Chinese animated film 'Ne Zha 2' earns acclaim from Singapore's show-business insiders

Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" has gained acclaim from industry insiders in Singapore who hailed its stunning visuals and compelling storyline ahead if its wide release in the Southeast Asian country.

After smashing box office records worldwide, the hit film launched in Singapore on March 6, but a group of lucky fans and invited show-business insiders graced the premiere a few days earlier.

Joyce Lee, director of local film distributor Encore Films, said the viewing bolstered her confidence in the film's potential to take Singapore by storm.

"Over the last 22 years of my career, I've never seen a response like that, I've never seen anticipation from the audience, all the news it has made on social media. I've not seen something like that. So initially I was thinking probably I would be very happy if it could do 2 million dollars in Singapore and that would have broken all records for Chinese films in Singapore, but then after today, after everybody's response, I think I'm actually adjusting it, I'm being very optimistic here, so I think 5 million. I'm gunning for that," said Lee

As a sequel to the 2019 animated hit "Ne Zha", the latest installment in this rebellious diety's saga has captivated audiences worldwide. The film is now the world's highest-grossing animated film of all time and only the seventh film to pass the 2-billion-dollar mark globally, joining the likes of "Titanic" and "Avatar".

If it can achieve similar success in Singapore, that would be fantastic news for The Projector, an independent cinema that specializes in art-house films and is committed to creating a space where audiences can experience different types of film.

Impressed with the success of "Ne Zha 2" and other Chinese releases, The Projector's program curator Adeleena Araib said she plans to bring more Chinese content to Singapore.

"I also think that Chinese animated films, and also Chinese films in general, are getting a lot more traction for diverse audiences around the world who want something different other than the traditional Western style of animation or even the storytelling," she said.

For others at the pre-viewing, "Ne Zha 2" represents the advancement of quality cinema in the Asia-Pacific.

"I'm very proud that an Asian animation film is completely owning the scene and I think it deserves every bit of credit, because the animation is 10 upon 10, the storyline is 10 upon 10, so I'm really happy that they are showing our fight, our might and our skill set in animation," Isaac Ong, musician and founder of Colours Global.

Chinese animated film 'Ne Zha 2' earns acclaim from Singapore's show-business insiders

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight