WORKING TOGETHER TO PRESERVE FILM HERITAGE

(Joint Release Statement of Asian Film Archive and National Archives of Singapore)

Singapore, 27 April 2005 - The preservation of film culture is a race against time and money. Film archiving, a time consuming and resource hungry effort, is best achieved through collaboration and networking. Hence, the National Archives of Singapore and the Asian Film Archive has come to mark our intent to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to work hand in hand towards the conservation of Singapore and Asian film heritage.

The National Archives of Singapore has one of the most advanced preservation facilities in the region. It also has great wealth of experience in preserving the heritage of Singapore for over 30 years.

Tan Bee Thiam, Executive Director of the Asian Film Archive said, "The National Archives of Singapore is well respected in the region for their professionalism and advanced storage and preservation facilities. As a young organization committed to the preservation and promotion of Asian Cinema, We are extremely glad that the National Archives of Singapore has agreed to share their resources and expertise with us. I’m confident that this will be a synergistic partnership between our two organizations which will benefit Singapore and Asian cinema as a whole."

Said Malaysian filmmaker U-Wei Haji Saari, "Even if they say nothing last forever, we should do our best to preserve our film and heritage. I am glad the Asian Film Archive has taken the initiative and I fully support the cause. I will donate to the Archive and I hope other filmmakers would do too." U-Wei, filmmaker of The Arsonist and Buai Laju-Laju, is the first Malaysian director to be invited to show his work at the prestigious Directors' Fortnight at Cannes in 1995.

“This is a unique opportunity to preserve for posterity films and videos which can only get more valuable as time passes, we are very glad for a place to park our work,” said Singapore filmmaker Tan Pin Pin. Her award winning video Moving House was screened in the Cannes Film Festival and she recently premiered her latest documentary video, Singapore GaGa to great reception at the Singapore International Film Festival.

The mission of the Asian Film Archive is to save, explore and share the art of Asian Cinema. To nurture a film community with a passion for Asian cinema, the Asian Film Archive aims to be a hub for the film community, contributing to culture, scholarship and industry.

The Asian Film Archive promotes appreciation of film as a cultural and historical document of the creative human mind. Through research, education and publication, the Archive will build cultural value of Asian films in our permanent collection. Such works will be shared with as wide an audience as possible and made accessible to the public, so as to serve as sources of inspiration for creative processes, teaching, and research (be it academic, commercial and/or private).

"The National Archives of Singapore is pleased to be part of this worthwhile undertaking to preserve our film heritage. We look forward to contributing our archiving expertise to the endeavour. With the commitment and support of the Asian Film Archive, we believe we can make a positive and lasting impact in film preservation," said Ms Irene Lim, Deputy Director of the National Archives of Singapore.

Supporting the local film community will be an emphasis of the Asian Film Archive. It is important to preserve national cinema; it is also worthwhile to create a shared, collective sense of a regional film history as our films travel beyond our shores, crossing national and cultural borders.

Singapore's uniquely multi-cultural and cosmopolitan character and her lauded intellectual property rights protection framework lend the ideal leverage for the Asian Film Archive to collect acclaimed Asian works. Our local works would also benefit by gaining a larger audience.

"The Asian Film Archive is well placed at the crossroads of Asia to function as a library to collect films that cross borders and culture. This is vital to the nurturing of our film culture and would strengthen the Asian film community significantly," said Royston Tan, prominent Singapore filmmaker. His last short film, Monkey Love is shot in Japan and he’s currently working on his 2nd feature film, 0430 where the main actor would be a Korean.

Without a doubt, Asia's creative industries are gaining global attention. The Asian Film Archive and the National Archives of Singapore will work together to advance our archival efforts in the treasures of Singapore and Asian cinema.