POST EVENT China Daily Roundtable: Creative industry insiders talk survival strategies amid the pandemic
AVIA hosts first virtual summit
Moderator DJ Clarke (top left), Low Kee Hong (top middle), co-moderator Chitralekha Basu (top right), Albert Lee (bottom left), Fred Wang (bottom middle) and Tang Fu Kuen (bottom right) share their insights at the China Dailyhosted webinar.
Creative industry insiders gathered for the fifth installment of China Daily’s Tipping Point webinar series on 27 August with the theme Taking the show back to the theaters in the time of COVID-19. The goal of the webinar was to facilitate a healthy exchange for artists and creative professionals to gain new insights and opportunities amid the current challenging environment. The webinar featured five creative industry insiders and key players that included Mr. Albert Lee, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society; Mr. Low Kee Hong, head of theater at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; Mr. Tang Fu Kuen, curator at the Taipei Arts Festival; Mr. Fred Wang, Chairman of Salon Films (Hong Kong); and Mr. Teddy Chen, producer and director of Sum-Wood Production Ltd. Among the topics discussed was the need of a combined effort from stakeholders to help the cinema industry survive the pandemic. Mr. Lee pointed out that cinemas are experiencing difficulty due to the reduced capacity owing to social distancing restrictions. Mr. Low Kee Hong added, “We need to rethink the choices of platforms and how we can monetise different platforms so that artists and staff can be paid properly. It is really essential to acknowledge that art is not for free.” The panel also talked about the new normal and the opportunities for the film industry. Mr. Lee welcomed the idea of people viewing films on multiple platforms such as cinema halls, home theatre, live streaming platforms, and television. Mr. Fred Wang pointed out that
the film industry needs to try out new business models and observe whether the current environment can support these in a sustainable way. While Mr. Lee predicted that it could take the film industry anywhere between three and four years to recover from the effects pandemic, Mr. Wang still sees a bright future ahead. He envisioned that the traditional film business will develop rapidly and maturely, and believed that the injection of new blood will develop a business odel in order to support the improvement of the industry at large. Mr. Tang Fu Kuen added, “Some of the artists in the industry will remain in melancholia for the better days of the past. They may not be able to cope with the future, while others will have that will and wisdom to move on. And they will be the ones who will renovate and innovate for survival.”
The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) held its first virtual conference, the OTT Virtual Summit held from 29 June to 3 July.The virtual event featured a lineup of speakers and thought leaders from across the video, advertising, and tech industry. The conference touched on seven subject matters that are relevant to today’s industry including Challenges and Opportunites of Going D2C, the Woes and Wins of Advertising in the time of COVID, and what the Future of the Video Buy look like, and the challenge of Connecting with Consumers during and post the pandemic. Yang Xianghua, the President of Membership and Overseas Business Group from iQIYI headlined this year’s keynote conversation. Otherkeyspeakers of the OTT Virtual Summit included Simon Robinson, President of APAC, Discovery Asia Pacific & Chief Financial Officer of Discovery International; Viu; Clément Schwebig, MD, Southeast Asia, Pacific and China, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks; Tarun Katial, CEO of ZEE5 India, among others. Delegates to the OTT Virtual Summit got to access a full event platform that featured meeting rooms, virtual networking opportunities, and an ondemand platform for delayed viewing.
October 2020 television asia plus
21
