The Projector owes over S$1.2 million to creditors, including 2,300 cinema members

SINGAPORE: The company behind independent cinema operator the Projector, Pocket Cinema, owes more than S$1.2 million (US$933,300) to creditors, according to an email sent on Tuesday night (Aug 19).

According to the email, which was sent to creditors and seen by CNA, around 2,300 people who purchased memberships, as well as hundreds of ticket holders, are collectively owed around S$104,000. 

The largest creditor is film company Overseas Movie, which is owed about S$382,888. OCBC is owed S$200,000, and UOB is owed about S$106,818.

Among the list of creditors are The Projector's co-founders Karen Tan and Blaise Camille Trigg-Smith, who are owed about S$120,785 and S$100,025, respectively.

The non-profit organisation Composers & Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS), is owed about S$17,700. In response to CNA queries, a spokesperson said the sum was for royalties of copyrighted musical works.

"These are due to songwriters; namely composers and authors who depend on such remuneration for their livelihood," the spokesperson said. COMPASS administers the performance, broadcast, diffusion and reproduction rights on behalf of its members, such as music creators and songwriters, by facilitating the payment of royalties.

Even though Pocket Cinema and COMPASS tried to work together to find solutions, The Projector could not stay afloat as "the cinema industry in Singapore was not faring well enough", added the spokesperson. 

Other notable creditors include Golden Village and Cathay Cineplexes, which are owed about S$9,200 and S$1,800, respectively.

CNA has reached out to these companies. Mm2 Asia, which owns Cathay Cineplexes, Golden Village, OCBC and UOB declined comment. 

The embattled independent cinema, which opened in 2014, announced on Tuesday that it has ceased operations and will enter voluntary liquidation. 

In a statement, Ms Tan wrote that the decision was due to a “combination of rising costs, changing audience habits and the worst consumer market conditions in a decade” that has left the company with “no viable path forward”. 

A creditors' meeting is slated to be held on Aug 29.

CNA has reached out to The Projector for comment. 

'HAPPY TO RELINQUISH' MEMBERSHIP 

According to the frequently asked questions section on The Projector’s website, the company said it is not able to issue direct refunds to members as the company is being liquidated. 

A typical membership fee cost S$78, while students and seniors paid S$60. Member benefits included discounts on regular tickets and F&B purchases.

Speaking to CNA, those with memberships that have yet to expire said they do not intend to request for a refund. 

Novelist and Associate Professor of English Barrie Sherwood from Nanyang Technological University said he intends to let The Projector keep "whatever the membership costs". 

"For soldiering on for over a decade, they deserve it," he said. Mr Sherwood had visited The Projector almost once a week for the quality and diversity of films screened there, he said. 

Similarly, poet Crispin Rodrigues said he does not see the need to request a refund or attend the creditors' meeting. 

The 36-year-old said he is "happy to relinquish" the membership fee.

"I take it as an acknowledgement for all the good work that The Projector has been doing for more than a decade," he said. 

As a member of over three years, he had regularly watched films and attended poetry events there. 

"I definitely felt very sad," he said about the cinema's closure. "And I think being part of a larger arts community, there's a kind of collective grief."