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MUMBAI:
The Asia Media Festival (AMF) which takes place in Singapore
from 14 November - 4 December will see 5,400 trade participants,
a 16 per cent increase from 2006's event.
The
total number of entries received across the different events
– including Promax/BDA Awards,
which rejoins AMF this year – has also increased by six
per cent.
Hosted
by the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore and
organised by Reed Exhibitions, in collaboration with industry
partners, AMF 2007 encompasses the whole value chain of the
media business – from media financing to content creation,
production and distribution within the entire media ecosystem,
including TV, film, animation, documentaries and mobile broadcasting.
More than $47 million worth of deals were concluded last year,
surpassing 2005's $33 million by some 42 per cent.
Reed
Exhibitions, Singapore-Malaysia GM Michelle Lim says, "Asia
Television Forum, the anchor event for AMF, has been growing
in strength every year. With the continuous support from the
industry, this year’s event is expected to grow by more
than 10 per cent. We look forward to welcoming more than 40
new companies to the market and participants from over 50
countries.
"To
cater to this growing industry demand, we have made plans
to move to a larger venue at Suntec Singapore in 2008."
Entertainment
conglomerates like CBS Paramount Television, Disney-ABC International
Television, Lions Gate Entertainment and NBC Universal Television
Distribution continue to show support for AMF.
Australia,
France, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan
will be leading national pavilions to ATF, leveraging on AMF's
strengths as an international media marketplace to showcase
their respective country’s latest offerings.
In
addition, regional buyers, including Beijing TV (China), Zee
Entertainment (India), KBS (South Korea), Astro (Malaysia),
Bangkok Broadcasting & TV (Thailand), PT Surya Citra Televisi
(Indonesia), Cambodia Television Network (Cambodia), Associated
Broadcasting Company (Philippines) and Al Jazeera Documentary
Channel (Qatar), will be making their presence felt at the
marketplace.
Two
trade events will, for the first time, be held in conjunction
with the Festival. These are the inaugural Asia Factual Forum
and Apollo Awards. MDA CEO Dr Christopher Chia says, "Asia
Media Festival is designed to be aligned with market needs
and the latest industry trends. This year’s event is
no exception as we see a strong focus on industry hot topics
such as content protection and sports programming, drawing
interest among participants and speakers alike.
"Compelling media content transcends global boundaries,
and in an industry where cross-continent collaborations are
shaping the way media professionals work, Singapore, as an
East- West gateway will continue to grow in importance."
The
Media Financing Forum (MFF) features a speaker line-up of
18 international distributors and financiers, almost double
the previous year. Among those attending the event are Edward
R Pressman who has produced the films Wall Street,
American Psycho, Thank You for Smoking and The
Cooler.
Another speaker is William Morris International senior VP
and co-head Cassian Elwes. This is an associate company of
William Morris Agency (WMA), the largest talent agency in
the world, and which was involved in the financing and distribution
of over 30 films such as The
English Patient,
Pulp Fiction and The Apostles.
Hyde
Park Entertainment chairman and CEO Ashok Amritraj will open
the MFF with his views on trends in media content financing,
with special emphasis on Asia. As part of MFF, the Media Financing
Lounge will offer aspiring producers the opportunity to have
one-to-one meetings with participating international financiers
to present their projects for financing consideration.
Also
taking centrestage this year is the Asia Factual Forum (AFF),
a first-of-its-kind event in the region. Designed to showcase
the latest, finest and richest content in documentary genre,
AFF provides a platform for professional development, business
and social networking while focussing on an east-west partnership.
It aims to establish Singapore as a
regional hub for co-production of factual content.
During
the three-day forum, participants will not only have the opportunity
to cultivate partnerships with international producers and
broadcasters, they will also be discussing opportunities and
challenges presented by this fast-growing industry. Critically-acclaimed
filmmaker, Ruby Yang, whose documentary The Blood of Yingzhou
District won an Oscar earlier this year for Best Documentary
Short Subject, will be sharing her experience in creating
factual content with international appeal and resonance, at
the inaugural AFF.
AFF
has secured the participation of Discovery, National Geographic,
FremantleMedia Asia, AETN, BBC Global and History Channel,
in the factual content genre. In short, the AMF will boast
an array of workshops, conferences and exhibitions, designed
to encompass all aspects in the business of media.
Leveraging
AMF's position as the leading business platform in Asia, MDA
will provide a platform for existing country partners with
whom Singapore has co-pro agreements and Memoranda of Understanding
(MOU) with – Australia, France, Italy, Korea and thePhilippines
– to showcase their media industry incentives, programmes
and their respective
local media talents for possible financing and co-production
opportunities.
Delegates
can use the session to introduce and profile their industry
participants' interests and projects to both Singapore and
other international production companies via
a forum-cum-networking format on 28 and 29 November.
Underscoring
the prestige and premier status of AMF, more than 1,350 entries
will vie for the Asian Television Awards which is into its
12th year, while the selection committee at
the Asian Festival of 1st Films will nominate 32 finalists
from more than 500 entries.
Similarly,
some 420 entries have been received for the Apollo Awards,
and another 1,400 entries will compete for Promax/BDA Awards
which recognises excellence in on-air promotion,
branding and advertising.
As
part of ATA, regional celebrities and top executives from
broadcasting stations will be in town to participate in this
star-studded event.
SuperPitch, which offers media professionals a platform to
make a pitch to a panel of international judges and bring
their ideas to life, takes on a new format
this year. This is in line with the global industry trend
of media convergence.
Entries
for the revamped cross-platform competition must be based
on original content in any two of the following five platforms:
web, TV/film, mobile, gaming and interactivemedia.
The
public are also encouraged to join in the buzz. Running parallel
to the trade events at AMF 2007 around 20 public events and
activities, under MDA’s MediAction! campaign, will be
held over the next two months to inspire Singaporeans to discover
the possibilities that media can offer for work, learning
and play. Through workshops, competitions, and exhibitions,
more than 160,000 participants will have the opportunity to
acquire media literacy skills to better appreciate media and
progress from being passive consumers to active prosumers.
These
activities encourage participants to use media to express
their creativity and produce content such as digital videos,
short films, games and animation.
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