The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) witnessed the successful organisation of Ties That Bind: Asia Europe Film Producers Workshop, which took place on 29 Aprilto3 May 2014 in Udine, Italy, alongside the 16th Far East Film Festival.
At the workshop, various plenary sessions addressed key issues for the sector such as project development, company management, financing and market conditions in Europe and Asia. The experts shared their insights on strategies for script development, independent cinema and the festival circuit, pitching and communication Skills, world sales and the state of the market for Asian films, financing landscape of European TV as well as presentations of the Venice Film Festival and the Puchon Int’l Fantastic Film Festival.
Ten selected producers, 5 from Asia (Philippines, Singapore, China, Japan and Malaysia) and 5 from Europe (France, Belgium, Poland and the Netherlands)worked on the development of their projects under the guidance of top industry professionals from both continents. Pre-scheduled individual meetings between all experts and the participants were organised for deeper discussions on topics previously addressed during the plenary session. Daily group work sessions were at the core of the workshop, with the participants engaging discussions and analysis of each other’s projects, under the guidance of their group leaders.
The selected participants also attended together with some of the Festival’s audiences, the panel on the theme “Acting different: East and West”. The panel was moderated by Sabrina Baracetti, President of the Udine Far East Film Festival and included the panellists: Eugene Domingo (actress in Barber’s Tale), Giuseppe Battiston (actor in Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot), Jun Robles Lana (director of Barber’s Tale), Matteo Oleotto (director of Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot) and Sasiwimon Wongjarin (ASEF).