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Documentary takes centre stage at ASIAN SIDE OF THE DOC 2018

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This year’s international marketplace event, ASIAN SIDE OF THE DOC, co-organised with MAXIMAGE Co., Ltd., will play host to Asia’s largest gathering of documentary and factual sector across four days of exhibition, pitching sessions, one-to-one meetings with key decision makers, an outstanding line-up of panels, distributors showcases, innovative workshops and networking events.

Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion – Ministry of Commerce (DITP), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Ministry of Culture, Thai Media Fund and Thailand Film Office are co-founders of the event. Bangkok remains host city, to set scene to further acquisitions, sales and coproduction opportunities and provide a major boost for the local industries to reach beyond borders.

With the invaluable support of Gold Partner, Thai PBS, Thailand’s national public broadcasters and Thailand Docs Group this year’s edition will present the region’s most talented content creators, exciting opportunities to discover the latest trends and reinvent the way Asian stories are told.

Asian Side of the Doc 2018 will also gather major stakeholders – particularly international distributors who are purposefully setting out to grow their business in regions like China and South-East Asia: Flame Media Pty Ltd. (Australia), Looking Glass International (Australia), National Film Board of Canada, AB International Distribution (France), CPB International (France), Wide House (France), ZED (France), Kwanza (France), Off the Fence (The Netherlands), Albatross World Sales GmbH (Germany), 3BOXMEDIA (Germany), Harbour Rights (Hong Kong), TI ComNet Japan, Activator Marketing Co Ltd. (Taiwan), Cineflix Rights (UK), Sideways Film (UK), TCB Media Rights (UK), PBS International (USA).

 

New Content & New Talent at Asian Side of the Doc 2018

Asian Side’s highly coveted pitching sessions will see 24 documentary and factual projects with teams from across the world, pitch to 80+ local and international decision makers, providing participants and observers with crucial insights into the kinds of projects being sought and how they are commissioned. In addition to the main awards for Best International, Best Asian and Best ASEAN projects, the NBCUniversal Archives Award to the value of US$3000 worth licensing of archival content from NBCUniversal Archives will also reward one of the live pitched projects. Pre-arranged one-to-one meetings with leading commissioners and potential co-producers will help creative teams raise finance & complete their original stories.

 

Spotlight on the Future with Interactivity in Reality 

Major programme highlights during Asian Side of the Doc 2018 include the 3rd Group Steering Meeting of all Asian-Pacific broadcasters involved in the production phase of the global trans-media project « Generation What ? Asia-Pacific » in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), UNESCO, Yami 2.

Additional sessions will place a greater emphasis on:

– the rise of streaming services to springboard new content ideas,

– international documentary strands for Asian stories,

– ASEAN broadcasters’ programming strategies and priorities,

– increased regional collaborations opportunities such as The Asian Pitch, an incubator and funding initiative supported by Japan’s NHK, South Korea’s KBS, Taiwan’s PTS.

 

Putting a spotlight on Interactivity in Reality, delegates can look forward to hearing from industry professionals such as Creative Director and CEO of the World VR Forum (Switzerland), Salar Shahna, who will share his Asian Side’s Guide to VR as well French producers Christophe Nick (Yami 2) and Laurent Duret (Bachibouzouk), who will go in-depth into the business models and production process of interactive storytelling and immersive media experiences.

 

Key speakers also include: 

  • Dr. Sudarat Disayawattana Chantrawatanakul (Thailand) – Deputy Director General, Thai PBS
  • Rudy Buttignol (Canada) – President and CEO, British Columbia’s Knowledge Network
  • Jennifer Batty (Singapore) – Chief Content Officer, HOOQ
  • Yeni Priana Anshar (Indonesia), Vice President, Programming, RTV – Rajawali Televisi Indonesia
  • Akira Yoshizawa (Japan) – Senior Producer, Global Content Development Center, NHK
  • Justin Deimen (Singapore) – Group Managing Partner, Aurora Media Holdings
  • Fabrice Puchault (France) – Head of Society and Culture Department, ARTE
  • Curtis Raphael Gallant (UK), Funding Organisation Researcher, Whicker’s World Foundation.