Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, a film made with Singapore participation, wins Camera d’Or at Cannes
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Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell won the award that recognises excellence in a film-maker’s first feature film.
PHOTO: POTOCOL
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A film made with Singapore participation has won the Camera d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, a drama by Vietnamese film-maker Pham Thien An, won the award that recognises excellence in a film-maker’s first feature film.
The Vietnam-Singapore-France-Spain co-production tells the story of a Vietnamese man (Le Phong Vu) who must see to the well-being of his five-year-old nephew after the sudden death of his sister-in-law. To reunite the boy with his missing father, who is the man’s long-lost brother, they travel across rural Vietnam.
One of the film’s producers is Singapore company Potocol, founded in 2014 by Jeremy Chua. He has produced work such as the drama A Yellow Bird (2016) by Singapore film-maker K. Rajagopal.
The film’s sound design and Dolby Atmos mix, colour grading, visual effects and mastering were carried out by Singapore-based post-production house Mocha Chai Laboratories.
Michelle Chang, co-founder and producer at Mocha Chai Laboratories, says that for Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, the team persuaded producer Chua to use the more sophisticated Dolby Atmos format for the sound.
“He said ‘yes’ without hesitation. It is rare for Singapore film-makers to finish their films in Atmos as most do not see the need for it, so this opportunity was truly amazing,” she says.
Mocha Chai’s sound director Xander Toh, who worked with sound designers Chong Xin Ying and Alwyn Tay, says the collaboration with the Vietnamese team was marked by “discussions and debates”.
“My sound design and mix perspectives are quite different from what the Vietnamese team wanted, but we managed to strike a great balance,” he says.
Mark Song, Mocha Chai’s senior colourist and finishing artist, says that after watching an early cut of the film, he wrote a 2,000-word essay on its symbolism, which he sent to Pham. “He replied that he was surprised at how well I understood the film, which really helped our chemistry when I did the colour grade to realise his vision,” says Song.
Vietnamese film-maker Pham Thien An with his award in Cannes on May 27.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Malay-language art-house horror film Tiger Stripes
Tiger Stripes, from Malaysian film-maker Amanda Nell Eu, was made with the participation of Singapore-based production house Akanga Film Asia.
Tiger Stripes and Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell were awarded the Singapore Film Commission and Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant, which comes under the Media Talent Progression Programme (MTPP).
Mocha Chai Laboratories set up its Dolby Atmos facilities with the help of a grant from the IMDA.
The third film with Singaporean participation to screen at Cannes was Singaporean film-maker Anthony Chen’s fourth feature film, The Breaking Ice.
Chen’s first film made in China is set in the northern city of Yanji and follows the lives of three young people who meet and become friends over the course of winter. The film has received largely positive reactions from critics.
In a statement sent to The Straits Times, Mr Justin Ang, assistant chief executive officer (media, innovation, communications and marketing) at IMDA, says 2023’s Cannes festival has been a “major milestone” for the Singapore film industry because of the “bumper crop” of three films being shown. “IMDA is proud to have supported these films,” he says.
“Tiger Stripes won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize
