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The 14th edition of Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and the 3rd edition of ScreenSingapore concluded last Friday (6 December) on a high note with strong market attendance. The event took place from 4 - 6 December at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands, with a pre-market conference that kicked-off on 3 December.
Adding to the buzz of the market and conferences was the world premiere of Firestorm(风暴). Following this was the Southeast Asian premiere of The Nightingale (夜茑). This was presented by 3rd Rendezvous with French Cinema in conjunction with ScreenSingapore 2013.
Record Participation
For the first time ever, ATF and ScreenSingapore had a participation of 16 international delegations, with new representations from Indonesia, Russia and South Korea. The attendance at the market shot up by 10% this year as 1179 companies from over 60 countries gathered to trade and network. This increase in participation is a significant indicator that the combined TV and film market is progressing from strength to strength. Kamal Jain, CEO and MD, Superfine Films Private Limited, India, agrees, “ATF and ScreenSingapore is promising and attractive for content sellers and buyers. As a regular attendee, the market is getting busier every year with new promising business ventures, opportunities and sheer representation of content.”
Indeed the crowd at the market floor seemed larger this year. Seo Jang Ho, Head of International Sales & Acquisitions, CJ E&M Media B/U, South Korea, said,“ATF is a growing and vibrant market. We witnessed increased traffic at our booth this year, and were kept busy with back-to-back meetings all day. The show is well-timed, and attracts many Southeast Asian buyers who may not necessarily visit other major international event.”
A new company that benefitted from increased traffic was The Finnish Broadcasting Company. Its Head of Sales and Marketing, Tuija Snellman, said, “I first visited ATF last year to understand how the market worked. With a good impression of the well-organised market, I made a decision to exhibit this year. After these three hectic days, my decision has proven to be right. We have met many broadcasters, VOD buyers, distributers, channels and companies that we would never have met in Cannes. Indeed, ATF is the gateway for our Finnish audio-visual content for the region.”
Contributing to higher content sales is the significant and uncommon deal secured between Iran and China. Changiz Hasani, General Director, IRIB Media Trade, Iran, shared,“We are going to distribute our programmes with one of the main distributors in China. Having secured this deal at ATF 2013, we look forward to being part of ATF 2014.”
For another, the deal was sealed along with another promising proposal. Hazrul Hisyam Hassan, Business Development Director and Co-founder of CreaTVtoon, Malaysia, said, “For a new company like ours, ATF is my second international market this year and we are looking for buyers and opportunities. TVT Productions from UK came by our booth and after viewing our content, was excited and interested to be our distributor. They were even offering to co-produce for the second season. We’ll definitely be back next year. “
Attesting to ATF and ScreenSingapore’s role as a catalyst for the Asia content industry and a sign of its strategic place on the calendar, committed exhibitors have pre-booked 80% of the showfloor for 2014, which is scheduled to take place in December 2014.
Adding onto the market fare, the richly-packed four-day conference was well-attended as its sessions were presented by a roster of 69 international speakers such as Anthony Chen and Shekhar Kapur, both filmmakers of award-winning hits, and keynotes by Yu Dong, Bona Film Group, Sunny Xiangyang Zhu, Youku Tudou, Inc. Quoting an attendee, Joe Chang, President, Ambassador Theatres, Taiwan, “This is one of the best conferences for Asia.”
New additions
Aside from the substantive ATF and ScreenSingapore programme, new additions completed the event’s offering for 2013. The ATF Animation Lab designed to present Asian animation projects to international financiers was newly launched and warmly welcomed. Irwan Junaidy, Partner, The R & D Studio, Malaysia, one of the producers pitching to The Walt Disney Company, exclaims, “For a small and new studio like ours, the ATF Animation Lab gave us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet, network and beyond that, understand the kind of content [they] wanted. Furthermore, we are now on [their] radar and we have even scheduled appointments for future meet-ups. We have also met with Nickelodeon and Turner during the networking sessions and it all seems rather promising.” The three-day closed door event wrapped-up with happy participants and equally happy financiers from Australian Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Worldwide, The Walt Disney Company, Turner International Asia Pacific Limited, Viacom International Media Networks, ZDFE.junior and ZDF German Television.
MIPACADEMY, though scheduled on the last day of the market was well-received. Programmed for TV executives and producers, the sessions focussed on the essentials of non-scripted formats and factual programming. Suriana Selamat, Senior Producer, Screenbox, Singapore, who attended the inaugural edition here, commented, “MIPACADEMY is the must-attend platform to learn about the best formats in Asia!” From popular Asian producers to global entertainment veterans, attendees benefitted from takeaways from speakers like Na Young Suk, tvN, CJ E&M and Mikiko Nishiyama, Nippon Television Network Corporation to Matthew Ashcroft, Shine International, Rob Clark, FremantleMedia and Ben Hall, Chalkboard TV.
About Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore
Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) & ScreenSingapore, held concurrently in December 2013, create the unmissable platform for making an impact on the entertainment industry for TV and film. It is Asia’s premium content market to buy, sell, finance, distribute and co-produce across all entertainment platforms, and is the sister show to MIPTV and MIPCOM in Cannes, France, which is also organised by Reed Exhibitions.
Held at Marina Bay Sands Singapore, 3 – 6 December 2013, ATF & ScreenSingapore is the perfect event to experience the electrifying energy of Asia’s expanding content entertainment industry.
For more information on Asia TV Forum & Market, please visit the official website at www.asiatvforum.com. For more information on ScreenSingapore, please visit the official website at www.screensingapore.com.sg.