ASIA TV FORUM
ATF kicks off; participation up 25 %
SINGAPORE: The Asia Television Forum, Asia Film Market & Conference and the Asia Animation Conference got off to a flying start this morning in Singapore with the Singapore information, communication and arts minister Dr Lee Boon Yang announcing that participation had grown 25 per cent this year.
Dr Lee stated that the markets had attracted 80 new seller companies, and 50 new buyer companies. The total number of sellers at the market has grown to 250 and buyer countries represented from 25 to 29 countries, revealed Dr Lee.
Among the countries which have shown sharp increases include: Greece, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Qatar and Ukraine. The companies attending the market for the first time include: Mosfilm Cinema Concern, Kazakh Cinema Distribution, and Russico. All the major four Korean broadcasters including Educational Broadcasting System, Korea Broadcasting System, Munhwa Broadcasting Corp, and Seoul Broadcasting System have made it a point to attend for the first time.
The minister added that Singapore was working hard to emerge as a post production service providing hub to Hollywood and other countries wanting to dub or subtitle and distribute to Asia. He pointed out that a beginning had been made and that Singapore has a long way to go but the effort will continue in the form of financing funds from the Media Development Authority, and other government institutions. “Media is one of our core focus areas,” he said.
He also announced that Oak3 Films will be coproducing a telemovie for German broadcaster ARD which will be distributed by Beta Films globally. Another Singapore company Sitting in Pictures is developing a nine part series with Fremantle International Distribution. Dr Boon Yang also said that the MDA has collaborated with Singapore talent management and executive production company RGM Holdings to set up a loan guarantee facility. The loan facility will be used to partially finance at least six international films worth Singapore $80 million over the next two years.
His most important announcement was that Singapore’s media industry secured coproduction deals worth $50 million at Mipcom 2006
Additionally, he said that the his ministry had identified interactive and digital media sector as a key engine of growth and that a fund of upto S$ 500 million had been kept aside to catalyse the same.
Among the companies which are exhibiting at ATF and the AFM include: Sony Entertainment Television, Sahara One, Zee TV, Eros Multimedia, UFO Movies, Indian Television Dot Com, to name a few.
The highlight from the Indian perspective is the Indian animation conference which is to be chaired by Ashish Kulkarni with participation from Munjal Shroff, P Jayakumar, Rajesh Turakhia, Sudhish Rambothia. SET CEO Kunal Dasgupta is slated to give the welcome address and function as the co-chair.
MUMBAI: The Asia TV Forum (ATF) is drawing to a close amid much fanfare. The event saw several activities such as an exciting round of on-stage pitches wherein producers from all over Asia presented their ideas. The winners of the inaugural Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) Animation Pitch were also anounced and the unveiling of the second ATF Formats Pitch took place on 30 November 2017.
Reed Exhibitions and global partner Green Gold Animation announced studio2 Animation Lab as the winner of the first-ever ATF Animation Pitch. The animation concept, titled “The Western Journey of Pigsy”, wowed the on-stage jury for its creativity and strong appeal to children. The line-up of judges, which comprises some of the biggest names in kids’ animation and entertainment, also saw strong potential for the concept to be exported and extended to a series.
Targeted at creators and producers of innovative concepts for new and original kids’ animation, ATF Animation Pitch is aimed at facilitating the exchange of ideas and talent between leading international television, distribution and Asian-based producers. In total, 61 entries were received from all over Asia.
“I am thrilled and excited to be named the winner of the inaugural ATF Animation Pitch. We had a unique concept and we felt that it allows viewers to experience the journey in the west story in a contemporary way. Moving forward, we will work towards developing the script for the concept,” said studio2 Animation Lab director Chiu Li Wei.
Chiu Li Wei and Grace Chuang from studio2 Animation Lab received a $19,000 prize from GreenGold Animation. This includes a $2,500 cash award, and a consultancy package worth $16,500 that is tailor-made for them to further develop the winning animation, making it ready to pitch to broadcasters.
After a closely contested fight between five finalists, leading independent distributor all3media International and ATF announced that Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy) from Indonesia, came out on top, winning $3,500 in cash and a $16,500 (both Singapore dollars) consultancy package tailor-made to develop the format, making it pitch-ready for broadcasters.
ATF Formats Pitch is the premier Asian pitching competition designed to discover innovative concepts for new and original non-scripted entertainment formats from the pan-Asian region. This platform showcases the best of Asia, and exposes ideas for export and development within and even outside of the region.
In its second year, the competition received more than 50 entries from 13 countries and only five finalists were selected to pitch their concept during the live on-stage judging session which concluded earlier today. Formats were evaluated based on creativity, originality and capacity to return for multiple series. The winning concept must also have the capability to resonate with audiences globally.
Portraying all these qualities was the winning format, Ranking. It is a game show where participants have to guess the correct order of a ranking in return for prizes. Besides the excitement value that comes with game shows, it also serves to dish fun facts and information to viewers. The judges loved the simplicity of the idea and felt that it had great potential for further development.
“As many people are familiar with rankings, I believe my format will appeal to any country. Also, I have not seen it in the form of a game show concept. As a producer myself, I understood that for a format to do well, it has to be simple. I am very thankful for the win, I didn’t expect it at all,” said Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy).
To further develop the format and make it ready for pitching to broadcasters, Gamaliel Paulus (Gammy) will work closely with all3media International. This follows the success of “Hit It” from XTREME Media, which won at the inaugural ATF Formats Pitch last year, and has received its first local commission for a debut in February 2018.
Aside from the ATF Animation Pitch and ATF Formats Pitch, ATF and ScreenSingapore is also home to another pitching competition, the Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market.
