HOOQ Filmmakers Guild to Fund Indian Pilot

The Indian pilot Bhak has been selected as the winner of the inaugural HOOQ Filmmakers Guild, which was launched to back new scripted originals out of Asia.

Bhak was up against five other pilots from Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, selected from over 500 submissions across Asia. The dramedy follows the adventures of two independent filmmakers. It is being written and directed by Arjun Chatterjee and Shreyom Ghosh from Big3 Media.

“The HOOQ Filmmakers Guild is a testament of great film talent all over Asia and we are so proud to helm the second season of the Guild as we look forward to producing more stories that will find their voice on HOOQ,” said Jennifer Batty, chief content officer of HOOQ.

HOOQ Filmmakers Guild judge Mouly Surya commented, “While it was truly a challenge to pick just one winner out of so many quality entries, Bhak made the biggest impression on us with its ability to balance the harsh truth of struggling filmmakers in Bollywood with hilariously placed humor. Finally, as all the best pilots do, it ended with a promise of great things to come in its story.”

The second season of the HOOQ Filmmakers Guild opens this May and runs through the end of July. Directors, producers or scriptwriters from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia can send in scripts and treatments for a potential TV series. The five best will be given $30,000 to produce a pilot for HOOQ, and the winning pilot will be funded for a series in 2019.