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9/7/2017 Portrait of an art house darling: Singapore's champion of indie film | Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/article/portrait-art-house-darling-singapores-champion-indie-film/ 1/9
� � � � ;By ELENA OWYONG | JUNE 11, 2017 6:58 AM (UTC+8)
Karen Tan has big dreams for her two-year-old cinema, The
Projector, Singapore’s sole independent cinema. In a country
dominated by mainstream flicks, she aims to introduce indie
films to the island.
While she wants to offer an alternative, 36-year-old Tan is all too aware
that sustaining her business in the cinema industry is challenging.
Singapore’s other independent cinema, Sinema Old School, closed
down after five years when its lease expired.
CULTURE ASIAN FILM
Portrait of an art house darling:Singapore’s champion of indie filmKaren Tan and her team are behind the island state's only independent cinema complex, and they're determined to make adifference to the cultural life of the city where major chains dominate the landscape
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Karen Tan is co-founder of Singapore's The Projector. Photo: The Projector
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9/7/2017 Portrait of an art house darling: Singapore's champion of indie film | Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/article/portrait-art-house-darling-singapores-champion-indie-film/ 2/9
The first day in Redrum, one of The Projector’s theaters. Photo: Pieter van Goethem
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Even large chain operators such as Cathay Organization, which owns
seven cinemas on the island, converted its only art house theater, The
Picturehouse, to a mainstream cinema in 2011 after running it for a
decade, citing low profits. These days, Cathay Organization screens its
art house films under The Picturehouse Selection banner.
The disheartening history of
art house cinemas in
Singapore did not faze Tan
and Blaise Trigg-Smith, co-
founders of The Projector,
both of whom stumbled into
the movie trade.
“Our architect friend
brought us to an old, disused
cinema called the Golden Cinema on Beach Road and we saw the
potential in the space. This was a cinema built in the 1970s and there
weren’t any others at that point in time [2014] that retained their
original seats,” says Tan, who runs a consultancy and management
company specializing in urban regeneration in partnership with
Trigg-Smith.
Both fell in the love with the space and decided to use it as the home
for The Projector.
“It seemed natural that the space should be an alternative cinema
since we were interested in films. We also thought it was an
opportunity to plug a gap in the Singapore cultural scene, which was
an independent cinema to show an alternative, in case people wanted
one,” Tan says.
Not your average cinema
The Projector’s beginnings were far from conventional. To raise funds
to start the cinema, Tan, her sister Sharon Tan and Trigg-Smith
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9/7/2017 Portrait of an art house darling: Singapore's champion of indie film | Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/article/portrait-art-house-darling-singapores-champion-indie-film/ 3/9
Michelle Goh (left), Sharon Tan (center) and Karen Tan of The Projector.
A Q&A session with Singaporean filmmaker Kirsten Tan at The Projector. Photo: Pieter vanGoethem
started an Indiegogo fundraising page requesting US$50,000.
Response from the Indiegogo community was overwhelmingly
positive, with the team raising a total of US$54,675 from more than
400 backers at the end of the campaign period.
“Crowdfunding tackled two problems – it raised the money and it also
helped get the word out about The Projector,” says Tan.
“It also gave the contributors a sense of ownership because they feel
they helped to start it.”
While Tan declined to reveal the full cost of starting The Projector, she
did point out that a film projector goes for around S$70,000 (US$
53,846), of which they needed two. There was also the small matter of
replacing furnishings and renovating the venue. The cinema has two
screening rooms – the 150-seater Redrum with red flip-up seats, sofas
and beanbags, as well as the Green Room that seats 250. All the seats
were reupholstered to maintain the original look of the Golden
Cinema.
It has been a steep learning curve for Tan and her team.
“We were not from a cinema background so we had limited knowledge
of the industry,” says Tan, whose background was in investment
banking prior to urban consultancy.
To work around this issue, the team partnered with film distributor
Luna Films to manage program curation, while cafe Artistry’s co-
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9/7/2017 Portrait of an art house darling: Singapore's champion of indie film | Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/article/portrait-art-house-darling-singapores-champion-indie-film/ 4/9
The Projector also has an event space. Photo: The Projector
owner is responsible for the food and beverage side of the operation.
Thinking outside the box
Given that the industry is dominated by big chain operators, Tan says
they have no intention of competing with the established players.
“We decided to position ourselves differently, which is why our tagline
is ‘not your average cinema’. This is done through film curation as well
as the environment,” explains Tan.
Aside from being a cinema, The Projector is also an event space where
a diverse range of cultural events are held. One example is Cineda:ns, a
collaboration between The Projector and Esplanade’s da:ns festival
where dance-related films such as Pina, Mr GAGA and Our Last
Tango have been screened.
The Projector’s business model is also in part influenced by the history
of art house cinemas in Singapore that have struggled to make a profit
over the years.
“We diversified our income sources deliberately to reduce the risk of
failing since we were unsure how it was going to pan out,” says Tan.
To date, The Projector has multiple revenue streams – the box office,
venue rental, the Intermission Bar as well as The Great Escape, a car
park bar. This year, The Projector set up a co-working space called
Clockwork where people can pay a fee to occupy the bar’s space from
9am to 5pm on weekdays. After 5pm, the bar opens to the public. Tan
says the co-working movement was created to maximize the usage of
The Projector’s space.
The Projector does not receive any government funding, according to
Tan.
The diversification strategy applies to film curation as well. A wide
variety of films, which range from classic films such as Blade Runner,
mainstream films such as Split, as well as local films Apprentice and
Pop Aye are screened at The Projector, in addition to art house fare.
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9/7/2017 Portrait of an art house darling: Singapore's champion of indie film | Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/article/portrait-art-house-darling-singapores-champion-indie-film/ 5/9
The team behind The Projector on their first anniversary. Photo: The Projector
Tan says this is important as she does not want people to feel
intimidated that The Projector is purely an art house cinema.
Tackling the challenges head-on
While Tan shares that The Projector is “not bleeding”, many hurdles
remain.
“Marketing and financing are still challenges,” she laments.
Although The Projector has established a strong following, it primarily
attracts the arts and creative community.
“Some people are still surprised to know that The Projector even
exists,” she adds.
As for financing, The Projector, like all small and medium enterprises,
is still subject to the vagaries of the market. Issues such as rising rents
and manpower costs.
Additionally, The Projector is run by a lean team of eight that includes
Tan and her sister, Trigg-Smith, two film programmers, one
projectionist, two marketing executives and a cleaner.
“Now you know how many people it takes to run a cinema,” Tan says
with a laugh.
A small team and a limited budget means upgrading at The Projector is
a work in progress. This year, the team installed a proper box office
rewrite, Caixin reported.
(Asia Times Staff)
9/7/2017 Portrait of an art house darling: Singapore's champion of indie film | Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/article/portrait-art-house-darling-singapores-champion-indie-film/ 6/9
� � �
Comments
after two years in operation. Prior to that, the box office was a cash
register on a small wooden table.
The venue also poses technical challenges to the team.
Operating out of an old building means that there are power surges
and there have been instances where screenings were cancelled due to
technical issues.
“We operate in an old building, so sometimes there are power surges
and that can adversely affect the equipment,” she says. “We try our
best to minimize such cases and the screenings are always
rescheduled or payment refunded.”
“We are not a brand new cinema, plus we do not have the finances to
radically overhaul the sound system or have state-of-the-art
equipment.”
In terms of future plans, Tan hopes to attract a wider audience
segment such as young families and will continue to support local
films.
To that end, Tan says The Projector organizes screenings of local films
for school students as part of its film education program. Some of the
titles shown include The Songs We Sang, a Singaporean documentary
about xinyao – a style of Singaporean folk music that was popular in
the 1980s. The screenings often include a Q&A session with the
filmmakers.
The Projector also hosts family days, says Tan, giving the example of
Disney’s Frozen sing-along session held last year.
#CULTURE #ASIAN FILM #THE PROJECTOR #SINGAPORE #KAREN TAN
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