Hasta La Motion!

108 Media, the Singapore-based global content development and distribution company announced fresh titles to its multiple co-production partnership with Southeast Asia’s media and entertainment asset incubation, investment, and management entities Aurora Media Holdings.

The firms will co-produce three feature films, out of which one is Indian film-maker’s animated short Schirkoa. Written and directed by Ishan Shukla, the feature-length project is currently in pre-production with a budget of $ 1.5 million, and is based on the lauded short film of the same name that bagged the best of show award at SIGGRAPH Asia 2016 and best animated short film at the Sydney World Film Festival 2016.

Schirkoa tells the story of an intellectually confused bag-head who works as a senator in the dystopian city of Schirkoa where the perceived perfection and sleaze turns him into a suicidal ‘anomaly’, only to realize there is an alternate bohemian society full of such anomalies.

Also included in the latest slate is the highly anticipated Southeast Asian horror-mystery feature film Eerie, a Philippines-Singapore co-production with ABS-CBN’s Star Cinema and Media East Productions. Set in the 1990s, the film centres on a clairvoyant counsellor who investigates a murder in a Catholic school where the only witness is the ghost of a suicide victim.

The final film to be included in the slate will be the creature-feature Mogwai, based on the critically acclaimed and award-winning short film The Fisherman. The $ 6 million project is currently in financing with the script penned by Spain’s Alejandro Suarez Lozano and UK’s Gary Young, and will be directed by Alejandro Suarez Lozano. Mogwai dives into the world of Dan Brooks, an expat American teenager in Hong Kong who inadvertently finds himself trapped on a rickety fishing boat with Wong, a cranky old local fisherman who’s on his way to battle a sea monster in the middle of the South China Sea.

“Together with 108’s keen market sense, we’re looking at producing a roster of the best Pan-Asian films and talents for both regional and international audiences. These exceptional projects and filmmakers fit the bill. Aurora’s looking forward to bringing them to market and extend creative bridges to buyers, co-producers and platforms in all corners of the content sphere,” said Aurora Media Holdings managing partner Justin Deimen.

Aurora Media’s recent feature film productions and investments include sports drama 100 Yards, the Hollywood feature Stano, the Australian-Hollywood co-pro Storm Boy and the Swiss-French-Singaporean The Song of Scorpions. They are currently in pre-production for The Long Walk with 108 Media, Screen Division, and Lao Art Media, the Laos-Singapore-Switzerland co-production directed by Mattie Do, one of Asia’s most dynamic female directors as well as for the Indonesia-Singapore-French feature Abracadabra.

The partnership saw both companies joining together to acquire and develop into original content and third-party IPs. Together they are financing, producing, distributing and licensing 10 to 15 projects annually in both feature motion pictures and television series across various genres for the global market.

108 Media CEO Abhi Rastogi, said, “We are very excited to bring these new projects to our already robust slate with Asian media powerhouse Aurora Media. Strong partnerships like these will help us transform the media landscape and give a voice to the visionary creators involved.”

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Los Angeles-based visual effects studio FuseFX has announced the availability of its custom-built driving rig called the FuseFX OmniCAM, a compact, portable, on-location solution to capture high-quality driving plates that are essential to client productions.

Designed to save productions’ time and money, the FuseFX OmniCAM is easy to ship, can be mounted on almost any vehicle and captures a seamless 24K-resolution, 360-degree environment plate in a single pass. With the company’s personnel oversight, the resulting footage feeds directly into FuseFX’s proprietary Nucleus pipeline, making it immediately available for visual effects shot production. The rig features built-in stabilisation, reflection capture, customisable plate configurations and the ability to change settings on the fly. It can serve as a fully functional, high-resolution VR rig as well.

“So many of our clients need car composites and background plates on an ongoing basis but they don’t want to burn through the time and budget it takes to set up special rigging, and they’ve grown tired of purchasing generic stock footage when they’re in a pinch,” said FuseFX original founder and CEO David Altenau.

“With the FuseFX OmniCAM, we can capture the exact footage clients need and ensure there are no continuity issues. Plus, we can help clients build libraries of backgrounds that they can draw on time and time again. We supply a complete package, with a goal to capture the best possible footage affordably and efficiently. This rig is a serious stress-reducer for our clients. We already have clients using it with great results.”

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As a part of Cartoon Network’s #BachchePoliceBulayenge campaign, launched in association with the Mumbai Police, the channel’s characters Kris from Roll No. 21 and Ben 10 are meeting several school kids across Mumbai city in the month of March. Taking the awareness programme to different schools, Bachche Police Bulayenge team visits Campion School in Colaba, Panbai School in Santacruz, Swami Vivekanand School in Kurla among others. Kris and Ben 10 will be engaging with 10,000 school kids spreading the important message of child safety and security.

The kids will get an opportunity to learn about child safety and security do’s and don’ts with the toons. Kris and Ben 10 will show ways to ensure road safety, precautions to be taken when approached by strangers, the importance of dialling 100 in case of an emergency, and simple yet smart ways to be a responsible citizen with the help of skits.

Through Thank A Cop activity, Cartoon Network expressed gratitude towards Mumbai Police with Ben 10 and Kris along with the school kids presenting policemen with roses as a token of appreciation and love for their commitment to serving everyone. The campaign was launched on Children’s Day in 2017 and aims at instilling the habit of approaching the police in case of an emergency.

Cartoon Network’s initiative creates awareness and builds a safer environment for kids enabling them with all the information to become a responsible citizen and follow all rules and regulations.

This campaign includes a series of five videos including Traffic Rules and Saying No To Strangers, highlighting several issues concerning kids in Mumbai.

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The second Dubai edition of the DISCOP film, television, online content and adaptation rights market wrapped up on a strong note with 687 delegates in attendance. It included 282 buyers, representing broadcasters, pay-tv operators and streaming platforms, primarily operating in the Middle East, Northern Africa and the Indian sub-continent.

Highlights from DISCOP Dubai included the Arab Format Accelerator initiative that showcased 25 original scripted and unscripted shows ready to be adapted for Middle Eastern audiences, as well as a rich program of conferences and panel discussions focusing on co-production opportunities.

The event’s spotlight was the opening keynote address from Saudi Media Measurement Company CEO Riyadh Najm, in which he gave valuable insights into the programming trends in Saudi Arabia, a country of around 30 million people, of which two-thirds are Saudi and one-third are ex-patriots. These insights were particularly relevant and topical in light of Saudi Arabia’s recent pledge of $64 billion into the entertainment sector.

A presentation from The Korea Creative Content Agency’s Sang Uk Park also provided insights into another growing market. Park elaborated, “In 2011, format sales were just one million dollars a year, and in 2016 that number grew to 50 million, so they multiplied by 50.”

DISCOP Dubai reflected the growing business links between the Middle East and Africa, leading to the exciting announcement that, from 2019 DISCOP will move its Middle East focused market to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt.

DISCOP CEO Patrick Zuchowiki further said, “Egypt is the region’s most prolific entertainment content producer with a population of 100 million people and a very dynamic industry. Bringing our Middle East focused market to Africa will also strengthen our presence on the continent at a time where we see more and more partnerships between these two parts of the world.”

The exhibition space stayed busy until the very last moment of the DISCOP market as a host of deals were announced during the three days of intense meetings and networking. DISCOP Dubai hosted India as this year’s guest country and more than 50 delegates representing in excess of 30 entertainment and media companies from India attended the market.

DISCOP Sharm El-Sheikh will take place from 26 to 28 February 2019 and will host Saudi Arabia as the official guest country, fortifying the importance of regional links and alliances.

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