SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
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INNOVATIVE STORYTELLING FOR A DIGITAL WORLD THE THIRD EDITION of Singapore Media Festival (SMF), one of Asia’s biggest and most important industry meet for content producers, filmmakers and media conglomerates and collaborators from across the region and beyond, concluded its highest-attended ever summit last month with a high note. Notable this year was the recordbreaking attendance by 5,383 people and over US$244 million worth of deals and partnerships at the 17th edition of Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and the 6th edition of ScreenSingapore. The ATF and ScreenSingapore 2016 complete the roster of established mainstays including Asian Television Awards (ATA) and the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), as well as a new keystone digital event, SMF Ignite, and associate events, the CASBAA Spotlight Series and ciNE65. SMF Ignite, its first-ever digital event, highlights the organizer’s grow-
ing focus on digital trends, which it believes will help Asian storytellers bring their stories to life via the convergence of media and technology, and allowing their audiences to enjoy a richer storytelling immersion experience. Echoing the Festival’s theme of “Celebrating Asian Storytelling”, the keystone event was intended to spur innovative storytelling for an increasingly digitized world. The ATF and ScreenSingapore 2016 featured market floors that were the largest to date, with 738 exhibiting companies representing key Asian brands and major studios including Disney, MGM Worldwide Television, Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Television, among others, participating. Indonesia made a strong showing at this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), the city-state largest and longest running film event which showcases critically-acclaimed Asian
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Representatives from Singapore Media Festival partner events (left – right): Justin Deimen, Michelle Lim, Angeline Poh, Robert Gilby, Cindy Ng and Mike Wiluan.
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Members of the SMF Advisory Board and industry members at the Opening of the Singapore Media Festival 2016.
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Panel discussion
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Three Sassy Sisters scene.
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Rosa’s performance in 21st Asian television awards.
films, with 12 films being screened for the festival. Among the films were popular domestic blockbusters such as Tiga Dara (translated as “Three Sassy Sisters”) and Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 2 (What’s With Love 2) as well as five Indonesian feature films from Joko Anwar (Art Through Our Eyes, a five-minute short film which banded five awardwinning Southeast Asian film directors), Garin Nugroho (Nyai or A Woman From Java), Mo Brothers (Headshot) and the classic, Umar Ismail’s restored 1956 Tiga Dara, the first Indonesian film to be restored in 4K format. The star-studded Asian Television
Official partners
Awards, the region’s most prestigious industry award since 1996, saw a glitzy celebration for the best Asian storytellers along with their actors and actresses. The awards comprised over 40 categories across more than 1,350 entries from 17 markets across Asia and beyond, and featured a slew of entertaining performances from the region’s most talented performers including Indonesia’s very own Rossa, also known as Dato’ Rossa in Malaysia, who sang her hits including Ku Menunggu, and acclaimed Singaporean Mandopop singer-songwriter JJ Lin and American-born South Korean rapper Amber Liu. As a special treat for the screaming fans in attendance, ATA this year featured the international pop star phenomenon, Charli XCX. The SMF is an invaluable trade events that Asia’s content and broadcast industry can look forward to every year. Mike Wiluan, Chairman of Singapore International Film Festival commented, “As the leading festival in Southeast Asia for the discovery of in-
Held in
Indonesia made a strong showing at this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), dependent cinema, the 27th Singapore International Film Festival champions film talent and works of the region.” He continued saying that the SMF has become an important platform that curates the best of Asia and furthers the agenda of independent films and works in the region. David Fernando Audy, President Director of PT Media Nusantara Citra Tbk (MNC) and a keynote speaker at the ATF, said that he believed Indonesia is at an inflection point between the analogue and digital world, and that he intends to build the necessary digital infrastructure to place MNC at the forefront of the digital wave. “We’re pretty much focused on Indonesia as it represents major growth potential and so we want to concentrate all our energy and initiatives to capture the majority of that growth,” he said.