JL50 And Aadi (The Beginning) Among The 11 Projects Chosen For The First Edition Of The South Asian Film Market

The Singapore South Asian Film Festival 2018 (Sg.SAIFF) launched the first edition of the South Asian Film Market (SAFM).

The South Asian Film Market (SAFM) includes a selection of 11 filmmakers and their projects and gives them an opportunity to showcase it to a jury which includes some of the biggest names of international independent cinema. Through this initiative, the SAFM intends to introduce promising new filmmakers to the world of independent cinema

The 11 projects chosen for the first edition of South Asian Film Market are Aadi (The Beginning), Kartik Aryan and Adil Hussain's Barasinghey,Abhay Deol's JL50, Sanjay Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi's 18 Not Out, Chandan Roy Sanyal's So Sicily, Shreyas Talpade's Khwaish, Prabhjit Dhamija's Samir, Leela Manimekalai's Maadathy, Rahat Kazmi's Country Of Blind, Somnath Sen's Charulata and Harish Vyas's Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele. These projects are curated from a selection of over 100 entries that were received by Sg.SAIFF.

Aadi (The Beginning), Barasinghey, JL 50, 18 Not Out and Khwaish are directed by Amish Srivastava, Suraj Jaiswal, Piyush Pandey and Shailender Vyas respectively.

So Sicily is actor Chandan Roy Sanyal's (Manto) directorial venture and also features him in the lead role. While director Harish Vyas' Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele features Sanjay Mishra in the lead role and reunites the duo of Vyas and Mishra after the acclaimed Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain.

SAFM aims to be the premiere platform in Asia for production, financing, distribution and other film related activities and is probably the only market for South Asian films outside South Asia.

The SAFM jury comprises of producers Marc Baschet (The Lunchbox), Shaailesh R Singh (Tanu Weds Manu), Saurabh Gupta (The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir, Bhonsle), Film Consultant Golda Sellam, Clement Francois Magar - General Manager of Fortissmo Films and Shariq Patel - CEO - Zee Studios.

The inaugural edition of the South Asian Film Market is presented by the Singapore South Asian Film Festival in association with Cradle Private Limited.

Talking about the inaugural edition of the South Asian Film Market (SAFM) at the Singapore South Asian International Film Festival 2018, Piiyush Singh - the co-founder of Sg.SAIFF said, "We are extremely proud to launch the first edition of the South Asian Film Market at this year's edition of The Singapore South Asian International Film Festival. We have selected 11 exciting projects which have some really interesting stories to offer. We also believe that the filmmakers who would be showcasing these projects have immense potential and would be a welcome addition to the world of Independent cinema.

We intend to create the South Asian Film Market as a viable platform that can help promising independent filmmakers and their projects from the South Asian diaspora through financing, production, distribution and other allied activities. And THE JOURNEY has just begun."

Elaborating about the inaugural edition of the South Asian Film Market (SAFM) at the Singapore South Asian International Film Festival 2018, Abhayanand Singh - Chairperson of Sg.SAIFF said, "SAFM aims to bridge the gap between creativity and finance. The film industry globally is a very closed industry and SAFM intends to disrupt that by introducing fresh money into feasible projects. We hope that this helps a lot of filmmakers to realize their dreams of telling their stories to the world."

Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (Sg.SAIFF) is devoted to a greater appreciation of South Asian cinema and culture. The festival seeks to support emerging filmmakers, open a fertile space for dialogue and collaborations within the industry, and most significantly share with the audience of Singapore the diverse and complex experiences of South Asia through the intimate storytelling medium of cinema.

With the impetus to effectively channel the expansion of South Asian cinema BEYOND the subcontinent and engage with a wider spectrum of audience. Singapore with its sizable population of South Asian descent, is a natural choice for this purpose. Supported by the Singapore Indian High Commission (IHC), the festival is a landmark initiative to serve as a cultural gateway between the global city of Singapore and the developing nations of South Asia.

Singapore, being the gateway of Asia, only enhances the potential of the festival to emerge as the melting pot of diverse cultures using cinema as a medium.

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