MAGIC MAKERS: (From left) My Magic star Bosco Francis with director Eric Khoo and fellow cast member Jathishweran Naidu on the red carpet at Cannes, where their movie received a standing ovation. -- PHOTO: AP

His mostly Tamil-language feature, My Magic, selected from 4,000 entries around the world, became the first Singaporean film nominated for the Palme D'Or (Golden Palm), the top prize at Cannes.

The honour of competing alongside 21 other shortlisted films - including those by luminaries like directors Clint Eastwood and Steven Soderbergh - was an encouraging indication of how far the Republic's film scene has come since lapsing into moribund inactivity for three decades after a golden age in the 1950s and 1960s.

Although My Magic, a story about the relationship between an alcoholic magician and his estranged young son, did not win, Khoo, scriptwriter Wong Kim Hoh, 46, and first-time actors Bosco Francis, 48, and Jathishweran Naidu, 13, were buoyant.

The 42-year-old director, credited with starting the Singapore film renaissance with his first feature film, Mee Pok Man (1995), was in a celebratory mood after his return to Singapore last week.

'It was a proud moment for Singapore film,' he said. 'We were overwhelmed by the encouraging response because My Magic was an underdog competing in the World Cup of films.'

Although some film critics consider the movie an offbeat choice, being mostly in Tamil with a bit of Hokkien and English, the cross-cultural entry stole the show at the festival, now in its 61st year.

A 2,000-strong crowd at Cannes' main marquee, the Grand Theatre Lumiere, applauded the screening with a long standing ovation.

The irony of two Chinese men penning a Tamil-language film and snaring festival attention has not escaped the notice of Indian bloggers and newspapers, which have bemoaned the lack of Indian entries at Cannes despite a booming Bollywood industry.

Mr Kenneth Tan, chief operating officer of the Media Development Authority (MDA) and director of the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), pointed out that Khoo's film had opened the eyes of the international film community to Singapore's film industry.

He added: 'My Magic is an example that shows you don't have to produce a feature on an epic scale to get noticed.'

The 75-minute feature was shot in nine days on a shoestring budget of $200,000.

Indeed, its feat should inspire other film-makers to continue creating good content, said Mr Man Shu Sum, chief executive officer of Mark Burnett Productions Asia, the reality TV production company known for Survivor.

Mr Man, formerly director of the SFC and now a board member, said: 'If there are more quality films from Singapore, more will be selected for international festivals. At the festivals there are abundant opportunities to meet foreign distributors and producers.'

Therein lies the real worth of film festivals such as Cannes, which are also marketplaces where thousands of buyers and sellers congregate to view products and close deals.

Already, My Magic has recouped its production costs, having been acquired by European distributors ARP and Wild Bunch. It will open in France and 10 other countries probably this year, along with Singapore, said Khoo.

His earlier work, Be With Me, the opening film at Cannes' prestigious Directors' Fortnight Showcase in 2005, was shot in 15 days on a $200,000 budget. It recouped its cost in two months after its Cannes' premiere.

For homegrown film-makers such as Tan Pin Pin, who won a Student Oscar in 2002 for the short film Moving House, Khoo's feat this year was the 'icing on the cake'.

'It was ground-breaking in 1997 when Eric's 12 Storeys became the first Singaporean film to be showcased in Cannes,' said the 38-year-old. 'Now, he has put the spotlight on South-east Asian film-makers.'

Film-makers Royston Tan, 31, and Wee Li Lin, 34, agreed and said that Khoo has given film-makers a higher goal to aim for.

Industry insiders pointed out that the number of local film-makers has grown in the last few years, thanks to more funding options

Post-production outfit Infinite Frameworks handles up to four feature films and 30 short films annually. Its general manager Freddie Yeo, 38, said: 'The new breed of film-makers, who are in their late 20s and early 30s, are learning the ropes of film-making through making short films before they take on their first feature.'

Many, too, have what it takes to get noticed internationally.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduate Anthony Chen, 23, earned a Special Mention in the short film competition in Cannes last year with his entry Ah Ma.

Royston Tan, meanwhile, picked up a Grand Prize in the Labo Competition at the 29th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France for his film Monkeylove, a story about a man searching for a lost love.

While Singaporean film-makers have tackled a variety of genres such as horror, comedy and romance, in the end originality and the story-telling process are what make a good film.

Said Mr Man: 'No one can replicate it, whether it is a mainstream or art-house film. But it will be a film that will leave a lasting impression because it is unique.'

caravm@sph.com.sg