There are two versions of “Made in Asia”—one a book (now an ebook) and the other a forum.
It is both a compilation and a yearly business conference of like-minded individuals tackling the market trends in at least 14 filmmaking capitals in Asia—China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines.
It was conceptualized and became a reality at the Bucheon International Film Festival (Bifan) in Bucheon City, South Korea, by the event’s bigwigs in 2008 as part of the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF), a component of Asia’s largest, most advanced, and game-changing world cinema event.
According to the Bifan website, “Made in Asia” was “designed to examine the key factors of the Asian film industry which overtook Hollywood and became the world’s largest film market, and to develop and strengthen the network.” The NAFF is the market program that promotes cooperation and assistance to film projects that enhance the genre (horror, fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, supernatural and the like) movement.
Noncompetitive festival
Bifan is a noncompetitive festival that focuses on the conceptualization, production, marketing, showing and recognition of fantastic films presented or shown in its duration, usually in July or August.
In past Bifans, the “Made in Asia” forums featured three or four panelists and speakers on the film industry in their respective countries.
I have been officially part of “Made in Asia” since 2017, when I was assigned to write the annual Philippine cinema report that requires research on the domestic sales of local and international films. My work includes summing up the narrative of the economic, cultural and, to a certain extent, sociopolitical landscapes of the yearly Philippine cinema, and interviewing the producer or director of the top-grossing film.
At the 28th Bifan held recently at the Webtoon Convergence Center in Bucheon, the forum featured seven actors and interactors discussing co-production case studies in filmmaking. Each speaker was given five minutes to report on the state of co-production ventures with homegrown or international stakeholders.
The exchange of ideas and experiences in the 2024 “Made in Asia” on co-ventures was an eye-opener—an enlightening moment of discovery and rediscovery about the prospects and processes of filmmaking.
Co-prods
As the term suggests, co-production is the arrangement between one or two or more investments that eases and balances the flow of creative as well as administrative work in the movie business.
Co-prod comes easily at the NAFF, with business meetings and implementations of the principles and work flow between and among capitalists.
At the “It Project,” a section of the NAFF in which competitively and rigorously selected film projects in development on genre are on board, worldwide notice of their potentials in box-office and critical acclaim is encouraged.
During the 28th Bifan’s “It Project,” several co-prods of chosen entries were set up for meetings with international investors, producers, marketers, distributors, press and other film professionals for possible tie-ups.
Among the 23 projects were:
• Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and the United States’ “Bomoh,” directed by Miyazaki Daisuke and co-produced by Alex Iskounen, Tim Kwok (one of the producers of Jackie Chan), Jeffrey Reddick and Ho Wee Tay of the collective Asia Media Alliance/Tsukubu Indy and Convergence Entertainment.
• Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines’ “The Drought,” directed by Nelson Yeo and produced by Tan Si En and Sophia Lim in a three-pronged company (Momo Films, Kawakawa Media and Nathan Films, a Filipino outfit owned by actress Ria Atayde).
• Italy, Singapore and the Philippines’ “Molder,” directed by Filipino Kenneth Dagatan and co-produced by Malaysian Bradley Liew (husband of Filipino filmmaker Bianca Balbuena) of Epicmedia Productions, Stefano Centini of Volos Films Italy and Hwang Junxiang of Dropkick.
Meanwhile, at the regular screenings of this year’s Bifan, aside from the solo prods from Korea and other nations, there were co-prods such as, among others, Germany, the United States and Norway’s “Cuckoo,” directed by Tilman Singer and shown at the Bucheon Choice: Features; China and the Netherlands’ “And I Talk Like a River” directed by Qian Ning and screened at the Bucheon Choice: Shorts; and Japan and Hong Kong’s “Matched.”” directed by Uchida Eiji and lined up at the Mad MaxX section.
The opening film was the United Kingdom and the United States’ co-prod “Love Lies Bleeding” (2024), which is about ill-fated lovers involved in violent encounters. It was directed by Rose Glass (“Saint Maud”) and starred Kristen Stewart, Ed Harris, Katy O’Brian and Anna Barysknikov.
The closing film was Hong Kong and China’s “Twilight of the Warrior: Walled In” (2024), a release featured at the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, which is a foray into gang wars in the bloody era of Kowloon in the ’90s and directed by Soi Cheang.
But descriptive co-prod companies, mostly in film festivals, are generally classified and nominalized under their country of origin, purportedly to promote an international sense.
Perils and kinks
Despite the supportive essence of co-prod, there are also perils and kinks in the arrangement.
While most of the panelists at the recent “Made in Asia”—Taiwanese Cora Yim, executive director and producer of S11 Partners Inc.; Indonesian Shanty C. Harmyan, producer of Base Entertainment; Malaysian Lorna Tee, producer of Paperheart Productions; Singaporean Tan Si En, producer of Momo Films; Frenchman Emmanuel Pisarra, director of the Office of Uni-France in Japan; and Andy Wang, vice president of Investments of Assistance Hill Media Finance in the United Kingdom and the United States; with Variety Asia editor Patrick Frater as the facilitator—were openly, decidedly and liberally involved in co-prods, there were still gray areas and problems they wanted to clear and hurdle.
Most of them emphatically admitted that filmmaking these days in Asia or worldwide, specifically from their direct experiences, is generally a gamble if not a declining business because of many factors. They cited dwindling numbers of cinema-goers and the threat posed by livestreaming platforms, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic (with the exception of Indonesia, where, according to Harmyan, MNC Media producer Emilka and internationally acclaimed film producer and critic Roger Garcia, cinema-going is burgeoning), and other causes that are geopolitical in nature although not fully articulated.
Censorship
According to Tee, censorship is one of the setbacks in the development of co-prods in Asia and in the world. She cited the case of the film “Viet and Nam” (2024) directed by Truong Nga Nguyen, which should have been a co-venture among countries, allegedly including Vietnam, that believed in the power of its story and its potential as a box-office and critical hit.
But the Vietnamese government banned the story and, eventually, its showing. “They said it didn’t reflect the real situation of Vietnam, so it has to change its production identity to Filipino,” said Tee.
“Viet and Nam” was produced by Bradley Liew and Bianca Balbuena, and exhibited at the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes International Film Festival. It was a co-prod of the Philippines, Switzerland and, per imbd, Vietnam.
Box-office hit “Tiger Stripes” (2023) was cited as another case in point. A co-prod of Malaysia, Taiwan, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Qatar and Indonesia, and directed by Malaysian Amanda Nell Eu, the film was said to have been censored by a Malaysian state apparatus.
And while it is true that there are investments coming in from producers from China, the prevailing political atmosphere under President Xi Jinping is allegedly unfavorable to film co-prod, especially in other Asian countries.
“China doesn’t want their money coming out. What they want is money coming in,” Tee said.
South Korea’s independent producer Lee Dong-ha said a co-prod with China is somewhat a tricky business. He said a Chinese film company once joined him in a production but the project was eventually derailed and was no longer pursued.
The panel expressed optimism about co-prods with Middle Eastern countries like the United Arab Emirates. Oil money, they seemed to agree, is the quick way toward getting film funds in the nearest future.
Leave a Reply