More Originals Revealed by HOOQ

Asian SVOD platform HOOQ has unveiled plans for another original movie and is going to fund five pilots, with a budget of $30,000 each, from innovative filmmakers across the region.

The HOOQ Filmmakers Guild has issued a call for entries from film directors, producers or screenwriters. The five best ideas will be made into pilots that will debut on HOOQ. Submissions, due between June 1 and August 1, can be from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. HOOQ subs and a judging panel will determine the best concept, which will be turned into a HOOQ original series.

“There is incredible talent for TV-series-making in Asia, and we want to give opportunities to film professionals to turn these amazing ideas into reality,” said CEO Peter Bithos. “HOOQ is built in Asia for Asia and we want to give Asian filmmakers the power to create quality entertainment that gives our customers that escape into worlds of romance, action, adventure and even heroism, all in the setting of their backyard. HOOQ Filmmakers Guild does just that.”

The platform is also working with Telkomsel and Starvision on the film adaptation of Ika Natassa’s best-selling novel Critical Eleven. It hits Indonesian theaters next month and three months later will premiere on HOOQ.

“The partnership between HOOQ, Telkomsel and Starvision has given birth to a sensational movie set to redefine the romance genre in Asia,” Bithos stated. “This cinema adaption of Ika Natassa’s Critical Eleven will tug the heartstrings of many Indonesians. We couldn’t have been more proud to have done this alongside such amazing partners, who were not only invested in making a great movie, but were set on delivering quality romance entertainment that the people of Indonesia and Asia greatly crave.