China mounted its largest ever presence at the 26th Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF) held in Singapore from Tuesday to Friday, drawing strong interest from buyers and producers worldwide as the influence of the country's film and television market expands.
The ATF event gathered representatives from broadcasters, production companies and studios all around the world to trade rights, explore financing and discuss cross-platform partnerships. This year's event also featured sessions on the emergence of AI in content production, cross-border co-development and the rise of micro dramas.
This year also saw the China Pavilion breaking previous records in both scale and content volume, with 24 participating institutions showcasing their work. The pavilion shone the spotlight on a total of 156 standout Chinese-language productions, including TV series, micro dramas, films, documentaries, animation and variety shows.
International buyers and producers at the event expressed growing enthusiasm for Chinese-made productions. Yip Je Choong, senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions Asia Pacific, the forum organizer, noted how the rising popularity of Chinese content is helping shine a light on Chinese culture.
"I can see that it is getting very, very popular. Myself personally, and I have friends also who love the Chinese content because it is really top notch. I think there is a lot of culture and a lot of history in a lot of these movies and dramas that are quite fascinating. And I think it's a very good way for Chinese culture to be spread in this region so people understand better Chinese history and Chinese culture," he said.
At the same time, attendees also showed strong interest in the Chinese production market, with many keen to export dramas to overseas markets and tap in to its consumer potential.
"This market I am mainly looking at acquiring Chinese drama shows, which we want to take back and localize it in the Indian languages for the Indian audiences," said Poonam Palnitkar, commercial director of EFG Digital, an Indian production company.
"I think there is definitely an increase in production and an international reach of Asian cinema, Chinese cinema," said Alex, the manager of a British film and television production firm.
Beyond the main China Pavilion, several other China-related stands were also present, including those of the major entertainment and online video sharing platforms such as Bilibili, Tencent Video and Youku.
Asia TV Forum in Singapore spotlights rising popularity of Chinese productions
