Singapore
(www.sedb.com/edbcorp/sg/en_uk/index/startups/startupfinance/startup_ente...)

Singapore is allocating US$200 million over five years to develop film production. Producers who reside in Singapore and who have companies incorporated there, with at least 30% local ownership, can receive up to US$250,000 per film and US$500,000 for co-productions with foreign partners.

Funded in part by the government’s Economic Development Board and Creative Technology Ltd., as well as local investment firm Stardust, lifelong anime fan George Lucas just set up his second digital animation studio here, Lucasfilm Animation Singapore. What else is there to say?

George Lucas has invested in Asia by opening his second digital animation studio here, Lucasfilm Animation Singapore. Photo credit: Sarah Baisley.

South Korea
In the past four years, South Korea’s film funds have raised an estimated US$500 million and the South Korean government is currently considering a proposal that would give substantial tax breaks to entertainment companies, on the condition that they plow a part of their earnings back into film development and production. Up to 30% could be deducted from taxable income but would have to be spent within the next three to five years.

South Korea is trying to shake its reputation as a work-for-hire industry and has recently produced a spate of homegrown feature films. Oscar-qualifier $12 million 2D/3D Sky Blue (aka Wonderful Days) from Samsung Venture Investments and Tinhouse/Maxmedia/Masquerade Films is the latest in a line of impressive fare that includes 2004 Annecy Film Festival grand prize winner Oseam directed by Sung Baek-Yeob, 2002 grand prize winner My Beautiful Girl, Mari by Seong-kang Lee and Hammerboy by An Taekun.

Nelson Shin of Akom Productions (one of the oldest of the 200 existing Korean studios), who designed the light saber fight scene in the original Star Wars, directed The Transformers animated movie and My Little Pony and whose company has animated on The Simpsons, also recently debuted his US$6 million, seven-years-in-the making Empress Chung, made in part with North Korean animators he met at Annecy years ago.

Thailand
Thailand governmental agency, the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) is investing US$25 million in seven local animation firms to co-produce 10 projects, with at least US$765,000 going into each film.

The 54-year-old Thai media powerhouse, Kantana Group, is preparing an animated feature, Khuan Kluay, which it hopes will be “the first from Thailand to be released simultaneously throughout Asia.” American and Thai alumni of Walt Disney, Blue Sky, Cartoon Network, Fox Television and Pixar are involved in the Kantana Animation production. The US$2.5 million film is being made with the support of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, providing 30% of the budget, tax incentives for imported software and paying for promotion of the film.

Taiwan
(www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/7-av/film_industry/mframes_eg.htm)

In 2002, Taiwan’s government authorized a $1.1 billion plan to stimulate the animation industry, already a $4 billion industry, and hopes to double that amount by 2008. The $1.1 billion is part of a six-year high technology investment plan that will favor local production of original animated and digital motion pictures as well as R&D.

Wang Film is in production on two animated features, Monkey King and The Story of Grandpa Lin Wang, which received US$500,000 and US $300,000 respectively in government funding. Digimax, a major Taipei-based post/FX house is also planning three CGI feature films to be produced over the next five years with local animation and family-entertainment firm The Gotham Group. As much as 45% of the estimated combined budget of US$50 million will come from the government.

Shop ‘Till Ya Stop
With approximately 200 feature films ever made in the history of animation, it is encouraging that no less than 55 European films are in pre-, production or post-production at the present time and another 10-20 from Asia and the rest of the world. That amounts to approximately 65-75 animated feature films in the works worldwide, not including the boom in the United States. Sources of financing are multiplying rapidly, amounts increasing and the talent is available as a result of big studio downsizing, individual ambition, the digital revolution and a host of other reasons, not the least of which is demand. And films are getting cheaper, believe it or not, and people are getting smarter, spending smarter. Almost everywhere.

Here’s the Oscar’s list again: Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles, Disney’s Home on the Range and Disney’s Teacher’s Pet; DreamWorks’ Shrek 2, Shark Tale and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence; Paramount’s The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie; Polar Express and Clifford’s Really Big Movie (also distributed by WB); Masquerade Films’ Sky Blue; and Blazeway’s The Legend of Buddha.

Special thanks to Bill Allen of Baker Street, U.K., for his help with the moving sands of U.K. film financing.

Chris Panzner’s film and television career spans 25 years. He recently created writing company Power Lines and production/distribution company Eye & Ear. He has also been known to wear white slacks after September 1st, an industry-recognized fashion fox paw.