SINGAPORE,Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Singapore Media Festival (SMF) 2018 kicked off here Wednesday with the Southeast Asian premiere of the 29th Singapore International Film Festival's opening film Cities of Last Things.

The festival is comprised of five events, namely the Asia TV Forum and Market, ScreenSingapore, the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), SMF Ignite and the newly-created Asian Academy Creative Awards.

Hosted by Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), SMF brings together talents from the global film, television and digital media industries to celebrate the best of Asian storytelling and provide a valuable platform for Asian talents from the region to network and collaborate.

Robert Gilby, chairman of the SMF Advisory Board, said "With Singapore's vibrant and robust infocomm and media ecosystem, the Singapore Media Festival is well-positioned to nurture, elevate and celebrate Asian storytelling. The Festival offers the region a proven platform to connect with like-minded industry players, discover rising talents and harness new opportunities."

Following the introduction of the Country-of-Focus program last year which highlights one country's rich stories, talents and achievements, SGIFF chooses the Philippines as its Country-of-Focus this year, by presenting a selection of films from the country over the next 11 days. Industry insiders will also discuss the country's filming industry development.

In order to cultivate young talents, IMDA's Singapore Film Commission, in cooperation with the Singapore International Film Festival, will be co-hosting the ASEAN-ROK Film Leaders Incubator (FLY) 2018 for the first time, where aspiring ASEAN and South Korean filmmakers will be provided with co-production and collaboration opportunities under the mentorship of famed Asian filmmakers.

SMF Ignite, which is scheduled for Dec. 5 with the theme of "The Convergence of Big Data, AI and Storytelling," will explore how data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning could aid storytelling.

SMF runs into its fifth edition this year and will last until Dec. 9.