02/07/2021 - The second workshop of the programme is currently running in parallel with Focus Asia at the Far East Film Festival

The second stop of Ties That Bind (TTB) is in Udine, Italy, where the participants in the programme, Focus Asia industry guests and Far East Film Festival (FEFF) attendees currently have the chance to gather either physically or online, via the specially designed Focus Asia platform, from 30 June-2 July. All of the events, including the panel sessions and individual meetings between project representatives and decision makers, are happening on the platform, while all of the Focus Asia guests have access to the films selected for the FEFF.

Some of the most noteworthy plenary sessions for TTB, which were prepared in partnership with Focus Asia, include a co-production case study on the TTB project Moneyboys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: CB Yi
film profile], directed by CB Yi, which will premiere imminently in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. It is a production by EAVE graduate Barbara Pichler (KGP Filmproduktion, Austria), in co-production with TTB graduate Guillaume de la Boulaye (Zorba Production, France) and TTB expert Patrick Mao Huang (Flash Forward Entertainment, Taiwan), as well as Panache Productions (Belgium). Its sales are handled by TTB graduate Bérénice Vincent for French outfit Totem Films.

The second case study at this edition was on the Berlinale Encounters-awarded Taste [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Lê Bảo, and it was led by producers Weijie Lai (E&W Films, Singapore) and EAVE graduate Marie Dubas (Deuxième Ligne Films, France), who shared their experiences of the co-production process involving Europe and Asia. Also, Patrick Mao Huang (Flash Forward Entertainment, Taiwan) and Vincent Wang (House on Fire, France) elaborate on the opportunities for co-production funding in Greater China. Meanwhile, Huang shares his expertise on how to deal with equity investors together with TTB group leader Bianca Balbuena (Epicmedia Productions, Philippines).

Furthermore, Asian distributors Vincent Quek (Anticipate Pictures, Singapore), Kana Koido (The Klockworks, Japan), Pamela Lingyan Bai (Beijing Hugoeast Media, China) and Shaoyi Chen (Screenworks Asia, Taiwan), alongside European distributors and TTB graduates Stephan Holl (Rapid Eye Movies, Germany) and Fernanda Renno (Fidalgo Film Distribution, Norway), plus Claire Marty (Terracotta Distribution, UK), offer feedback on the marketing and distribution potential of the TTB participants’ projects. Also, a Focus Asia panel is dedicated to the latest distribution trends in Asia, where the distributors discuss the opportunities in their respective countries.

For the first time, a series of curated meetings with industry professionals is being organised, where they dish out advice on specific project needs and their next steps. The experts include Todd Brown (XYZ Films, USA), Gabor Greiner (Films Boutique, Germany), Quentin Bosschaert (m-appeal, Germany), Claire Lajoumard (Acrobates Films, France), Sergina Stavroulaki (Heretic Outreach, Greece), Pamela Bai (Beijing Hugoeast Media, China), Wonsun Shin (Hanmac Culture Group, South Korea), Frédéric Pittoors d'Haveskercke (Series Mania, France), Lucas Schmidt (Studio Zentral, Germany), Annick Mahnert (Screen Division, Spain), EAVE graduate Mathivanan Rajendran (Stray Factory, India), Deepti DCunha (film programmer, India), Phang Dang Di (DNY Productions, Vietnam), Joyce Tang (TAICCA, Taiwan) and Toshifumi Makita (VIPO, Japan), among others.

In addition to the plenary sessions which are moderated by TTB head of studies Christophe Bruncher, the participants are partaking in individual meetings with key industry players at Focus Asia, in order to foster new collaborations between European and Asian professionals. Finally, the new Asian Gates section of Focus Asia is aimed at European film professionals who wish to deepen their knowledge of the opportunities offered by the Asian market, TTB and EAVE graduate Raymond van der Kaaij (Revolver Amsterdam) targets his session at producers, while Matteo Lovadina (Reel Suspects) dedicates his session to sales agents, in collaboration with European Film Promotion.

Ties That Bind is organised by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Audiovisual Fund, EAVE, the Udine Far East Film Festival and the Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA), and is supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe - MEDIA sub-programme and Aurora Media Holdings. Ties That Bind is held in conjunction with the Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore.