V I D E O • A G E Ja n u a r y 2 0 1 2 18 The French have decided to reconquer Southeast Asia, after losing it to the Americans in the 1950s. To do so, the French began with a show of strength at the Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF). They boasted an unusually large presence and threw a huge bash, calling in the heavy artillery from Paris in the form of French actress Carole Bouquet, accompanied by Unifrance’s president and top producer Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre. Coincidently, Paris-based Reed MIDEM, which organizes bothMIP-TV and MIPCOM in Cannes, announced a series of co-ventures with the Singaporebased ATF. Even though the same parent company owns Reed MIDEM and ATF, they operate independently. A few years ago, the former tried to re-start its early version of an Asian TV market in Hong Kong that was in clear competition with ATF and was subsequently closed. After a great reception from international distribution companies and buyers alike, the MIP project was scrapped, reportedly due to pressures from the Singaporean government, which runs a large sovereign fund with investments that touch many industries, including media and exhibitions. While Asia continued to be in Reed MIDEM’s plans, ATF started to suffer a small decline, with some companies sending junior executives and others abandoning it altogether. The ATF-MIP cooperation agreement announced at last month’s ATF could represent a win-win compromise for both companies. It calls for MIP to help ATF set up a co-production initiative and revitalize ATF seminars. As Reed MIDEM’s Anne de Kerckhove explained during a press conference, her company is prepared to “invest massively at ATF.” In addition, the ATF called in the Singaporean government’s very powerful Media Development Authority (MDA), which controls the city-state’s audiovisual industry and, throughvarious investments and incentives, influences production and distribution in many countries. The Authority, always a towering presence at ATF, arranged for 60 small local producers to attend ATF for free. Another welcome addition was the change in exhibition location, from the cold and impersonal Suntec complex of past years to the cozier and better-suited Marina Sands Expo. These moves, together with a good number of first-time exhibitors such as Opus Distribution, Goldstein-Douglas and Kanal D, generated what Star Media Russia’s Bill Peck described as a “huge traffic flow.” Similarly, Opus’ Ken Dubow reported that the traffic was very good and that he had “many walk-ins.” As an ATF veteran explained, Asian TV buyers tend not to answermeeting requests, preferring instead to make on-the-spot appointments on a walk-in basis. Beatrice Grossmann of Swiss TV, RSI, noticed that many participants listed as buyers were in effect sellers who also acquired product for their distribution pipes. With regard to this, Televisa’s Mario Castro commented, “even though we talk and meet with everybody, we avoid doing business with agents and distributors, preferring instead to go direct.” At ATF, Televisa’s executives met with free TV and pay-TV buyers, as well as producers looking for formats and co-productions. While China boasted a large selling presence, onthebuying side, representatives at the ATF were understandably scarce considering the recent large-scale restrictions on genres (especially reality and game shows) and imported programming that the Chinese government has imposed, in addition to limiting TV advertising. Despite the vibrant energy of ATF’s opening day, the market traffic slowed down considerably on day two, making the event in effect a one-and-a-half day TV trade show out of the three market days. The opening night bash on December 8 was sponsored by Unifrance, France’s film marketing organization — an unusual event at a TV trade show — that marked the organization’s first-time participation in the ATF. Labeled the “First Rendezvous With French Cinema In The Presence of a Delegation of French Cinema Celebrities,” the event consisted of a champagne cocktail reception, the screening of The Artist (a recently produced black and white silent film) and a full-fledged buffet party. The following day, the large French delegation –– consisting of celebrities, executives from film companies under Unifrance and from TV production and distribution companies under TV France International’s (TVFI) umbrella –– met at the French Embassy in Singapore, supposedly tomapout awinning promotion and market strategy for Southeast Asia. Symbolism in France is a serious matter, and, at the ATF opening party, TVFI took a secondary role, as if Unifrance were saying that the “big guys” are now taking over. The fact that the movie screened was not a mainstream product could symbolize that France is reclaiming its dominance on is own terms. Finally, the grandiose ATF opening event that spared no expense clearly indicated that France’s audiovisual industry is fully committed to regaining Asian territories. What remains to be seen is the level of follow-through and results. A s i a T V F o r u m R e p o r t ATF, MIP-TV Marriage Gives Birth To France TV Some of Spain Audiovisual’s representatives from l. to. r.: Edebe’s Ivan Agenjo, Film Factory’s Vicente Canales, FAPAE’s Maria José Vadillo, Imagina’s Barbora Susterova ATF and MIP executives announcing they’re joining forces French actress Carole Bouquet, RSI’s Beatrice Grossmann at Unifrance’s opening night bash A+E’s Catherine Ruffini, Kerri Tarmey Televisa’s Mario Castro, Hugo Trevino
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