Dated: 11 November 2005
Bigger and better, half a million people are expected to throng the 30 or so events and activities
The three-week media fiesta is expected to attract about close to half a million people to the many events that come under the Asia Media Festival. Animation fans, film buffs and gaming enthusiasts, brace yourselves for a line-up of activities and events. More than 4,500 foreign delegates, will be flying in from 40 countries to attend Asia’s leading programming market - the Asia Television Forum (ATF), Asia Film Market &Conference (AFMC) and Asia Animation Conference (AAN). Happening from 14 November to 2 December, the Asia Media Festival (AMF) 2005 is set to take Singapore to an even higher level of buzz as the slew of events kicks off.
Returning for the fourth year, the AMF, an annual media and entertainment event in the Asia Pacific, is hosted by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) and organised by Reed Exhibitions Singapore.
This year, as part of the MDA’s public outreach initiative, MEDIAction! promises to bring a series of activities and events spanning across different media from broadcasts, digital media to print and film, to the public.
The festival will open with Animation Nation, a festival that screens the best in animation works from around the world. Oscar winning creator Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbit will premiere in Singapore as one of the highlights of the festival which runs from 17 to 23 November at Cathay Cineplexes and the Singapore History Museum.
Encouraged by last year’s success, the crowd-puller, AnimaXtion ’05 returns for a second year at SITEX from 24 to 27 November at the Singapore Expo. Animation fans can mingle with their favourite manga and anime characters. In addition to screening of animation works, animation enthusiasts can look forward to try their hands at creating their own animation, with the guidance of experts. Admission to the four-day fair is free. Related events are AnimXtion ’05 Forum –Getting into the Industry, AnimaXtion ’05 Challenge –Finalist Showcase and AnimaXtion ’05 Talk –The Past, the Present and the Future of Animation.
RESFEST 2005 returns to Singapore for the second year. Originating from New York with Singapore as the first South East Asian stop, the world’s pre-eminent festival of innovative moving image, RESFEST 2005, boasts a bigger presence with four feature premieres, a slate of 13 programmes and more. Celebrating the convergence of innovative film, music, art, design fashion and technology, RESFEST is synonymous with the international cultural movement and is known to showcase both breaking new talent and visionary film-makers. Catch the screenings from 24 to 27 November at Academy Theatre, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
Be the first to watch yet to be released films and documentaries at the Asian Festival of 1st Films (AFFF). As an inaugural event of AMF, the AFFF is the world’s first annual film and documentary festival to celebrate the best of first-time films as well as producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, actors and documentary-makers of Asian descent. These nominated first films will premiere at public ticketed screenings at Golden Village cineplexes island-wide during the week-long AFFF 2005 which is scheduled to open in Singapore on 23 November, culminating in an award ceremony to announce the results of the film competition on 30 November.
Fans of Star Wars can live out their fantasy as The Art of Star Wars Exhibition opens at The Singapore Science Centre on 19 November. An event of galactic proportion with over 270 original artefacts from Lucasfilm Studios in California, the exhibition offers a rare behind-the-scenes look. Singapore is the second country after Japan to host this exhibition.
Injecting more excitement to this year’s AMF is The World Cyber Games (WCG) 2005. WCG is the world’s leading and largest computer and video game festival in digital entertainment. WCG 2005 is held from 16 to 20 November at Suntec Singapore, International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer of the MDA said, ""In today's increasingly connected world, and with the growing sophistication of worldwide audiences over time;we are attempting to provide more choices of content. The extensive scope of this Festival allows us to see the best of what is going on in the media world. Who knows - the next media personality or producer or director may well spring out from those exposed at an early age.”
The leading lights of international media and businesses such as acclaimed film-maker/Director Mr Shekhar Kapur (Director of Academy Award-winning film Elizabeth), Mr Andrew Craissati (Chairman &Chief Executive, Transpac Media) and Mr Jan Mojto (Managing Director, EOS Entertainment and Beta Film), will be convening in Singapore from 14 to 16 November for the MDA’s inaugural International Advisory Panel meeting on media. The forum will focus on how Singapore can leverage on global trends by taking advantage of arising growth opportunities (detailed list of the IAP members is in Annex).
Adding to the stature of the AMF as the region’s key media exchange is the significant growth in AMF’s anchor trade events –the Asia Television forum (ATF) and the Asia Film Market &Conferences (AFMC) taking place from 30 November to 2 December. With an increase of about 30 per cent in terms of delegate size and participating companies, Singapore will be the industry’s focal point with international practitioners converging, networking, distributing and trading in Singapore. Sales conducted on site is expected to surpass US$30 million, an increase of over 40% as compared to the US$21 million sales in 2004.
More than 4,500 participants from more than 40 key markets will be at the market for the dynamic broadcast, film and entertainment industry. The presence of all the major media heavyweights, including Buena Vista International Television, CBS Paramount International Television, Twentieth Century Fox International Distribution, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television International and Warner Bros International Television Distribution etc is a testimony to the standing of these business platforms.
AMF 2005 also features the Media Financing Forum. Back by popular demand for a third year, the forum, held on 29 November, continues with its efforts to educate financiers and venture capitalists on the value of media investments and creates networking opportunities for financiers and producers.
Commenting on the AMF, Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer of the MDA said, “The media industry is not only about glamour, entertainment. It is big business and will be an important contributor to the global economy. Singapore is proud to play host to such key media exchanges. Anchoring these trade events in Singapore not only endorses the destination’s stronghold as a regional hub and a gateway to the rest of Asia, it also provides the impetus to bring Singapore and the local media industry another step closer to being a vibrant global city.”
“We want to create opportunities for our media practitioners to network and provide them with more avenues to showcase their works. I am pleased that the Asia Media Festival has grown both in size and repute as a key media event in the region since it’s inception in 2002. The Asia Media Festival is an extravaganza, a colourful platform for Singapore to celebrate, along with the rest of Asia, the vibrancy and excitement of media,” added Dr Chia.
Mr Ed Ng, President of Reed Exhibitions Singapore, said, “Reed Exhibitions is proud to partner MDA in organising Asia Media Festival for the 4th year. We share the same vision to build Singapore as the Media Hub for Asia. Having ATF | AFMC | AAN as the anchor event for Asia Media Festival helps to achieve this goal. Each year, we bring together thousands of trade professionals from all over the world to exchange ideas, network and trade with Asia.
“This year, we continue to exceed all expectations. We see strong participation of major players and partners from around the world. This solid support and commitment will ensure that ATF l AFMC l AAN maintains its key position as the leading business platform for Asia’s vibrant media and entertainment industry.”
Media Contact:
Casey Chang (Ms)
Assistant Director
Corporate and Marketing Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: (65) 6837 9344
Email: Casey_CHANG@imda.gov.sg
Yvonne Poh (Ms)
Assistant Manager
Corporate &Marketing Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: (65) 6837 9894
Fax: (65) 6336 4142
Email: Yvonne_POH@imda.gov.sg
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