India’s Oscar-qualifying animated short film ‘Schirkoa’ gets picked up for international co-production
FilMart
Hong Kong – The animated short film Schirkoa,
written and directed by visionary Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla has been picked
up by 108 Media, Singapore and Aurora Media Holdings, Singapore (known for the
Irrfan Khan and Waheeda Rehman-starrer The Song of Scorpions) for
co-producing the feature length animated film. The short film grabbed headlines
last year for being one of the rarest of animated films from India to qualify
for Oscars. Most recently, the film received Power Brands Bollywood Film Journalists awards alongside stars and
creators of critical Bollywood hits such as Secret Superstar, Bareilly ki
Barfi, Hindi Medium, and Jagga Jasoos.
The
announcement was made at HongKong Film Market 2018 by 108 Media and Aurora Media Holdings. 108
Media is a Singapore-based global content development and distribution company
with offices in Toronto, Japan and Hong Kong. Aurora Media Holdings is one of
Southeast Asia’s leading media & entertainment asset incubation,
investment, and management entities.
The ‘Schirkoa’
feature-length project, based on the lauded short film of the same name,
is currently in pre-production with a budget of USD1.5m. Schirkoa
tells the story of an intellectually confused bag-head who works as a senator
in the dystopian city of Schirkoa where the perceived perfection and sleaze
turns him into a suicidal ‘anomaly’, only to realize there is an alternate
bohemian society full of such anomalies.
‘Schirkoa’
is the only animated film in the project slate under the
multi-title co-production partnership between 108 Media and Aurora Media. The
co-production slate features leading films from across the globe such as Eerie,
a horror-mystery feature film which is a Philippines-Singapore co-production
with ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema and Media East Productions; and Mogwai,
a creature-feature which is based on the critically acclaimed and award-winning
short film “The Fisherman”.
“Together with 108’s
keen market sense, we’re looking at producing a roster of the best Pan-Asian
films and talents for both regional and international audiences. These
exceptional projects and filmmakers fit the bill. Aurora’s looking forward to
bringing them to market and extend creative bridges to buyers, co-producers and
platforms in all corners of the content sphere,”
said Justin Deimen, Managing Partner of Aurora
Media Holdings.
Aurora Media’s recent feature film productions and
investments include the Los Angeles/Cebu-set sports drama 100 Yards with Sean
Patrick Flanery and Rebecca Lim being sold by 108 Media, the Hollywood feature Stano,
featuring Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara; the Australian-Hollywood co-pro Storm
Boy, with Geoffrey Rush and Jai Courtney; the Swiss-French-Singaporean The Song
of Scorpions starring Irrfan Khan and French star Golshifteh Farahani
as well as legendary Indian actress Waheeda Rehman. They are currently in
pre-production for The Long Walk with 108 Media, Screen Division, and Lao Art
Media, the Laos-Singapore-Switzerland co-production directed by Mattie Do, one
of Asia’s most dynamic female directors as well as for the Indonesia-Singapore-French
feature Abracadabra by writer-director Faozan Rizal with Indonesian
megastar Reza Rahadian in the lead.
The
partnership first announced at the Asian TV Forum / ScreenSingapore in November
2017 saw both companies joining together to acquire and develop into original
content and third-party IPs. Together they are financing, producing, distributing
and licensing 10 to 15 projects annually in both feature motion pictures and
television series across various genres for the global market.
Abhi Rastogi, CEO of 108 Media said - “We
are very excited to bring these new projects to our already robust slate with
Asian media powerhouse Aurora Media. Strong partnerships like these will help
us transform the media landscape and give a voice to the visionary creators
involved.“
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