Singapore production outfit Momo Film has partnered with new investment firm Minri Media to boost Asian and LGBTQI+ representation on screen, beginning with Cannes Doc feature Tens Across The Borders.
Minri has stepped in as a key financier of the project, which marks the feature directorial debut of artist Chan Sze-Wei and follows four queer pioneers who are growing flourishing communities in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. It is one of several titles selected for the Marche’s section dedicated to documentary.
The newly founded investment firm will financially support fiction and documentary projects through Momo, with the level of finance dependant on each project.
I believed there was a need for more stories to be told and private funding could aid in co-creating a sustainable ecosystem,” says Minri founder Natalyn Ang. “Through this partnership with Momo, we hope to support stories that will elevate voices which are representative of our society.”
Momo managing director and producer Tan Si En said: “Together with Minri, we hope to support the film community in Southeast Asia as they explore gender and social inequality, oppression, and marginalization in response to contemporary events in the region.”
Tan previously produced Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, which premiered at Toronto; omnibus title The Year Of The Everlasting Storm, which premiered at Cannes in 2021; and Sorayos Prapapan’s Arnold Is a Model Student, which debuted at Locarno.
Tens Across The Borders is in the latter stages of production and is being readied for release in early 2024.
The documentary is a Philippines-Singapore-Germany-UK co-production, produced by Alemberg Ang of the Philippines’ Daluyong Studios; Tan of Singapore’s Momo Film; Yasmin Rams of Germany-US firm Perennial Lens; and Chan Sze-Wei of Singapore’s Oddpuppy Productions. Executive producers are Derren Lawford and Daniel Karslake of the UK’s Dare Pictures.
