Singapore – Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), Asia’s leading entertainment content market, together with ScreenSingapore, has announced four days of conference sessions, including a one-day pre-market conference on December 3, 2013.
Highlights include a panel on the booming formats community in Asia. Vivian Yin, Chief Representative & Deputy General Manager, Star China International Media Ltd (China), and Mike Beale, Director of International Formats, ITV Studios (UK) will be sharing the latest on formats news and trends.
ATF’s sister show focusing on films, ScreenSingapore 2013, will also have panels on a range of topics, including one on film financing in the burgeoning Southeast Asia region.
ATF has come up with a line-up that reflects the evolution that TV content is undergoing. This includes a session providing an overview with David McGregor, Managing Partner, Technology, Media & Entertainment, Telecommunications (TMT), Ernst & Young (Australia), a session showcasing Asia’s version of ad-supported on-demand video streaming featuring Tommy Lee, Head of Business Content Module, SK Planet (South Korea), and workshops and master classes with the best in the industry.
“We have a number of ITV Studios’ international hit formats in production in Asia. The ATF conference gives us the opportunity to discuss our entertainment and factual entertainment formats that have seen global success and can also appeal to Asian audiences”, said Beale.
With the changes in programming expected in China, Beryl Yan, Head of Programme Strategy Department, Hunan Satellite TV (China) and Summer Zheng, Director of Formats, Zhejiang Satellite TV (China) will join Shenthil Ranie, Content Acquisition Manager Entertainment, Samsung South East Asia (South Korea) and Lee Soo Hui, Head of Media Business Unit, StarHub (Singapore) to consider what the implications are. According to Yan, “Fast social development makes the Chinese market a unique one. Localisation is extremely important to a format success in China, to which the key would be the combination of international production support and Chinese wisdom in the creative process. Real cross-media formats are gaining increasing attention and Hunan TV is ready to take a first bite.”
Some of the top documentary commissioners in the region will also be sharing a panel to discuss their acquisition plans and their expectations from production companies.
Maggie Rhodes, Director of Acquisitions & Co-Productions, National Geographic Channels International (UK) shares, “National Geographic Channel is excited to participate for the first time in this year’s ATF conference. The strength and breadth of content being produced in Asia is first class and we look forward to collaborating with the region’s best production minds to generate insightful shows with captivating characters and compelling storylines that appeal to audiences around the world.”
Investors and financiers from North Asia – Shinjiro Nishimura, Producer, Nikkatsu (Japan) and Choi Yeonu, Vice President, International Film Financing and Production, CJ Entertainment (South Korea) – will both be on hand to speak about their respective plans for Southeast Asia. “The world, now being connected into a single culture, asks for new contents that may satisfy the palate of a wide audience. That is why we seek for solutions in co-production”, said Ms Choi.
There will also be sessions with film personalities Anthony Chen, Director of Ilo Ilo, Winner of the Camera d’Or at Cannes earlier this year, and Shekhar Kapur, well-known director of the Oscar-winning film, Elizabeth, as well as a Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia-sponsored programme on the morning of December 5. “Making Films in China for the China Market and Beyond” is a dialogue among film industry professionals and will cover topics such as project selection and script development; financing and production management; and marketing and distribution. Its aim is to encourage an interactive discussion among the panelists and the audience.
