PROTÉGÉ Charity Screening to raise funds for the National Council Against Drug Abuse in support of the war against drugs

PROTÉGÉ, a powerful film with a strong anti-drug theme by producer Peter Chan and award-winning director Derek Yee is being pitched to raise funds for the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA), and more importantly, to draw attention to the rising problems of drugs in the world today and the harm it can cause.

MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, together with local distributors Scorpio East Pictures and Golden Village Pictures are proud to be behind the release of PROTÉGÉ, the biggest movie out across Asia during this Chinese New Year festive period. The blockbuster is set to be released in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan starting from 13 February.

"NCADA is happy to partner MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, Scorpio East Pictures and Golden Village Pictures in this premiere as the movie provides very good educational messages on the dangers of drug abuse. This is a wonderful opportunity and we are very glad for this support towards our anti-drug cause. Through PROTÉGÉ, we hope more can be aware and avoid becoming victims to drug abuse." says Mr Kong Mun Kwong, NCADA member.

Hong Kong actors Daniel Wu and Louis Koo have been invited to grace the red carpet event which is expected to attract not just their fans, but local celebrities and personalities as well who will be speaking up in support of the war against drugs.

Says Mr Daniel Yun, Managing Director of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and executive producer of the movie, “We are very happy to be able to infuse such a strong, powerful and entertaining movie with an equally strong and powerful anti-drugs message for this festive period. That so many experienced filmmakers and big stars in the Asian movie industry have come together to produce such a film makes our involvement and effort here in Singapore a lot more meaningful and rewarding. “

The strong anti-drug message of the movie has attracted the sponsorship of TeleChoice International Limited (a company of Singapore Technologies Telemedia) to bulk purchase more than 300 tickets for their customers and corporate guests.

In the midst of Chinese New Year festivities and promotions, we felt strongly about supporting a film like PROTÉGÉ as it brings with it a larger cause than mere entertainment. It is a vehicle in delivering a message that everyone, especially the youths need to be aware of and only with knowledge can the battle against drugs be won. As such, we are standing up in support of both the film and for NCADA and we hope to help our customers learn more about issues such as these,” comments Miss Pauline Wong, Vice President of Distribution at TeleChoice.

Tickets to the PROTÉGÉ Charity Gala Screening are now available to the public at $35 each, with proceeds going to NCADA to support their anti-drug education and prevention programmes. This charity screening is scheduled to take place on 12 February (Monday) at GV VivoCity at 9pm. Purchase of the charity tickets may be made online at www.gv.com.sg. Tax rebate forms are also available to be downloaded from the website.

This never-before behind the scenes take on the drug trafficking industry stars award-winning actors Andy Lau, Daniel Wu, Anita Yuen and Louis Koo from Hong Kong, as well as Zhang Jingchu from China in the leading roles. Shot on location in Hong Kong and in Thailand, director Derek Yee reveals the ways of the drug traffickers and the fate of most drug users with brutal honesty.

PROTÉGÉ is presented by Artforce International, MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, Global Entertainment Group, China Film Group and Beijing Polybana Film Publishing; co-presented by Beijing Jin Ying Ma Group; with production managed by Film Unlimited and international distribution by ARM Distribution.

PROTÉGÉ opens in Singapore cinemas from 15 February.