Singaporean graphic novel gets chance to become animated film

AN ANIMATED adaptation of Sonny Liew’s 2015 Singaporean graphic novel about a fictional comic book artist living in postwar Singapore, won in the first Animation Du Monde workshop in Asia which allows the adaptation to be brought to the Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA) to pitch the concept to international co-producers and investors.
“We decided to choose the project that will go to Annecy will be specifically relevant. We enjoyed discovering the specific historical context through an artistic vision. The story also raised existential questions everybody could be moved by,” Geraldine Bache, head of projects at the MIFA, said during the awarding ceremony held on Feb. 22 at the French Ambassador to Philippines’ residence in Forbes Park, Makati.
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is “a film about regrets” said its producer, Jerrold Chong, in an interview with BusinessWorld shortly after the ceremony.
“[It’s also about] learning to overcome self-doubt as an artist and a political figure,” Mr. Chong said.
The story revolves around the titular Charlie Chan Hock Chye, a comic book artist who creates comic books which represent his childhood in postwar Singapore and what could have happened to Singapore if Lee Kuan Yew didn’t become the country’s first prime minister and the Barisas Sosialis (Socialis Front) won and Lim Chin Siong became the prime minister instead.
(Lim Chin Siong was the youngest parliamentarian to be elected in Singapore, but after being branded a communist and suffering through two detentions — first from 1956 to 1959 and again from 1963 to 1969 — without trial, Mr. Siong was released after attempting suicide in prison in 1969 on the condition that he renounce politics for good.)
The graphic novel was awarded the Singapore Literature Prize following its publication in 2016, and it won three Eisner Awards (considered the Academy Awards for graphic novels) in 2017 including Best Writer/Artist for Mr. Liew, Best Publication Design, and Best US Edition of International Media-Asia.
“This film really explores the dynamic of someone who has a dream and works really hard but towards the end of his life receives no accolades,” Mr. Chong explained.
The film is currently under early development as Mr. Chong, who produces animated shorts in Singapore, has been working on the project for a year and a half.
“The story is really compelling and not only speaks to people in Singapore but any forgotten man in history internationally,” he said.
Aside from Mr. Chong, the judges also gave a special mention award to The One Pan Tree by Dakata by Diandra Pramestisari Pololessy from Indonesia, as “the project that improved the most [during the workshops] that we felt the need to really encourage it.”
The project will be brought to the MIFA so it can hopefully find investors and co-producers so the film will be produced.
The workshop was held at the Alliance Francaise de Manille from Feb. 18 to 22, and involved six animation producers from the Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore, who were given the opportunity to undergo one-on-one and group sessions on storyboarding, storytelling, production, financing and pitching led by three experts from Annecy, France: Ms. Bache; filmmaker, script doctor, and storyboard writer Claire Fouquet; and Ron Dyens, founder of Sacrebleu Productions which has produced over 50 short films.
Aside from the workshops, the Animation Du Monde, in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the Animation Council of the Philippines, also hosted a selection of lectures and masterclasses open to the public “to provide young animators opportunities to acquire funding and co-production deals and to equip animators with the know-how about the best practices and trends in animation,” said a press release.
Aside from Mr. Chong and Mr. Wee, other participants in the workshop were Avid Liongoren who made the Metro Manila Film Festival animated film Saving Sally (2016) and Cris Dumlao of Toast and Brew Animation Studios from the Philippines; Diandra Pramestisari Pololessy from Indonesia; and Irwan Junaidy and Irvin Tan from Singapore.
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the MIFA is considered one of the biggest animation film events in the world and is held annually at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. — Zsarlene B. Chua