New head hopes to offer alternative to 'junk food'

General manager of SGIFF Jeremy Chua courts young viewers and social media

- John Lui

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) plans to fight "junk food" viewing habits that have turned cinema into another social event, says its general manager Jeremy Chua, 36.

This year's edition of the festival runs from Nov 28 to Dec 8.

The torrent of easily digestible content from streaming services and commercial cinemas encourages a preference for unchallenging material.

"I think young people are getting more inclined to watch junk food. They will lose a sense of the philosophical, emotional and introspective space that cinema can provide."

Mr Chua was speaking to The Straits Times recently at 67 Pall Mall Singapore, a members' club at Shaw Centre.

Without the festival's counter-balancing force, Mr Chua fears young people will lose touch with cinema's power to provide experiences beyond pure entertainment.

To foster a culture of conversing about cinema, SGIFF 2024 introduced the Cinephile pass, a status that gives approved content creators free access to regular-priced screenings.

As at Nov 26, the festival has received 51 applications for the pass, of which 39 have been approved. Most are bloggers and writers for independent publications, with others being podcasters and social media influencers on platforms like YouTube.

"We have had former members of our youth critics programme, who have come back to write again. It's mostly young people, who include students. It's good for us to have made people interested again in the medium of writing," he says.

"The Cinephile pass holders are free to set their editorial line and bring their personality. There's no one teaching them to write or giving them a guide. They are there to build their sense of taste and writing style," he says.

The output from the creators ranges from the serious and academic to the light-hearted and audience-driven.