NHK, MediaCorp Launch Asian Doc Pitching Event

TOKYO, November 29: Japanese pubcaster NHK is working with
the Singaporean media company MediaCorp to host an international pitching event
to allow documentary directors from Asia to showcase their ideas to
broadcasters in the region.

The Asian Pitch will be open to filmmakers from Japan,
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and the 10 Asean countries. The call for
submissions will be from January to April 2007. The event’s primary objective
is to cultivate HD Asian-made documentaries for Asian audiences. “It's about originality
and allowing the Asian consciousness to emerge in different forms and styles,”
said Ong Hee Yah, the managing director of Caldecott Productions International,
the MediaCorp subsidiary that will be working with NHK on the event. “We hope
to get from this pitching event documentaries that will create a new wave of
storytelling in the world of documentary making."