Event Preview: ATF Online+

Hui Leng Yeow, group project director for Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF), talks to World Screen about what participants can expect during this year’s virtual ATF Online+.

Last year marked the 20th edition of ATF, feted throughout the week in December 2019 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. This year, things look a little different, with the event being held online, but the core mission of helping attendees to foster connections and establish business leads remains the same, harnessing the power of digital to do so.

“When many markets had to go into lockdown early this year, we took ATF’s mission to connect sellers and buyers online,” says Yeow. “We first did an extensive buyers’ survey and released key findings through our ATF website. Thereafter, we introduced the ATF Plugged-In Series, where we did a total of 11 market-specific webinars with buyers, had some of the most pressing questions from sellers addressed during the Q&A segment. The feedback we received was encouraging, and that gave us the confidence to scale-up for ATF Online+. We also took the learning points from organizing the ATF Plugged-In Series into curating the program for ATF Online+.

“While we cannot fully replicate the face-to-face experience of a physical event, ATF Online+ will be able to fulfill ATF’s objectives—connecting the world with Asia in terms of bridging people and presenting the latest content and thought leadership,” she continues. “This will all be achieved via ATF Online+’s suite of features including matchmaking, online recommendations, bite-sized conference sessions, attendee and program directories, as well as industry insights via our ATF dailies and editorial.”

Sessions begin streaming from December 1 for this year’s digital edition of ATF, which is being held under the theme Prelude to 2021: Be Part of the Conversation. “With 2020 coming to an end, everyone is looking forward to embracing 2021 on a positive and assertive note,” Yeow says. “The recent good news on vaccine breakthroughs shows light at the end of the tunnel. Regardless, technology adoption will continue to forge new frontiers as we recover.”

The format for this year’s conference has also been refreshed to adapt to the global online audience. Each day will be comprised of five segments focusing on discussions specific to the various pillars within the industry:

The conference day begins with Mornings with Industry Leaders, an assembly of decision-makers holding elevated sessions for the media, telecoms and entertainment industry in the areas of content connectivity, commerce and beyond. Leading the lineup are key Asian brands at the forefront of digital, including BesTV, iQIYI, True Digital Group and ZEE5.

To coincide with lunch hour in the Asia-Pacific region, the newly introduced Lunchtime Buying segment focuses on new insights for today’s buying strategies. The audience will get to hear first-hand from key content buyers.

The Coffee Hour Fresh Content showcase series will feature entertainment content and industry updates, with a spread of scripted and unscripted formats opened for contracts presented by content providers from markets such as China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.

During the Production Afternoons segment, format experts, creative leaders and decision-makers will be addressing pressing issues and present user cases to advance production capabilities in the industry.

Capping off each day of the four-day event will be the annual film-focused Southeast Asian Film Financing Forum (SAFF Forum). The discussion at this year’s forum will be centered on Southeast Asian partnerships in media, cutting across content, connectivity and capability.

There will also be plenty of pitching opportunities. “ATF has always been about providing talent, creators and producers with a platform for them to propel their ideas further for development,” Yeow says. “This year, we decided to consolidate these efforts by introducing our ATF In Development program.”

The In Development component comprises the existing pitches for animation, Chinese projects and formats and the Speed Dating Program for co-production and commissioning. “The pitches, which have been running for a few years, have proven to be an effective platform to spot ideas and nurture young talent from the Asian region,” says Yeow. “We have had a few of our pitch finalists from the previous editions that have seen their IPs bought for development.”

At the Speed Dating Program this year, content creators and producers with projects in development will have the chance to speak with co-producers and/or commissioners in an arranged and controlled setting, giving them the opportunity to meet with potential partners they might otherwise have never met.

“The experience at ATF Online+ may not compare with what our participants have long embraced and enjoyed at our physical shows,” Yeow says. “However, as we learn to do business in the new normal, we hope our participants can enter ATF Online+ with an open mind and a clear set of objectives on why they are here: to create connections, discover content and pick up new knowledge.

“I would strongly encourage our participants to actively reach out to as many connections as you can, fill your schedule with meetings via the meeting function and view as many conference sessions as possible at ATF Online+. The platform is new to everyone; we do seek your patience and feedback as we embark on this digital journey together.”