Horror film festival Scream Asia by mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes is returning for a second year with a new focus on a regional short film competition. With the aim to develop the horror film industry, Scream Asia 2019 hopes to identify and groom potential horror filmmakers around Asia by giving them a platform to showcase their talents through directing a short film.
Submissions will open on 17 June 2019 and closes on 19 September 2019. A total of 15 finalists will be selected for the Awards Ceremony – scheduled for 26 October 2019 – where the top three winners will be announced.
Winning entries will be awarded cash prizes amounting to a total of USD9,500 and one of the Top 3 directors will be selected by mm2 Entertainment to develop a feature film.
“After our successful run last year, I’m excited to make Scream Asia a platform for discovering new horror filmmaking talents from the region. This year we will introduce the Short Film Competition where winning entries stand a chance to be developed into feature films!” said Eric Khoo, Scream Asia’s Creative Director.
Besides the short film competition, Scream Asia will also conduct a masterclass taught by established filmmaker Giddens Ko. The 2018 Scream Asia masterclasses featured the directors Yeon Sang-ho from South Korea and Joko Anwar from Indonesia. Scream Asia 2019 will also feature selected horror film screenings at Cathay Cineplexes. The film lineup will be announced in August. The masterclasses and horror film screenings will be held in late October 2019.
Masterclasses with (Top) Yeon Sang-Ho and (Bottom) Joko Anwar at Scream Asia 2018
Giddens Ko better known by his pen-name Jiubadao (Nine Blades in Mandarin), directed Mon Mon Mon Monster (2017) and You Are The Apple Of My Eye (2011), which received the NH Audience Award at the 21st Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
“A horror film is a global genre because people are interested in horror cultures in different countries. Asia’s ghost culture is closely linked with the people’s desires and thus reflects Asian values. Today’s horror audiences are much more savvy and are no longer scared by standard horror filmmaking scenes. I hope to see horror films that induce fear with creative methods, such as a horror film with no ghosts which tells the horror of everyday life,” said Giddens Ko.
“When we launched Scream Asia last year, our aim was to bring lesser known horror films to the Singapore audience. This year, the focus is on filmmakers, and Asia has a rich tapestry of supernatural folklore to draw on. The 2019 edition of Scream Asia will give filmmaking talents in the region the platform to tell compelling horror stories and showcase their short films,” said Mr Ng Say Yong, mm2 Entertainment’s Managing Director.
Scream Asia Horror Short Film Competition is open to any applicants with residency or citizenship to any Asian country, and are at least 18-years-old as of 17 June 2019. Submitted films must be shorter than 15 minutes and originally made within the past 12 months as of 19 September 2019.
Scream Asia judges (from left) Eric Khoo, Giddens Ko and Thomas Nam
The top three winners will be picked by acclaimed director Eric Khoo from Singapore, film programmer Thomas Nam from South Korea (Network of Asian Fantastic Films NAFF Managing Director) and Giddens Ko from Taiwan.
For more information, please visit
Festival website: www.screamasia.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/screamasiafilmfest
Instagram: www.instagram.com/screamasiafilmfest