Singapore – The Asian Side of the Doc (ASD), the annual documentary forum designed to encourage the development of co-productions between broadcasters and documentary producers and filmmakers, will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from March 19 – 22. This is the first ever pitching event held in the country.

Designed as a co-production pitching and matchmaking forum, it is co-organised by Bang Singapore, a pioneering Asian documentary production house and broadcasting consultancy; Sunny Side of the Doc, the well-established International Documentary Market; and Crossing Borders, an international organisation that delivers training and skills-building programmes for documentary filmmakers.

The event, hosted this year in Malaysia by National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS), has become a solid fixture on the pan-Asian Documentary and Factual Television scene since its inception in 2010. The KL forum follows on from the resounding success of previous forums staged in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo respectively.

The Director General of FINAS, Raja Rozaimie Raja Dalnish Shah, said he is delighted that the ASD event is to be held in Malaysia. “At FINAS, we are committed to promoting and facilitating the development of the film industry in Malaysia, and by supporting this prestigious event, we hope to contribute to increasing cooperation with our Asian neighbours as well as with international partners.”

According to Keiko Bang, CEO of Bang Singapore, this year’s event will build on the momentum created over the past four years, where there has been increasing interest by Asian broadcasters in working with their counterparts throughout the region, as well as in Europe and the broader West.

The four day meeting is expected to attract 500 attendees, including 140 broadcasters and over 100 decision makers from across Asia as well as from Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North and South America. This year, 45 countries will be represented from across Asia, including new participating countries such as Laos, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The forum is the only event that offers producers the chance to pitch projects to key decision makers from leading broadcasters and provides a rare opportunity for face-to-face meetings between producers and commissioning editors. A key feature of the event is the fact that simultaneous translations are provided in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Bahasa Malaysia, which allow producers and broadcasters from across Asia to understand the exact nature of co-productions and the process by which they could initiate relationships with foreign broadcasters.