Russian thrillers, historical series, and animation land in Asia

Russian film companies summed up the results of their participation in the international film market Telefilm Vietnam, which was held in June in Ho Chi Minh City. Representatives of Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, India and other countries were interested in Russian cinema.

Stella Release company is now discussing the theatrical release in Vietnam and Hong Kong of a number of thrillers: "The Vacant Life of a Chef", "Ya Idu Iskat", and "When She Comes". The Chinese buyers were interested in the new melodrama "Longer than a Day"; the ballet drama "The Four Seasons"; and the military drama "Convoy 48."

Among the projects from Russia Television and Radio being considered for distribution to the Asian market is the historical series "Ekaterina" that has a record success in the international market (104 countries). The first two seasons have already been shown on Vietnamese TV, and the third season is being prepared for release. The documentary "Space Flight" will also soon appear on Vietnamese TV.

As a result of the market, the Vietnamese distributors have selected more than 150 hours of documentary and game content from Odin Media, and a package of lifestyle programs is being discussed with the Vietnamese broadcaster.

START online cinema launched five original series at the Telefilm Vietnam market. Representatives of Vietnam and Hong Kong singled out the projects "Sisters" and "Eva in Labor" for their extraordinary plot and visuals; the mystical series "Passengers" aroused interest from buyers from Singapore. START is continuing negotiations on new deals and in the near future, online cinema projects may find audiences in Asia.

Chinese media holding Qirun International Group is interested in buying the films "The Silver Spoon" and "The Silver Spoon goes South" from Sreda production, and the company is now also negotiating with Harbor Rights to present the company's projects in Asia, and with Visionfly in Vietnam and India. The distributor Visionary International Media is interested in introducing Sreda's catalog to Taiwan.

Art Pictures Distribution presented a thriller "The Rage" for the first time in the Asian market. Previously, the company sold a number of films in the sci-fi genre ("Attraction", "Invasion", "Sputnik", and others) to the Vietnamese market.

For Pimanov & Partners, participation in the Telefilm Vietnam market was their first experience in the region. The buyers were especially interested in the full-length sports drama "Eleven Silent Men", the TV series "Zhukov", and the documentary project "Unknown Kremlin."

ANIMATION
Animation companies presented 25 projects at the Telefilm Vietnam market. SMF Animation entered into a deal with Vietnam Satellite Digital Television Company (VSTV) for the animated series "I’ll Get You! Holidays" and "Rockoons". In August and September of this year, the projects will appear on the satellite children’s TV channel K + KIDS, and in the K + app for online viewing.

Voronezh Animation studio said that representatives of companies from Southeast Asia are interested in co-production with Russia in creating animation. As part of cooperation with CJ E&M Corporation, an agreement was signed for the theatrical release of "The Snow Queen & The Princess" in Vietnam—release dates to be confirmed.

RIKI Group presented serial projects to international buyers - "The Fixies", "Tina and Tony, "Beardy Bodo", as well as the "Finnick" franchise. At meetings with partners from Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, India and China, the possibilities of content distribution to the countries of the APAC region, co-production, as well as the possibility of co-investment were discussed.

Representatives of the YARKO Animation company spoke about their interest in animation for preschool children, as well as in 3D projects. To date, the flagship project of the studio "Tommy the Little Dragon" is already available in Thailand. By the end of the year, it is planned to launch the project in China.