108 Media, the Singapore-based global content development and distribution company announced fresh titles to its multiple co-production partnership with Southeast Asia’s media and entertainment asset incubation, investment, and management entities Aurora Media Holdings.
The firms will co-produce three feature films, out of which one is Indian film-maker’s animated short Schirkoa. Written and directed by Ishan Shukla, the feature-length project is currently in pre-production with a budget of $ 1.5 million, and is based on the lauded short film of the same name that bagged the best of show award at SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 and best animated short film at the Sydney World Film Festival 2016.
Schirkoa tells the story of an intellectually confused bag-head who works as a senator in the dystopian city of Schirkoa where the perceived perfection and sleaze turns him into a suicidal ‘anomaly’, only to realize there is an alternate bohemian society full of such anomalies.
Also included in the latest slate is the highly anticipated Southeast Asian horror-mystery feature film Eerie, a Philippines-Singapore co-production with ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema and Media East Productions. Set in the 1990s, the film centres on a clairvoyant counsellor who investigates a murder in a Catholic school where the only witness is the ghost of a suicide victim.
The final film to be included in the slate will be the creature-feature Mogwai, based on the critically acclaimed and award-winning short film The Fisherman. The $ 6 million project is currently in financing with the script penned by Spain’s Alejandro Suarez Lozano and UK’s Gary Young, and will be directed by Alejandro Suarez Lozano. Mogwai dives into the world of Dan Brooks, an expat American teenager in Hong Kong who inadvertently finds himself trapped on a rickety fishing boat with Wong, a cranky old local fisherman who’s on his way to battle a sea monster in the middle of the South China Sea.
“Together with 108’s keen market sense, we’re looking at producing a roster of the best Pan-Asian films and talents for both regional and international audiences. These exceptional projects and filmmakers fit the bill. Aurora’s looking forward to bringing them to market and extend creative bridges to buyers, co-producers and platforms in all corners of the content sphere,” said Aurora Media Holdings managing partner Justin Deimen.
Aurora Media’s recent feature film productions and investments include sports drama 100 Yards, the Hollywood feature Stano, the Australian-Hollywood co-pro Storm Boy and the Swiss-French-Singaporean The Song of Scorpions. They are currently in pre-production for The Long Walk with 108 Media, Screen Division, and Lao Art Media, the Laos-Singapore-Switzerland co-production directed by Mattie Do, one of Asia’s most dynamic female directors as well as for the Indonesia-Singapore-French feature Abracadabra.
The partnership saw both companies joining together to acquire and develop into original content and third-party IPs. Together they are financing, producing, distributing and licensing 10 to 15 projects annually in both feature motion pictures and television series across various genres for the global market.
108 Media CEO Abhi Rastogi, said, “We are very excited to bring these new projects to our already robust slate with Asian media powerhouse Aurora Media. Strong partnerships like these will help us transform the media landscape and give a voice to the visionary creators involved.”