Co-presented by the QCinema Project Market and the Quezon City Film Commission, the forum, which featured a vibrant lineup of panels and masterclasses, dove into the creative and commercial aspects of the cinematic shift now happening in Asian cinema: how filmmakers are blending artistic boldness with mass, genre appeal.
Asian cinema shift
“There’s a current shift in Asian Cinema, where the lines of art house and genre filmmaking are increasingly blurred,” said Manet Dayrit, QCinema Film Foundation president. “[Through this forum] participants can learn from established international filmmakers and festival directors how they can co-exist, collaborate, and succeed in this increasingly interconnected film industry.”
Of particular interest was the session on “Case Studies on Co-Production Success in Southeast Asia”, where the film “Viet and Nam” by Trương Minh Quý was the focus. Produced by the Philippines’ Epicmedia Productions Inc., Viet and Nam entered the Festival de Cannes 2024 Official Selection Un Certain Regard.
Viet and Nam
Bradley Liew, Malaysia-born, Manila-based CEO of Epicmedia, opened the panel by discussing Viet and Nam. Epicmedia specializes in international co-productions for top film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Sundance.
“It’s a film with a lot of co-producers, a lot of people helping with financing, an 8-country co-production using public and private money,” said Liew.
Liew shared that the process began during the pandemic with an online pitch with the Cinemart of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).
From there, the producers were able to tap other film support funds across Europe and Asia for funding including the Asean Co-Production Fund (ACOF) of the Film Development Council of the Philippines—all non-recoupable, meaning they were treated as direct grants.
In total, Epicmedia was able to raise P11.4 million.
“These were ‘free money’—the strings attached are proper crediting [of the funding source] or you spend for things in certain countries, so you don’t need to turn this money into investment,” said Liew.
Bianca Balbuena, co-founder of Epicmedia, however cautioned that for government funds, “they never give you the amount upfront, they give it in tranches, three or four tranches, some even give them to you after the movie is released.”
To manage this, they needed equity to cover financing and to help cover the cash flow of the film, the only aspect of their budget that had to be recouped. Thankfully, this was only a small percentage and was easily recovered through sales of the film to distributors.
Navigating international co-productions
Tapping various international funding sources naturally means dealing with different personalities and nationalities. For Balbuena, the key lies in “having that balance of knowing your vision, and to being open to collaboration.”
What’s important, Balbuena said, is that even if a lot of miscommunication and arguments arise, in the end it should be the producers' decision that stands.
Cultural differences
When asked about the differences in dealing with European and Asian film organizations, Liew said that “In Europe, people need to know the plan, you need to give them the plan and you need to update them. And if there’s a change, you need to discuss.”
In Asia, he said further, “the plan changes every second” while Balbuena said Asians “are more organic and trust based.”
Moreover, Europe is more inclined toward films with political themes as opposed to genre films which are more favored in Asia.
Paying yourself
Balbuena also emphasized the importance of paying yourself as producers considering the amount of work and effort that one puts in. In the case of Epicmedia, they received 7.5-10 percent as the company fee while the same percentage also went to the producers.
Overall, our takeaway from the forum is that support for filmmakers in our region has never been more alive and thriving.
“Now is the best time to be a filmmaker in Southeast Asia,” Balbuena said.
Features Reporter
