Bangkok Gears Up for Asian Side of the Doc 2018

The eighth edition of Asian Side of the Doc, which celebrates the best of factual programming, is slated to kick off later this month in Bangkok.

Asian Side of the Doc, co-organized with Maximage, is Asia’s largest gathering of the doc and factual sectors across four days of exhibitions, pitching sessions, one-to-one meetings, panels, distributor showcases, workshops and networking events. This year’s edition will take place at the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok from January 30 to February 2. It is receiving support from Gold Partner, Thai PBS, Thailand’s national public broadcasters and Thailand Docs Group.

Dr. Wilasinee Phiphitkul, the director general of Thai PBS, said: “While Thai PBS documentaries are praised and well-known among Thai viewers, they are not as reputable internationally. Joining Asian Side of the Doc 2018 will broaden Thai PBS’s opportunity to a much wider market and potential co-production partners from Asia and beyond. The event also provides Thai PBS personnel an opportunity to learn more about international content, pitch techniques and distribution channels.”

Asian Side’s pitching sessions will see two dozen documentary and factual projects with teams from across the world pitch to more than 80 local and international decision-makers. “The range and quality of this year’s pitch selection is outstanding, with documentary projects coming from Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, China…and also from Canada, Australia, Germany, Finland and France,” noted Asian Side of the Doc CEO Yves Jeanneau. “They are exciting projects with international potential on a variety of topics…. The 24 projects selected to be pitched live at Asian Side of the Doc, in front of 80-plus international decision-makers and distributors, demonstrate the continuous quality improvement of doc productions.”

Key speakers at this year’s event will include Dr. Sudarat Disayawattana Chantrawatanakul (Thailand), deputy director general of Thai PBS; Rudy Buttignol (Canada), president and CEO of British Columbia’s Knowledge Network; Jennifer Batty (Singapore), chief content officer at HOOQ; Yeni Priana Anshar (Indonesia), VP of programming at RTV—Rajawali Televisi Indonesia; Akira Yoshizawa (Japan), senior producer for the Global Content Development Center at NHK; Justin Deimen (Singapore), group managing partner at Aurora Media Holdings; Fabrice Puchault (France), head of the Society and Culture Department at ARTE; and Curtis Raphael Gallant (U.K.), funding organization researcher at Whicker’s World Foundation.

Programs will include the third Group Steering Meeting of all AsiaPac broadcasters involved in the production phase of the global trans-media project Generation What? Asia-Pacific in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, UNESCO and Yami 2. There will also be a spotlight on Interactivity in Reality, among many other highlights.