Russian filmmakers concluded their participation in the Shanghai International Film & TV Market, where ROSKINO organized an umbrella stand for the Russian film industry overall. Among the most popular genres, content buyers from China and other Asian countries have named action, war dramas, thrillers, science fiction, documentaries, and animation. There is also increased demand for co-productions with Russian filmmakers and remakes, and interest in arthouse films is growing.
ROSKINO CEO Elsa Antonova: “The Shanghai Film Market was useful in terms of acquiring new contacts: a number of companies have good prospects for deals. We see interest from Asian distributors in a wide variety of types and genres of Russian content. It is also encouraging that, in addition to distribution, foreign partners are interested in other formats of cooperation: joint projects and remakes."
VARIETY OF GENRES
Art Pictures Distribution has held negotiations with companies from China, Vietnam, Japan, and Malaysia, which have showed the greatest interest in the feature films "Pinocchio", "Red Silk", and the animated franchise "Kid-e-Cats. The Great Ice-Escape". Representatives from various companies emphasized that there are prospects for film distribution in China and Southeast Asia, as well as for the sale of rights to adapt feature films (and the creation of remakes).
Representatives of Central Partnership noted the high interest of buyers in their projects in the action, thriller, and animation genres. Foreign content buyers were attracted by both new releases (the thriller "Down" and the animated film "The Dino" Family) and already released box office hits (the sci-fi action film "Kraken" and the fantasy film "The Wizard of the Emerald City. Part I").
CTB Film Company held meetings with major buyers in mainland China, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries. Chinese partners showed the most interest in the large-scale sci-fi action film "The Ultimate Planet", as well as the sci-fi comedy "The Dog of Many Tomorrows" and the animated feature film "The Myth of Maracuda". Discussions are underway with some Chinese companies to acquire the rights to create a remake, while Indonesian and Thai buyers are showing greater interest in STV's animated projects. There are plans to release the feature film "Moonzy: Homecoming" in theaters in Vietnam, the rights to which were previously acquired by Mockingbird Pictures.
Mars Media Entertainment presented the family comedy "Palma 2" and the war drama "Air" at the market. The sequel to "A Dog named Palma", the hit film about the friendship between a boy and a German Shepherd, attracted Chinese distributors. They were also interested in a possible co-production and VOD (video-on-demand) rights in Chinese for the USA and Europe. Mars Media Entertainment also noted an increase in interest in arthouse and festival films.
Among Pan-Atlantic Studio's projects, one of the most popular was "The Princess of Siam", historical drama. Negotiations are planned with leading producers from the Shanghai Film Group to discuss the details of cooperation and possible co-production. The joint production of "The Princess of Siam" was also discussed with Thailand: preliminary agreements on its co-production status have been reached. Negotiations are also planned with representatives of relevant Chinese companies on the acquisition of distribution rights for the co-production projects "Alpine Ballad" (Russia-Serbia) and "Gems" (Russia-India) in China after the films are completed.
Bubble Studios, which presented the action film "Major Grom: The Game" at the film market, noted considerable interest from companies in China, Thailand, and Indonesia in content based on comic books. At the same time, the Chinese side has requested greater involvement of Russian companies in the promotion of films. Representatives of Bubble Studios also noted a demand in the market for the creation of new content for audiences aged 7-12.
HIGH DEMAND FOR TV SERIES
The historical detective series "Dark Sacrifice", the military drama "Dina and Doberman", produced by NTV Broadcasting Company, have been very successful. According to the company, colleagues from China are still interested in dramas about the Great Patriotic War. Buyers from other countries are more interested in detective stories, action series, thrillers, and historical films.
Interest in war dramas was also confirmed by Russia Television and Radio, the film "Saving Captain Maximov", also presented at the market, left no content buyer indifferent.
All Media (a Start Company) reported that their family comedies and fairy tales "Finist. The first warrior" and "Chebi 2, Off the Rails" were popular at the Shanghai International Film & TV Market.
The company IGMAR also confirmed this interest in family films. In particular, among the company's projects presented on the Chinese market, the films "Everyone's dream is to have a dog", "Gift for a mom", and the drama "The Final Price" were successful.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Russia Television and Radio company noted that representatives from China, Mongolia, India, Iran, and Vietnam were attracted to films with themes related to history and nature like "Moscow Kremlin Treasures", "The Land of People," "Country of Birds", and others. The company also noted that Chinese online platforms are currently actively developing the genre of vertically-frame micro-dramas for viewing on mobile devices.
The Producer Center of the Regional Cinema Support Fund presented a whole range of documentary projects created by filmmakers in different Russian regions and dedicated to the history and culture of the peoples of Russia. Representatives from China and Indonesia were attracted by the project "Women Claim Sea", while buyers from Thailand highly praised the film "The Visionary from Artyushkino". The projects "Hide-and-Seek with White Whales", and "Russia. The Journey in Time" were also in demand among Chinese companies.
ANIMATION TRENDS
SMF Animation studio held meetings with distribution companies from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Two animated serials, "Zigg’s Space Rangers" and "Rockoons", both for which preliminary distribution agreements have been reached, and the animated series "Goal!" attracted the most interest. The company said that Asian content buyers are also interested in animated projects aimed at girls aged 9-12.
YARKO Animation company said that Chinese buyers were most interested in feature-length animated films and series, in particular the projects "Dragonia" and "Tickabo". This is due to the current demand in China for bright, unusual characters, which echoes the global popularity of characters such as those presented in both Labubu and Crybaby toys.
Digital Television Russia noted the high interest of partners from China, Taiwan, and Vietnam in the new feature-length animated film "Champies, The project Seven Kingdoms" has attracted interest from China, as well as Vietnam and Singapore. Ideas for joint production with major foreign producers of animated content were discussed.
Representatives of the Voronezh Animation Studio talked about what attracted foreign partners to their projects. Buyers from China, Vietnam, and Singapore named the memorable, charismatic characters and the tense, dynamic plot as the strengths of the film Arctic Heroes. In the animated series "The Steel Family. Brotherhood vs Gold", they appreciated the high-quality special effects, and in the new animated film "Dr.Paws", foreign partners noted the project's high potential for licensing.
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