 2001) in the industry—cannot be easily codified or duplicated. It represents a specific type of knowledge competency within what Lundvall (2001) defines as the learning economy, which is a characteristic of work in modern societies.

The theoretical foundations of organisational learning can be traced back to the research by March and

Olsen (1976), Argyris and Schon (1978) and Senge (1990). Over the last decade, the literature on this topic has grown rapidly, attracting interest from a diverse variety of academic perspectives. Slater and

Narver (1995) concluded that one of the most effective ways of acquiring competitive advantage is to exploit the skills learned by employees as a route through which to offer superior value and build closer relationships with customers. This perception is echoed by Woodruff (1997), who recommended that firms should focus on acquiring new learning because this activity is central to being able to deliver greater customer value.

This study subscribes to the recommendation by Woodruff as more than 80 per cent of the respondents indicated that developing core competencies in the film industry is an ongoing learning process. Many

9 interviewees reported the importance of formal and informal learning, with an emphasis placed on the craft and grammar of the trade and “having to pay one’s dues to learn on the job”. The respondents also stressed that much of their content development was based on trial and error, gauging what worked and what did not work. Writing, filming and editing skills were continuously refined on the job and depended on the innovative process of interactive learning by doing, of learning how to create digital media content by creating it. The idea of learning is also associated with sharing information, which is highly lacking by local firms in the industry. The interview data reveals a noted shortage of experienced talent in both the business and operation side of filmmaking, such as scriptwriting, computer graphics and animation, including marketing and management skills. Many producers indicated that collaboration is the way forward for a small industry and market:

People have lots of ideas but it is difficult to find a good script in Singapore. People find it difficult to pen it down to an executable product. That is something that we need to develop. – Feature Film Firm 1

Collaboration with overseas partners is definitely the way to go. There is no way for an industry like ours to depend totally on the local talents, especially the kind of products that we put up that will be sufficiently attractive for big markets to do business with. We need the global mindset. That is why we always collaborate with people from other cities around the world. – Feature Film and Animation Firm 5

The benefits of coproduction encouraged the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and film companies in Singapore to conclude joint ventures with foreign companies. To facilitate local

Singaporean companies’ efforts to break into the competitive global market, MDA concluded two new co-production agreements with Korea and Australia in 2007. These add to Singapore’s existing co- production agreements with Canada, Japan, Italy, America, Indonesia and New Zealand, and enable quality co-productions to be considered as national productions in both countries (Singapore Yearbook

2008).

10 In addition, MDA forged new cooperation partnership agreements and memoranda of understanding

(MOUs) with Canal France International, the Philippines, the State Administration of Radio, Film and

Television of the People’s Republic of China, and the Korea Culture & Content Agency, amongst others, to facilitate bilateral cooperation, information, training and technical exchanges (Singapore Yearbook,

2008). Table 2 below shows the extent of the various agreements and FTAs signed with more than twelve countries in the past five years.

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Initiatives have also been taken by individual firms in Singapore to establish collaboration and coproduction with foreign firms. The newly established Neo Studios (named after Jack Neo, the producer of ‘I not Stupid’) made a major push into China with the launch of a media financing initiative amounting to S$10 million in 2007 to produce films for three years with the Shanghai Film Group Corporation,

Xian’s Western Movie Group and Hong Kong’s Big Media Group Ltd (Singapore Yearbook, 2008).

Another film fund was established through the formation of joint venture company Upside Down

Entertainment, collaboration between a local company, Upside Down Concepts and an American company, Quixotic Media Group. The company has started a US$10 million bridging fund to fund two feature motion pictures (Singapore Yearbook, 2008).

MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, one of the biggest film production houses in Singapore, is collaborating with partners from Hong Kong and China to develop two feature film projects, I Not Stupid – China and

Taller Than Yao Ming (Singapore Yearbook, 2008). Another Singapore film production company, World

11 Without Borders is also producing two films with partners from Hunan and Chengdu in China and the total production budget is estimated at S$9.4 million (Singapore Yearbook, 2008).

Bilateral co-production agreements with these targeted countries are one way to develop new markets for made-by-Singapore content as co-productions attempt to secure foreign exhibition from the early planning stage. According to Curtin (2007), co-productions also generate other benefits, such as talent exchanges that enhance the expertise of staff and increase the exposure of stars in other markets.

For example, one of the major successes in 2007 was a coproduction between Australian firms and a local firm whereby resources such as actors and production facilities were drawn from both sides of the partnership. The movie The Home Song Stories (2007), co-produced jointly by Australia’s Big and Little

Films and Porchlight Films with Singapore’s MediaCorp Raintree Pictures (MediaCorp Raintree

Pictures is the film production arm of MediaCorp Group, the most extensive government- controlled media broadcaster and provider in Singapore) went on to receive eight awards at the 2007

Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards, five for the 2007 Inside Film Awards and two awards for the

Golden Horse Awards (Channelnewsasia.com, December 8, 2007). Such a program and production quality provides an example of synergy that local firms have by forming joint ventures with international players and addresses some of the challenges faced by new competitors in the industry.

Curtin (2007) illustrates with an example of how MediaCorp Raintree Pictures’s talent (such as Fan

Wong) gains popularity and exposure in Hong Kong and Taiwan through co-productions, which in turn further enhances the value of other programs produced by Raintree Pictures. In a way, co-productions help to contain costs while also provide guaranteed access to another market (Curtin, 2007).

MDA together with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) are also taking the lead to stake Singapore's position as an early-mover in the digital space. With more Singapore production houses

12 equipping their facilities to handle high definition (HD) productions, the media industry continued to benefit from Singapore’s early move towards HD, with new collaborations to co-produce HD content for the region and beyond (Singapore Yearbook 2008). In 2008, MDA led 21 companies to an audiovisual and digital content market festival in France and secured US$128 million worth of co-production and distribution project (Singapore Yearbook 2008).

The respondents agreed that partnerships provide a number of advantages, including additional scale to win larger projects, access to customers of collaboration partners and specialist skills required to win a particular contract. Partnerships also provide opportunities for gaining know-how (learning and knowledge transfer through internships and on-the-job training) about the business and management of people in the industry as relationships and contacts are established.

Such partnerships open up markets as two parties have access to these markets, pulling together of resources and expertise. The fact that two brains are better than one, probably you are able to come out with a product that is going to appeal to the international market. And a lot of these partners are veterans and well-known companies in their countries, the animation and film markets. Collaboration means bringing resources together, means that you are able to get the products out faster, leveraging on the competitive edge of both parties. Such collaboration can bring up the credential and credibility of the Singapore industry. – Government Institution 1

A respondent involved in The Story of Maria Hertogh, jointly produced by filmmakers from the

Netherlands and Singapore, noted:

We benefited in the sense that, with collaboration, the audience base will be widened. A lot of these co-productions have been a result of MDA’s efforts. There will be some knowledge transfer, for sure. For The House of Harmony that we did as a co-production, it actually creates quite a bit of employment as well as a lot of money was spent in Singapore (about 80 per cent of the money was spent here and 95 per cent of the crew were from Singapore).- Feature Film and Animation Firm 6

13 However, one producer was quick to caution that co-production does not necessarily equate with better quality work. Made-by-Singapore media and film content is often made with Singaporean money but has had no creative input by local producers or used Singaporean culture, locations or people. As noted earlier, most joint ventures between local and Hong Kong producers have proven to be artistic and commercial failures. The input of Singapore talent was minimal. The following filmmaker articulated this reality:

It is not that I do not believe in co-production with foreign firms, just that the benefits of co- production have been exaggerated in the past. They are valuable, but they are not the solutions. I think we still have to invest in our local talents. – Independent Film 1

The paradox is that there is not enough collaboration amongst local industry players because of the need to compete for funding from various sources. As a result, local filmmakers are very reluctant to talk to each other beyond a superficial level for fear that someone else might steal their idea and, therefore, get the funding for the project:

Because of the high risks involved, very few do a project all by themselves. We look for different partners. A lot is based on opportunities and whom you know in the industry that can do the kind of work you want to get done. This is the reason why they say that the media industry is a relationship industry. – Feature Film and Animation Firm 2

Singaporean producers tend to be very individual in their approach. The industry players are very guarded about what they know. For instance, if they are launching something, everything will be all wrapped up until when the whole project is completed. There is not much transparency about what each of us is doing in the industry. – Animation Firm 5

Whereas in Singapore, because the funding sources are so small and the stakes are so high, filmmakers are very reluctant to talk to each other beyond superficial things as in if someone else might steal your idea and therefore get the funding for the project. – Independent Firm1

Perspectives from Foreign Film Companies

14 Foreign film companies located in Singapore view their presence as a win-win situation in providing internship, training, employment and exchange of ideas and resources with the local film producers.

I would see our presence here as a collaboration of sorts because if I understand the government correctly, they are trying to bring in some big names so that they can boost the industry and hopefully we will hire the local staff. The collaboration could also come in the form helping out with the internship program or helping out in the programs of the institutions so that hopefully we can help develop a pool of talents and hire them eventually. We do take in interns from time to time and at the moment we are taking in about 3 to 4 of them.- Animation Firm 8 (Foreign MNC)

In the past, a lot of them would not have long form TV production experience. This time round, having to work so closely with another 42 other people and working to dateline and meeting certain standard, they have not only improved their skills but also a lot about team work, long form production and they would have grown in their learning within a short period of time. There will be lots of knowledge transfer that would have taken place. – Feature Film and Animation Firm 3 (Foreign MNC)

We collaborate not in the way of getting together to do a project but in the sense that we help each other who needs help. It is more like services provided for the industry because we are a research and development company as in we are the leading post house in Singapore and everybody else in the post houses uses our stuff. - Feature Film and Animation Firm 8 (Foreign MNC)

In recent years, the Media Development Authority (MDA) has endeavoured to broker relationships between local and foreign partners by its participation in international audiovisual content trade shows. In

2008 MDA led 21 companies to France to showcase more than 50 made-by-Singapore HD TV and animation programmes. At the end of the audiovisual and digital content market, Singapore media companies had secured US$128 million worth of co-production and distribution project (Singapore

Yearbook 2008). MDA also participated in a series of events organised in both Beijing and Shanghai to bring media companies, practitioners, academics and investment companies from both China and

Singapore together and this had resulted in industry deals amounting to $33 million in film and animation co-productions (Singapore Yearbook 2008).

Although strategic alliances through international co-productions is a useful strategy, especially for an emerging small industry in Singapore, it can also be a double-edged sword in that the contribution and identity of smaller partners such as Singapore can be easily overlooked or obliterated (Uhde & Udhe,

2006). Singapore, which aspires to be the “cultural capital of Asia” (MITA Renaissance City Report

2000, p.27), needs to develop a vibrant locally based production industry capable of generating ‘buzz’ both locally and internationally.

There is some concern that Made-by-Singapore media and film content often involves feature products made with Singaporean money and with little creative input from the local producer, although it might utilise the culture, location and people of the country (Pang, 2006). For instance, most of the joint ventures between Singapore and Hong Kong producers have proven to be artistic and commercial failures as they tend to have sensibilities more in tune with the Hong Kong way of life. The screenplays were written by Hong Kong scriptwriters with a cast of mainly Hong Kong actors and were directed by Hong

Kong filmmakers (Millet, 2006). The input of Singaporean talent appears to be minimal.

The long-run ramification is that local producers might not have any creative input into the film, either through the script or how the film is directed. Such unequal partnership is also exacerbated by increased costs associated with co-ordination and production (Hoskins et al., 1997). However, such integration is not necessarily disadvantageous in Singapore’s case as it creates conditions for the emergence of the film industry.

Summary and Conclusions

Creative industries across the world are receiving a lot of attention in terms of their contributions to economic and social returns at national and regional levels. The Singapore film industry is one example

16 of such creative industries which has responded to improved performance through government initiatives, such as investment and encouragement of strategic partnerships.

The objective of this paper is to examine in some detail the potential and actual benefits of co-production partnerships in the Singapore film industry. The Singapore film industry can be seen as an emergent, innovative part of the creative industries and one in which the management of learning and knowledge through strategic alliances holds the key to success in a highly competitive and uncertain environment.

Not all collaborations result in a net positive experience in which both partners gain in learning. It can be a zero-sum game in which the partner learning the fastest dominates the relationship. In some cases, failure to gain access to partner knowledge results in unequal benefits accruing out of such collaboration.

Such challenges may need to be monitored and addressed for future success in this industry.

By examining the film industry from a learning perspective and taking into account particular forms of alliances, the study contributes to our understanding of how coproduction can be used as a strategy to develop the Singaporean film industry. While there are still ongoing activities generated by the government in the area of global strategic alliances in the film industry, the outcomes are still not clear especially in the areas of specific returns generated from such alliances. Future research over time may provide new insights for strategic development in the film industry.

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22 Figure 1: Historical Development of Film Production in Singapore

300 250 200 150 100

Number of Films Produced 50 0 1920-1940 1950-1960 1970-1980 1990-2007 Time Period

Figure 2: Key Media Roles Held by Expatriates in the Television and Film Industry

30 25 20

various roles 10

%of expatriates employedin 5 0 Prod Dir Editor Writer Art/Design Animator Production Roles Source: Survey of Manpower Needs of the TV and Film Industry, NTU, 2001.

Table 1: Number of Co-Productions Signed in Europe 1998–2005

Country 1998 2005

France 78 114

Germany 11 43

Spain 20 53

Italy 13 27

UK 37 62

Source: EAO (European Audiovisual Observatory) 2004, 2006

Table 2: Foreign Trade Agreements, Treaties Memoranda of Understanding, 2004–2007 Agreement Period Type of Involvement Type Signed US - Singapore January 2004 Agreement led to setting up Lucasfilm Animation Singapore to FTA produce digital animated content for both feature length films and television projects. NZ-Singapore July 2004 Audiovisual agreement signed to facilitate creative and innovative Agreement cooperation between the two countries. First feature film The Tatooist produced in 2007 between MediaCorp Raintree Pictures (Singapore) and NZ’s Eyeworks Touchdown. Other projects include production of world-class TV animation series between Interactive Visual Laboratory (Singapore) and Lingam Mill (Singapore) with NZ’s Weta Workshop and Nelvana Limited of Canada. South Korea- December MDA and Korea Film Council cooperated in area of film Singapore FTA 2005 production. Sweet Rain Productions partnered Korea’s Munhwa Broadcasting Productions to produce MTV-style entertainment program. Media Entertainment (Singapore) and Korea’s CJ Entertainment distributed a drama series into the East Asian markets. Germany- July 2004 Oak3films (Singapore), FFP Media Gmb (Germany) and the Media Singapore Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) collaborated on a two- Agreement part period drama mini-series for television called House of Harmony produced at a budget of S$7 million and featured Singaporean, Hong Kong and German TV stars in its international line-up. In 2006, Oak 3 Films (Singapore) co-produced a new telemovie for

24 Germany’s largest broadcaster, ARD, and worldwide distribution by Europe’s major distributor, Beta Films.

UK-Singapore 2006 Sitting In Pictures (Singapore) produced a nine-part series featuring Agreement celebrity chef Kylie Kwong in China with Fremantle International Distribution. This is the first time that the UK based company is working with a Singapore company to develop a series for international distribution. Australia- September Prospects for both financial and creative collaboration between Singapore MOU 2007 Singapore and Australian production companies. Previous successful collaborations include production of animation film Milly Molly (2006) between Scrawl Studios (Singapore) and Australian’s Pacific & Beyond and Master Raindrop (2008) between Big Communications (Singapore) and Australian’s Greenpatch Productions. Home Song Stories was a huge success between MediaCorp Raintree Pictures (Singapore) and Australia’s Porchlight Films and Big & Little Films. Netherlands- May 2007 A joint project between the two to produce a S$10 million film on Singapore MOU The Story of Maria Hertogh. More than half of the funds will come from Europe, with 30% from Singapore and other parts of Asia. France- November MDA and Canal France International facilitated bilateral digital Singapore MOU 2007 broadcasting training collaborations and co-production projects. Italy-Singapore May 2007 Oak3 Films (Singapore) and Italian Cattleya jointly produced Agreement Missing Star, which won awards at international film festivals. MDA and Italian investment agency to handle US$100 million worth of film projects. China-Singapore June 2007 MediaCorp Raintree Pictures (Singapore) secured US$10 million MOU project with Chinese filmmakers. Indonesia- June 2006 Mega Media (Singapore) and Indonesia’s Omnicron Asia set up Singapore MOU Singapore-Indonesia digital film fund totalling US$3 million to create a forum for exchange of ideas. There has been previous cooperation in producing telemovies and drama series. Malaysia- June 2007 Joint production of a black comedy between MediaCorp Raintree Singapore MOU Pictures (Singapore) and Malaysia’s Double vision.