Singapore – The second edition of the Singapore Media Festival (SMF) will run from 26 November to 6 December 2015, with a stronger line-up of events featuring a new constituent event “Digital Matters”. More than 17,000 are expected to attend the SMF, including members of the public and media professionals such as filmmakers, producers, programme buyers, digital content creators and celebrities.

SMF will bring together five constituent events this year: Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), ScreenSingapore (SS), Asian Television Awards (ATA) as well as the latest addition to the festival- Branded Ltd.’s Digital Matters. These events firmly establish the SMF as a key connector for global media players in Asia and beyond.

Singapore International Film Festival (SMF) will have a stronger focus on digital content this year. Recognising that digital content is the way forward to reach out to a global audience, SMF has included Branded Ltd.’s Digital Matters as one of its new constituent events. With a combined reach of almost 10 million subscribers, YouTube stars Alfie Deyes and Marcus Butler will be heading the cast at Digital Matters.

For SGIFF, the Festival will launch a new The Future of Cinema forum series, focusing this year on digital distribution. The forum will explore how independent filmmakers now have increased access to new platforms that allow them to premiere their works and reach wider audiences. Director of Audience Development and Content Operations at Vimeo, Peter Gerard (USA), heads the panel of speakers, along with filmmakers James Lee (Malaysia), Christian Lee and Jason Chan (Singapore). The forum will is moderated by Singapore filmmaker and SGIFF Board Member Tan Pin Pin.

Asia TV Forum & Market’s (ATF) pre-market conference will also be helmed by notable business leaders who will shed valuable insights on the Asian content industry including digital content trends and evolving business models in content creation and consumption.

This year, the SMF will open up more avenues for strategic partnerships, creative collaborations and investment opportunities into the region. ATF will host several TV masterclasses for producers, including sessions by Melodie L. Shaw, from the Writers Guild of America, and Dave Winnan, Executive Producer, International Formats from ITV Studios. Those in the film business will also benefit from ScreenSingapore’s new partnership with the Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA) to run the Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market, where 10 in-development fiction and non-fiction feature film projects will partake in the project market. They will be matched with commissioner, investors and co-production partners to bring their project to fruition.

The SMF will continue to showcase quality works from Singapore and the region on an international stage. The SGIFF will pay tribute to acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf with an Honorary Award, and a special retrospective of five of his works.  Makhmalbaf’s films have featured regularly in the Festival over the years, each reflecting his unyielding perseverance and conviction to convey the stories of Iran and its people through film. In recognising his lifelong dedication and contribution to cinema, the Festival hopes that Makhmalbaf’s efforts will inspire future filmmakers in Singapore and the region to continue telling the Asian story in profound ways.

The Asian Television Awards (ATA) will unveil a series of “Firsts” for the prestigious awards.  For the first time, ATA will be broadcasted “live”, expanding the reach of the awards to more than 80 million households across Asia. The ATA will also award the achievement award this year to Mr Liu Changle, founder, Chairman and CEO of Phoenix Satellite Television, to honour and celebrate his contributions.  Under his charge, the group has gone on to own six Satellite TV Channels and merged many business fronts, including new media, outdoor LED, weekly magazine, publishing, radio broadcasting and education, covering over 180 countries and regions.   Mr. Liu is also the Chairman of the iEMMYs Festival, which is run by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and recipient of numerous titles including “Top 10 Most Innovative Media Entrepreneurs in Mainland China”, “Leader of Global Mandarin TV Program Providers” and “Outstanding Figure in Media Branding”. The public can expect to see an exciting showcase of the best talent and content from Singapore and the region at the SGIFF and ATA.

Cindy Ng, Managing Director of Asian Television Awards is pleased that ATA will be collaborating again with Singapore Media Festival. “We are glad to be part of a creative group that unites and endorses creative professionals in the region. This collaboration recognises every spectrum of media that empowers our screens today. This includes quality films screened by SGIFF and ScreenSingapore; a marketplace to produce, distribute and exchange ideas presented by ATF and Branded’s Digital Matters and last but not least, a platform by ATA to celebrate and honour the very best in Asian television. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, ATA continues to recognise excellence in programming, production and performance, and received well over 1,400 entries from across 16 countries this year. This year, with our first ever LIVE broadcast, we strive to bring the show to over 80 million household in the region. This will not only promote Singapore’s efforts in recognising each territory’s home-grown talent, but also spread to unite Asia-Pacific to collectively witness the Awards from the comfort of their homes,” she added.

For its inaugural year, more than 15,000 people took part in the SMF. Its constituent events also celebrated success, with ATF and SS welcoming 4,800 attendees, 1,300 exhibitors and registering SGD 355.1 million in sales deals; while the Singapore International Film Festival returned with an impressive line-up of 147 films from 50 countries.