The highly-anticipated 22nd Asian TV Forum & Market (ATF) has officially kicked off today, December 1, 2021, at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Present at the opening ceremony were Mr. Yip Je Choong, Managing Director Singapore & Indonesia & Senior Vice President Commercial APAC at RX and Mrs. Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information Singapore who delivered the opening address. 

Mr. Choong highlighted two key themes that cut across ATF’s programming this year. With ATF’s mission of celebrating the best in class in Asian storytelling, ATF continued to cast the spotlight on Asian brands with conversations centred around the theme “Reimagining TV: Vision 2022”. With ATF happening at the end of the year, Mr. Choong said, “It is timely while the industry discusses a landscape that has been innovating, converging, and repositioning to monetize.” 

Mr. Choong also gave a rundown of the exciting events happening at this year’s ATF.  Among these are the Fireside Chats with senior executives from leading Asian platforms, Production Afternoons, and addressing how COVID-19 is significantly reshaping the production process, ATF is presenting a special segment on virtual production with director Alex Proyas. 

“Asian storytelling and brands are capturing the imagination and attention of global audiences,” said Mr. Choong. “2021 is a good year for Asian content with a slew of well-received content released as a pivotal entertainment content market serving the Asian region for the last 22 years. ATF is proud to be a part of the exciting ecosystem championing the best of what Asia has to offer.” 

In the opening address delivered by Mrs. Josephine Teo, the Minister revealed that at last year’s ATF, Singapore was able to secure over USD119 million worth of partnerships and deals. One of the key developments was the signing of an MOU between Mediacorp and Screenworks Asia to co-produce a new anthology series Twisted Strings that will premiere early next year on local and international platforms such as HBO, Catchplay, and meWATCH. 

With this year’s ATF bringing back some physical elements, Mrs. Teo pointed out that this is a positive sign for the broader industry. She said, “While the pandemic has no doubt disrupted productions and livelihoods, the industry has confidently bounced back. Last year, while the broader economy shrank by 5.4%, our Infocomm and Media sector grew 4.8%.” 

The Minister also said that there are sure signs of recovery, stating, “I’m excited for the future of media in Singapore in this brave new world. Our vision for Singapore to be a platform for the region’s stories, the theme for this year’s festival, ‘Asian Storytelling Reimagined,’ is therefore apt. It captures our focus on the sharing of our rich Asian stories with the world.” 

Mrs. Teo gave a rundown of the Infocomm Media Development Authority‘s initiatives such as the Capability Partnership Programme, wherein Singapore media companies partner with global media entities to co-create quality content. An example of this is Singapore-based Clover Films working together with iQiyi on a slate of online films that include Reunion Dinner and Confinement, that are set to premiere on the streaming platform in 2022; and Beach House Pictures creating factual premium content for OTT platforms and broadcasters, the first of such content being Lift The Ice with the CuriosityStream. 

“The initiatives I have shared capitalise on Singapore’s globally connected media ecosystem,” Mrs. Teo said. “The growing diversity of talents, content and connections rooted in Singapore makes for a most exciting future. I welcome partners to collaborate with us and leverage Singapore’s status as a gateway, not just to Asia, but the world. Together, we can seize the many opportunities in this evolving media landscape.”

ATF is part of the Singapore Media Festival, hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, and will take place from 1 to 3 December 2021, with on-demand sessions available up till June 2022.