ATF Opens in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Yaacob Ibrahim, Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information, delivered the opening address as Asia TV Forum and Screen Singapore officially kicked off today, with some 4,000 delegates from more than 60 markets expected to be on site at the Marina Bay Sands.

Ahead of Ibrahim's address, Michelle Lim, managing director of Reed Exhibitions, touted some of the highlights of this year's event, including two new elements: MIPACADEMY and ATF Animation Lab. "The idea behind these two initiatives is to create opportunities for collaborations as well as provide fresh perspectives through best practices and case-studies," Lim noted.

She also spoke of the benefits of ATF being co-located with ScreenSingapore. "Each edition of ATF and ScreenSingapore has continuously evolved with the industry to meet the needs of international and regional media companies. And indeed, the combined offering of TV and film under one market has brought about stronger content this year.”

A record number of country pavilions are participating—16—with new entries from Indonesia, Russia, South Korea and Spain. There are also more buyers on site from markets like South Korea, Hong Kong and China, plus new buyer participation from Brazil, Canada, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, Netherlands and Norway.

Ibrahim touted the host of opportunities presented in the Asian media landscape, noting that China is "becoming the fastest-growing filmed entertainment market in the world…followed by Thailand and India."

To allow companies to capitalize on new opportunities, two additional events will take place alongside ATF and ScreenSingapore next year: the Singapore International Film Festival and the Asia Television Awards. Ibrahim said this will "form a larger-scale and multifaceted event that will provide more benefits to regional and international trade participants…. The strategic clustering of four key film and television events will create a single event that will effectively address the value chain of what the international media industry is seeking—TV awards couple with Silver Screen Awards to celebrate the best of Asian film and TV talent; a powerful merger of film festival and market for the film trade; a strengthening of an already well established TV market; and for Singapore audiences the chance to catch public screenings of first-rate films with a distinctive Southeast Asian flair."

The Minister went on to speak about the gains in Singapore's content sector this year, with highlights including the series Serangoon Road. "To international broadcasters, networks and channels, if you are looking to produce original Asian stories, Singapore is the place to be. Not only do we have producers and filmmakers who understand Asian sensibilities, there is strong government support to push for projects that will benefit our film and television sector."

Singaporean content is also faring well internationally, reaching audiences in 70 markets. More than 600 hours of Singaporean content is being showcased at the Singapore pavilion at ATF.