Founded in 2018 by Singaporean creatives Tan Si En and Kris Ong, Momo Film Co first focused on producing short films by Southeast Asian filmmakers. The company has since expanded to feature films and series, with Singapore-based production outfit, Beach House Pictures, acquiring a majority stake in Momo Film Co in 2021. A collaboration with Asian film platform Viddsee, "Maybe, Marriage" won Best Short-form Drama Series at the ContentAsia Awards in 2022. 

2023 is a busy year for Tan, with three feature film projects from Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand all going into production. 

What are you currently working on?

“Since we started expanding into episodic content about one and a half years ago, we have around 30 projects across various types of IP. It’s a mix of hyper-localised content, and global, international projects. We’re working with most of the streamers, and also co-producing with some studios in the U.S. and U.K. We have three projects going into production this year. We have one Vietnamese project [Don’t Cry, Butterfly] that has travelled to quite a lot of international markets like the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum and the Berlinale Production Market. It’s a drama-comedy with a fantastical element about a woman who finds out that her husband is cheating, through live national television. Instead of confronting him, she goes to a witch doctor to voodoo him back into love. Another project is a Thai one that I’m working on with the producers of Netflix’s Hunger. The third project is a Singaporean one that is an animation hybrid and queer film.”

Why is Kee Moo for EST Studios in the U.S. so memorable for you?

“It was a short-form Thai documentary that did really well on their social media and channels. It was about a queer band in Thailand. Telling stories about minorities has always been something that I cared about.” 

What do you think are some of the most significant influences currently on Singapore’s production environment?

“Social politics in Singapore are always a large influence. Also, the Singapore Film Commission and IMDA have pushed a lot of Singaporean creators to get their IPs and stories made and seen. Over the last couple of years, there were a lot of grants that have really accelerated the growth of Singaporean directors, writers, and producers. Singapore content has also become more global-facing, so the scale of projects has grown quite a lot and people have kept on pushing the boundaries.”

In the last two years, have avenues of funding changed, or has the way you’ve looked for funding shifted?

“In the feature film space, we have a lot more private financiers that are looking to come onboard projects, looking to support minority voices, or push films from this region. For series, we work with a lot of commissioners, but we’re also seeing people being more open to co-productions.”

What would you most like to see develop in Singapore’s production landscape?

“I’m hoping to see more writers from Singapore come up and for Singapore stories to travel across the globe. We have quite a lot of directors being recognised internationally but there’s a lack of writers, so I’m hoping to see more.” – by Sara Merican 

Published in ContentAsia's 17 April - 1 May 2023 eNewsletter