mm2 Asia and Cathay Cineplexes rally support for local content through free tickets

mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes, both entities wholly owned subsidiaries of mm2 Asia, have unveiled a brand-new joint initiative called "Go Local Go Cinema" to be launched in 2020.

Under this new initiative, the group will be offering Singaporeans and PRs tickets to watch local movies for free. mm2 Entertainment will be producing a slate of at least three home-grown films that will subsequently be screened at Cathay Cineplexes at no cost to moviegoers. One of the first movies slated to begin production is Writing Letters (working title), a film produced in collaboration with Mocha Chai Laboratories, and helmed by director Chai Yee Wei. The film Writing Letters traces the heartwarming and unlikely friendship between an illiterate father and his neighbour who helps pen his letters to his daughter studying abroad.

Cathay Cineplexes will exhibit the slate of free movies with a committed programming strategy across all eight locations to enable access to the films to all Singaporeans. According to mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes, this initiative will serve as an opportunity to promote Singapore films as an expression of the Singaporean identity.

mm2 Entertainment's chief content officer Ng Say Yong said the cinema has the ability to elevate a good story; and is still one of the favorite venues for an audience to experience the full impact of audio and visual storytelling. “We believe in local stories that can only be told by local filmmakers, and the best way to truly savour these stories is on the big screen,” he added.

This move comes shortly after mm2 Entertainment ventured into content streaming services with the debut of mPlay Asia. Slated to launch in April 2020, the services will run in key Chinese-speaking markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to mm2 Asia, mPlay is a free-to-use video streaming platform and will feature Chinese-language short-form content. The platform will target young urban professionals, individuals with an eye for innovative videos that fit their fast-paced and flexible consumption habits.