SINGAPORE: The distributor of China’s box office success Dear You is seeking approval for up to 50 screenings of the film in Teochew, after authorities said they would take a more “flexible approach” in considering dialect film screenings in cinemas.The film’s arrival in Singapore sparked much public debate after the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) confirmed a Mandarin-dubbed version of Dear You would be screened commercially.Dear You’s original Teochew version was screened at the premiere and will also be available for subsequent festival and niche screenings instead.The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said on Monday (Jun 22) that it remained open to facilitating and supporting further Teochew screenings should the film’s distributor wish to apply for them, in response to audience interest.
Distributor Clover Films told CNA on Monday that it sought approval for up to 50 Teochew screenings after the ministry's statement.“Following MDDI's statement earlier today, we have submitted our third request to seek IMDA's approval for up to 50 screenings of Dear You in Teochew over the coming weeks,” said Mr Lim Teck, managing director of Clover Films.“From the outset, our intention has been to make Dear You in Teochew available as widely as possible in Singapore, and we have been working closely with IMDA since late May towards this objective. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with IMDA on the Teochew screenings, as well as on future titles, so that we can continue bringing quality films in their original languages to audiences in Singapore,” he added. ADDITIONAL SCREENINGS SELL OUTDirected and co-written by Lan Hongchun, Dear You follows two interconnected timelines - a grandson searching for his long-lost grandfather in present-day Thailand, and a newly married man who leaves China for Southeast Asia during the 1940s in search of work.After becoming one of China’s biggest box office successes this year, the film arrived in Singapore’s cinemas on Jun 18.An initial eight screenings in Teochew sold out at Golden Village, prompting the cinema chain to add eight more screenings from Jun 25 to Jun 29.All 4,800 tickets were sold out on Monday, about an hour after they were made available.Golden Village’s VivoCity branch has been the site of all the cinema chain’s Teochew screenings, including the eight upcoming ones. "We hope to extend these screenings beyond Golden Village VivoCity and make them accessible to audiences across suburban locations as well," said Mr Lim.Singapore requires distributors to make applications for dialect films to be screened in cinemas.“We hear the calls for dialect films to be more freely screened in cinemas,” said MDDI.“Under the current framework, applications have to be made for such screenings. However, the IMDA will take a more flexible approach in considering these applications.”The ministry thanked the public and industry partners for their feedback and interest in the release of Dear You, saying it welcomed the broader conversation it has sparked about Chinese dialects and cultural identity in Singapore.
