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The Singapore Film Commission (SFC) started their New Feature Film Fund last June this year. Its purpose was to offer funding to film directors to produce new films directed towards an international audience. The New Feature Film Fund was to grant almost US$170,000 to nine lucky film directors this year.

Well, last Friday, the nine lucky directors were revealed. The fund will cover nearly 80% of all production costs for these directors, who all agree that this was a very generous move by the Singapore Film Commission. Admittedly, it's difficult to produce an otherwise great idea for a feature film without funding, and the SFC's New Feature Film Fund plans to regularly help produce films that will undoubtedly springboard Singaporean films onto the world stage.

Most of the nine directors are award-winning short film personalities, as well as some new faces in the film industry. Only one of the nine has ever made a feature film before, and that film didn't receive SFC funding.

First-time directors in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia are often hard-pressed to find funding to produce their films, leaving film industries to be dominated by the big film companies whose films, despite being box-office successes, can feel generic and unsophisticated sometimes. Initiatives such as this one can give young, independent directors exactly the break they need to make it into the scene.

This, naturally, is good news for the film industry – indie directors are finally getting a new venue for their big break. But it somehow left a bad taste in my mouth.

I'm not sour-graping or anything – it's just that it disgusts me to see Malaysia, who has been in the international film scene for almost ten years more than Singapore, hasn't come up with such great ideas to help indie directors give the Malaysian film industry the breath of fresh air it desperately needs. Malaysia certainly has the capability, and it certainly has the resources – what's holding it back?

Well, reasons may vary, but the first culprit to come to mind is naturally politics. I'm not really in the mood to discuss it, but I'm just saying: if the Malaysian government has the opportunity do actually do some good, why isn't anything happening?

It doesn't help things that Malaysia's MDEC (Multimedia Development Corporation) are very actively encouraging us to join in trade exhibitions in Asia (such as in Hong Kong and China), but are doing very little themselves to build anything worth showing the world. It doesn't make sense – if they don't build something solid locally, what'll we have to sell internationally?

I just hope that Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia picks up on Singapore's initiative in giving new talent their first big breaks.