Anthony Chen’s Giraffe Pictures Marks 10 Years of Film Production, Eyes Distribution Push

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran A decade after Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen parlayed his Cannes Camera d’Or win for “Ilo Ilo” into launching production house Giraffe Pictures, the company is expanding into distribution while strengthening its pan-Asian presence.

Chen is currently serving on the Indonesian Screen Award jury at the ongoing Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival. “Giraffe was started off the back of ‘Ilo Ilo.’ After the success of the film – it was a small little film from Singapore – we didn’t expect that it would go to Cannes and then win the Camera d’Or, and then went on to win like 40 prizes around the world,” Chen told Variety.

The company’s name reflects its philosophy. “It’s not just a very cute animal, but I think it’s the only animal on Earth where it’s always standing tall and above everyone else,” Chen said. “Everyone might just be muddled and everything else, going for the trees, the forest and everything.

But we are constantly looking and taking a very objective, long term vision on things.” The company, which Chen co-founded with radio broadcaster Huang Wenhong and later added former finance executive Teoh Yi Peng as partner, has notched several milestones including being the first Singapore film to compete at Sundance with “Pop Aye,” producing Singapore’s first co-production with Korea “Ajoomma,” and backing Chen’s English-language debut “Drift.” This year marked Giraffe’s first foray into Japanese cinema with Neo Sora’s “Happy End,” which premiered at Venice.