The Official Co-Production Status is granted to co-productions that are made jointly by a Singapore co-producer together with foreign co-producers from countries that Singapore and MDA have entered into bilateral Official Co-Production Agreements/ Treaties with.
To achieve the status, the project must adhere fully to all the articles and annexes in the relevant official co-production agreement/ treaty between Singapore and the country with which the co-production is proposed.
The status will only be granted to the project when both the MDA and the relevant foreign authority have assessed and agreed that the completed project is eligible.
Benefits
With Official Co-Production Status, a media production such as a film or TV programme can be considered a national production in each of the co-production countries.
For Singapore media companies, if your co-pro is successful in your application for the Official Co-Production Status, you can apply for any benefits or programmes of assistance that are applicable to Singapore productions, and will be given priority consideration when it comes to relevant MDA funding schemes.
An official co-production is also treated as “local content” for the purposes of audio-visual regulation in both Singapore and the country which the Co-Production Agreement has been signed.
Eligibility
In general, amongst the terms and conditions that the applicants/proposed co-production have to fulfil are:
· Companies that are incorporated in Singapore with 30% local shareholding (ownership by Singapore citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents), and with central management and control in Singapore are eligible to apply.
· The Singapore co-producer and foreign co-producer are not linked, directly or indirectly, through legal entities with common management, ownership or control.
· proposed co-production has to have a minimum 20% financial and creative contribution from the co-producers.
· Participants in the proposed co-production are to be nationals of Singapore or the foreign co-producer’s country.
Prior to the submission of a formal application, applicants should refer to the relevant bilateral Co-Production Agreement/ Treaty and the Guidelines for Official Co-Production Status Application for more details on the criteria, terms and conditions.
Application
The Singapore co-producer can apply by completing and submitting the Official Co-Production Status application form to MDA.
Co-producers who wish to leverage on the bilateral Co-Production Agreements/ Treaties should note that the application processes (application forms and guidelines) in Singapore and country with which the co-production is proposed are different.
The Singapore co-producer is to refer to the MDA’s Guidelines for Official Co-Production Status Application and submit their application to MDA’s International Relations team.
Their foreign co-producer partner would have to submit their application to the relevant authority implementing the bilateral Co-production Agreement/Treaty in their country.
Once the application form for the same co-production project have been received by MDA and the foreign implementing government agency, both government agencies would process the co-producers’ application for the project in consultation with each other.