Dated: 28 September 2009
Singapore’s participation at MIPCOM 2009, one of the world's biggest and most prestigious audiovisual trade shows, will include for the first time, three distributors alongside producers, content creators/owners and post-production companies.
Established distributors Bomanbridge Media and FCCE Asia Pacific will be joined by Scrawl Studios, producers of Milly Molly which was shortlisted for the Best Programme in the Audiovisual Division and TV Series categories in The Japan Prize 2008. Scrawl Studios recently set-up its Distribution and Licensing arm which will focus on Asian territories and target Asian broadcasters and partners. In addition to acquiring animation and kids programmes for distribution and other commercial opportunities, Scrawl also plans to bring three of its in-house titles The New Adventures of Nanoboy,Clang Invasion and its latest pre-school series Silly Bitty Bunny, which will be making its international market debut at MIPCOM, for sale and distribution.
“This year’s mix of companies is a reflection of a maturing media industry as companies move up the media value chain producing, creating and trading Asian intellectual properties that sit well with the international audience. As more Singapore players start to delve into the distribution space, we are likely to see Singapore-made content travel far beyond the current 70 countries which we are already in,” said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).
Bomanbridge Media, FCCE Asia Pacific and Scrawl Studios will join a 9-company strong delegation led by MDA to MIPCOM to promote a slate of 63 programmes comprising 375 hours of factual, lifestyle, drama, children’s and animation titles at the Singapore Pavilion, for sale and distribution. As with past years, most of the programmes are in High-Definition (HD), continuing the strong trend of HD programming by Singapore companies exhibiting at the MIP markets, held in Cannes, France.
Factual and animated content
Reflecting Singapore's traditional strengths in factual programming, this year’s line-up features over 30 documentaries and lifestyle shows. These include Lonely Planet: Road Less Travelled by Beach House Pictures (Singapore) and Lonely Planet Television (UK); and Sun Tzu: War on Business by The Right Angle Media (Singapore) and China Multimedia Networks (China).
Lonely Planet: Road Less Travelled follows Lonely Planet writers and photographers on assignments to seek out, unearth and road-test exciting new possibilities for travellers. Sun Tzu: War on Business is a 13 part business reality series featuring Dot.com millionaire and Apprentice runner-up, James Sun, as he helps turn businesses around using the principles of the Art of War, an ancient Chinese text. Both series are distributed by BBC Worldwide and will premiere on National Geographic Adventure Channel and Channel NewsAsia respectively in the first half of 2010.
Other productions in the Singapore slate with international representation are Culinary Asia, by ThreeSixZero and Oak3 Films, which is set to premiere on Discovery Channel Asia in November,CultureX (Season1 and 2) by Third Floor Pictures, and Dining with Death (Season1 and 2) produced by Filmat 36. All three shows are represented by UK’s Passion Distribution.
Joining these programmes are recently completed projects Dubai Megamall, by Right Angle Media, which is scheduled for broadcast on National Geographic Channel in first quarter of 2010, Almost Famous by Vertigo Pictures, which aired on Channel NewsAsia in early September, Inside Kids Sumo by VHQ TV, which premiered on the National Geographic Channel, and Digital Deconstruction by Infocus Asia.
In addition to factual programming, the Singapore Pavilion will also showcase a robust line up of animated content, eight of which will be making their international market debut at MIPCOM. These include Mr Moon, is a tri-party co-production between UK’s Skaramoosh, Canada’s Title Entertainment and Singapore’s Sparky Entertainment. Sparky is also the co-producer of the successful 40-episode animated series, Dinosaur Train.
Mr Moon, a pre-school animation series based on books of similar titles written by Kate Veale, features the adventures of Mr Moon, his Supafast Moon Rocket and his best friends Silva and Gold Star, as they zip around exploring planets, stars, constellations, black holes, nebulae and galaxies. Mr Moon has been picked up by Playhouse Disney (UK) and Canadian broadcasters TV Ontario, Knowledge Network and SCN. Discussions are ongoing for Mr Moon merchandise potential.
Also making its market debut is Off The Wall by Scrawl Studios and Zac Toons (Western Australia), a fast-paced animated series about a group of ordinary kids with extraordinary friends – a ragtag bunch of walking, talking graffiti characters with spooky powers, strange ideas and way too much attitude. Targeting 8-12 year olds, this 52 episode series is one of two projects developed under the MDA-Screenwest Cross-Media Initiative which was announced at last year’s MIPCOM to encourage cross-media/cross-platform collaboration between producers in Singapore and Western Australia.
Other animation titles to be promoted include Olive & The Rhyme Rescue Crew! by Peach Blossom Media (Singapore), Almost Extinct and Paranormalia by Scrawl Studios.
Commenting on the slate of programmes, Dr Chia said, “This year’s line-up of programmes reinforces our core strengths in factual and animation productions. Singapore is creating a niche by producing content that provide many around the world insights into all things Asian, told from an Asian perspective but with international appeal.”
The Singapore Pavilion is located at booth 05.20-07.19 at the Palais des Festivals. MIPCOM takes place from 5-9 October 2009. Please refer to Annex A for the slate of programmes at MIPCOM and Annex B for the list of participating companies.
Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA)
Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Global Media City and positioning it at the forefront of the digital media age. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote developments in film, video, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation, media services and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a pro-business environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, please visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg.
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