ScreenSingapore Unveils SAFF Project Market 2020 Finalists

ScreenSingapore has revealed the finalists for the Southeast Asian Film Financing (SAFF) Project Market 2020, which along with the SAFF Forum, will go fully virtual at ATF Online+.

Ten projects from across China, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand were selected based on the projects’ co-production viabilities and the strength of their filmmaking teams. Finalists will be able to virtually meet with financiers, commissioners and investors, who will be able to bridge them with the resources needed to take their projects to a global audience.

Since its launch in 2015, the SAFF Project Market has emerged as a recognized regional platform for established and upcoming content creators to come together and present their projects to the international marketplace. This year’s SAFF Project Market sees entries coming in from 14 countries and regions across Asia, Europe and North America, including first-timers from Finland, France and Iran.

Anne Prado-Magadia, president of Atom & Anne Mediaworks and a previous participant, said: “The SAFF Project Market funnels expertise and resource from people all over the world and brings them ‘to-the-table’ with filmmakers for projects that have the potential for a worldwide audience. Their input gave me different perspectives that have been beneficial to the projects that we have in development.”

Micah Tadena, producer at Quantum Run and also a previous participant, added: “SAFF Project Market creates concrete linkages between creators and buyers. The network is definitely getting bigger every year and we’re always building new relationships with producers, financiers and distributors from the region and beyond.”

The theme for this year’s SAFF Forum—Southeast Asian Partnerships in Media: Content, Connectivity & Capability—will be centered on the changing landscape of content buying and the concepts that will lend fresh perspectives in Southeast Asian co-productions.

The Ties That Bind workshop program, which combines producer training, project development and co-production meetings focusing on co-operation between European and Asian producers, returns this year as part of the Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore’s lineup of events. Five Asian and five European producers with their projects under development have been selected to be part of the workshop.

Justin Deimen, executive director of the Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA), which co-organizes the SAFF Project Market and Forum, said: “SAAVA is excited to present these films to the market as year on year, we continue to have an eclectic and electric mix of projects from established and emerging voices in the region, even while the industry pivots to new ways of connecting to each other and keeping business lines open.”

Yeow Hui Leng, group project director of ATF and ScreenSingapore, said: “Our digital platform facilitates a smooth exchange of ideas and expertise between Asian producers and decision-makers from the rest of the world. This is a great opportunity for Asian storytelling to go the distance, and we are encouraged by the level of support and participation received for our new format this year.”