AAA’s Academy Campus 2021 Details

The Asian Academy Creative Awards’ (AAAs) Academy Campus educational and training initiative is hosting a three-day conference this week that includes the Producers Summit and its two-day annual MasterClass Series.

The conference will kick off on Wednesday with around 1,000 registered delegates. Day one of the annual Producers Summit is aimed at professional content producers and celebrates the Asia Pacific’s own Asian Academy Creative Award-winning creatives via a series of production case studies. The summit will open with industry insights from Facebook’s Saurabh Doshi, 2021 Chairman of Awards. Further, Australia’s Minister for Communications Hon. Paul Fletcher will outline the levels of support the government has provided to its local industry and opportunities for producers from around the region.

Centering on Korea is a case study with Lee Jung Hyo, the director of the AAA’s 2020 Best Drama Series, Crash Landing on You. How to shoot sex scenes in Singapore is the topic on the agenda for Last Madame director Jean Yeo and 2020 Best Actress in a Supporting Role winner Lina Ng. A Discovery India panel will focus on its multi-award-winning factual.

ABS-CBN’s Ruel Bayani will present a case study on the 2018 Best Single Drama MMK and the secrets behind its 30-year run. AAA Official Media Broker A.J. Gallagher will present its annual Industry Insights.

AAA Chief Executive Fiona McKay said: “There are seemingly endless conferences on the ‘business of content’ but too few on the actual making of award-winning content. The Academy Campus seeks to fill that void in the AsiaPac region.”

The virtual Producers Summit is on Wednesday, July 28, followed by an industry networking event hosted by Saurabh Doshi. Days two and three of the Asian Academy Creative Awards Academy Campus feature the MasterClass series, which takes place in a chat show format. The MasterClass sessions will be opened by the newly appointed honorary Chair of the Academy Campus, Robert Gilby.

Gilby said: “The content industry personifies resilience, an ability to not just handle change but thrive and emerge stronger. This will be two days of inspiring stories and advice you can actually use.”

He added: “In these classes, we lean into the conversation and dial down the slide decks because our guest speakers are leaders in their field, at the top of their game. Their authentic voice provides the inspiration.”

Among the event’s guest speakers is Emmy and Annie winner and Oscar nominee Ronnie del Carmen. One of the panels will reveal the behind-the-scenes production secrets of AAA’s 3D virtual awards ceremonies and virtual red carpet with red carpet host Munah Bagharib.

Host Yvette King will cross to Korea for a Script Writing MasterClass with Yeon Sang-Ho, the winner of the AAA’s 2020 Best Original Screenplay (The Cursed). Bobby Tonelli returns for the MasterClass Series on day three, posing the question: “Will nothing stop Australia’s Emmy Award-winning drama producer Stephen Corvini?”

Tonelli said: “We’ll stay in Australia for a session I’m seriously looking forward to because it’s with one of the country’s top casting directors, Thea McLeod. Thea is the casting director for features as well as the soap series Neighbours, whose alumni include Margot Robbie, Ben Mendelsohn from Star Wars and Chicago Fire’s Jesse Spencer.” Stephen Jenner from the Motion Picture Association will take a more in-depth look at the Australian and New Zealand production landscape.

Pitching in a Pandemic is the theme for HBO Asia’s Garon De Silva, and All3Media International’s Sabrina Duguet will deliver a MasterClass on international distribution.

McKay said: “This year, our registrations have jumped up 40 percent on last year, as more and more industry professionals became aware of the content and it has made for a really dynamic campus environment. Final year film and TV students mix with seasoned producers and it creates a wonderfully open learning atmosphere for everyone.”