The Asian Pitch Commissions Three Stories

SINGAPORE: MediaCorp, NHK and KBS have selected three projects to commission following The Asian Pitch, signing a contract with directors from India, South Korea and Malaysia.

Shepherds of Paradise, from India’s Raja Shabir Khan, is about the nomadic life of shepherds known as Bakerwals of Kashmir as they journey from Jammu to Kashmir Valley and back. The Bridle of Horse Fighter, from South Korea’s Park Hwan-Sung, follows three Miao men who participate in horse fighting, a custom that originated some 600 years ago. From Malaysia’s Mohammed Redhaudeen bin Hassan, The Wild Buffalo Hunters features two men who have been risking their lives for the last 17 years to hunt and capture wild buffaloes in their village.

Around 100 proposals were submitted between January and April from countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Ten of the entries were short-listed, and the directors were flown to Singapore to pitch their stories to a panel of executive producers from NHK, MediaCorp and KBS in July. These three were selected from the pitches.

NHK’s senior producer of international acquisitions and co-productions, Kenichi Imamura, said: “I’m very happy about our selections this year. Documentary-making is not just a matter of expressing a subject; it’s also a journey of inner-exploration for the director. So we were looking for the passion and motivation of the directors toward the subject. Our three winners this year were all very passionate about their subject, so I’m quite confident that we will see another selection of wonderful programs about Asia.”

MediaCorp’s senior VP, Ong Hee Yah, added: “When we took on this adventure with our partners, NHK and KBS, to seek original stories and talents from Asia, we knew that there were many waiting to be found and crafted creatively. This year’s crop of directors confirms this once again, and we are more than delighted with what we discovered this year.”

KBS’s chief producer within the documentary department, Song Jae-Heon, commented: “It was amazing to see so many interesting stories originating from Asia. And also, I was delighted to meet so many talented documentary directors from all over Asia. I believe the three selected projects for this year will be a big step forward for Asian documentaries among the world broadcasters.”