The presence of actress and festival ambassador Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) on the red carpet on Sunday evening brought first-class glamour to ScreenSingapore's opening night.
Additional glitz was provided by Collin Chou (鄒兆龍), Yan Ni (閆妮), Xie Nan (謝楠) and Ada Liu (柳岩). The actors were in the city to promote upcoming action-fantasy-romance Mural (畫壁) with a teaser trailer before the screening of the festivals opening film, The Devil Inside Me (奪命心跳).
In a brief speech, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts' Yaacob Ibrahim said "I am confident that ScreenSingapore will serve as a valuable platform for business and creative talents to come together to discuss ideas to propel the growth of Asian cinema."
The film business event is a public-private partnership between Singapore's Media Development Authority and Experia Events (formerly known as Singapore Airshow & Events), which has secured a three-year contract. Both sides are contributing SG$4 million (US$3.3 million) in its initial year.
At the event, eleven red carpet premieres are hosted in cinemas around Singapore. They include the world premiere of Treasure Inn (財神客棧), the international premiere of Paradise Kiss (パラダイス・キス) and the Asia-Pacific Premiere of Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.
There are a series of ten industry seminars on subjects ranging from the future of 3-D in Asia to the current state of film financing in the region organised at the Capella hotel on Sentosa, the main venue for the eight-day event.
At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Experia's managing director, Jimmy Lau, announced that they had already achieved their goal of securing 500 key film executives. Approximately two thirds of the trade guests attending are Singapore-based.
Board member Dennis Davidson, chairman of DDA Consulting, said that ScreenSingapore was "not in direct competition with any other events". Without being specific, he said that the event was "trying to do different things" and that what they were would become apparent at the end of the week.
Homerun Pictures (家樂電影)'s CEO Daniel Yun (雲暉翔) praised the potential promised by the event, stating that ScreenSingapore presents opportunities for local film-makers to "feel like an insider looking out" for the first time, instead of "an outsider looking in".
Zhang's presence was all the more welcome after two other major Asian stars, Shah Rukh Khan and Tang Wei (湯唯), cancelled their attendance at the last minute. Hollywood star Tom Hanks is still scheduled to attend the closing gala of his second feature as director,
Additional glitz was provided by Collin Chou (鄒兆龍), Yan Ni (閆妮), Xie Nan (謝楠) and Ada Liu (柳岩). The actors were in the city to promote upcoming action-fantasy-romance Mural (畫壁) with a teaser trailer before the screening of the festivals opening film, The Devil Inside Me (奪命心跳).
In a brief speech, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts' Yaacob Ibrahim said "I am confident that ScreenSingapore will serve as a valuable platform for business and creative talents to come together to discuss ideas to propel the growth of Asian cinema."
The film business event is a public-private partnership between Singapore's Media Development Authority and Experia Events (formerly known as Singapore Airshow & Events), which has secured a three-year contract. Both sides are contributing SG$4 million (US$3.3 million) in its initial year.
At the event, eleven red carpet premieres are hosted in cinemas around Singapore. They include the world premiere of Treasure Inn (財神客棧), the international premiere of Paradise Kiss (パラダイス・キス) and the Asia-Pacific Premiere of Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.
There are a series of ten industry seminars on subjects ranging from the future of 3-D in Asia to the current state of film financing in the region organised at the Capella hotel on Sentosa, the main venue for the eight-day event.
At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Experia's managing director, Jimmy Lau, announced that they had already achieved their goal of securing 500 key film executives. Approximately two thirds of the trade guests attending are Singapore-based.
Board member Dennis Davidson, chairman of DDA Consulting, said that ScreenSingapore was "not in direct competition with any other events". Without being specific, he said that the event was "trying to do different things" and that what they were would become apparent at the end of the week.
Zhang's presence was all the more welcome after two other major Asian stars, Shah Rukh Khan and Tang Wei (湯唯), cancelled their attendance at the last minute. Hollywood star Tom Hanks is still scheduled to attend the closing gala of his second feature as director,
