Asian buyers showed interest on Russian docs and animation at Telefilm Vietnam

International content buyers from Vietnam, India, Thailand, China, Malaysia and other Asian countries showed active interest in Russian animation and documentaries in the last Telefilm Vietnam exhibition.

Roskino CEO Inna Shalytosaid, “Participation in Telefilm Vietnam allowed us to take a closer look at the film and TV industry in Vietnam and establish contacts with buyers from other Asian countries which traditionally visit this exhibition (India, China, Thailand and others). Russian animation has always been especially loved in Asian countries—which has been obvious once again. It is clear that this segment has great potential. In 2021, 120 hours of animated content were produced in Russia, including 200 series and 70 feature films, and we can offer projects for different ages, including educational content. We have also seen significant interest in documentaries on a variety of topics—history, science, and ecology—and in series that are ready as finished products or as a format. We will continue to study the Asian market and offer Russian projects in the region—in 2022 we are considering a number of Asian content markets for participation.”

ANIMATION
Russian animation producers presented over 30 projects, in which Asian content buyers showed great interest. The animated film "My Sweet Monster" by CTB Film Company was sold to Yeijilim (Vietnam), and negotiations are also underway with the OTT platform FPT (Vietnam) to acquire the rights to the animated series "Moonzy".

SMF Studio held negotiations with Vietnamese pay TV channels and OTT platforms, which were especially interested in projects for preschool audiences ("Monsikids", "The Secrets of Honey Hills", and "Mr. Theo, Cat and Dog"). A number of package deals with local players for new SMF Animation series are being finalized.

Wizart Animation held about 30 meetings with potential buyers and co-production partners from Vietnam, Thailand, India and South Korea. Companies from the region showed great interest in Wizart Animation's projects and in cooperation in the segment of visual effects. TV channels and local VOD platforms also expressed interest in Wizart’s content. After the successful debut of "The Snow Queen: Mirror lands" at the largest cinema chain in Vietnam, negotiations with partners continued on new projects.

For Riki Group, which presented the projects "Finnick", "The Fixies", "Baby Riki", "Beardy Bodo" and "Tina and Tony", the main goal of participation in Telefilm Vietnam was to study audience needs and establish contacts. In the spring of this year, the animated series "Kiko Riki", "Baby Riki", and "Pin Code" began to be broadcast on FPT Play, which is part of the largest telecommunications company—FPT Group.

Parovoz Animation Studio noted that Telefilm Vietnam made it possible to meet possible partners for various forms of cooperation in the region, including co-production. The company has established contacts with various platforms and production studios (iQiyi, Tencent, Youku, WarnerMedia, Turner Asia region, and others).

FILMS AND SERIES
Sovtelexport, the official content distributor of the Russia Television and Radio, presented their new adventure drama "Elizaveta", the series "The Stenographer", the feature film "Elsa's Land", the documentaries "The Highest Point" and "Yamal Nature Reserve". Content licensing negotiations are currently underway with distributors from Vietnam and India.

START streaming service presented some of its most successful and top watched projects, a detective investigation drama "The Vampires of Midland", season 2 currently in production; a mystery thriller "Passengers. The Last Love on Earth"; a final season of a highly acclaimed drama comedy "Ms Sweet"; and a sci-fi drama "The No Man Zone" — START best launch of 2022 which was highlighted by the local players as this series stood out the most by its engaging story and setting. Also, the streamer is now in negotiations for the format deals to its scripted drama hits "Passengers" and "Ms Sweet" in various regions.

Art Pictures Distribution closed the deal regarding the sale of the sci-fi film "Reversible Reality" to India and UAE. The company also held meetings with companies from Vietnam, India, and Thailand—TV channels, VOD platforms, and Youtube channels—regarding the possible sale of the thrillers "Sergeant and Varyag", the comedy series "Ivanovs vs Ivanovs" and "Brothers", and the dramas "The Dolls" and "Happy End". Asian buyers were mostly interested in comedy series, action films, and the premiere projects of Art Pictures Distribution.

Odin Media noted that the most popular among buyers from China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand were the documentary film "The Great North Way" and the series "Combat Approved". Negotiations are continuing on the sale to India and Malaysia of the international documentary project "Invisible Hope", dedicated to environmental issues. Discussions are underway to sell "The Deepest Cave on Earth", a documentary about the discovery of the world's deepest cave, to Japan and Thailand.

TV Channel Five presented its action-packed detectives "A Suspended Cop", "The Fabulous Five", "Detective Owl", "Die Hards" and "48 hours". Negotiations began on the sale of the "Die Hards" series to India, and buyers from China and South Korea were interested in "Suspended Cop" and "The Fabulous Five".