Singapore Media Festival 2015 to include Digital Matters

SINGAPORE — The second edition of the Singapore Media Festival (SMF) will expand its reach with a new constituent event, Digital Matters, in addition to its line-up of events that include the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Asia TV Forum & Market, ScreenSingapore and Asian Television Awards.

Digital Matters, organised by media and entertainment marketing agency Branded Ltd, has been held in Singapore since 2011 together with Music Matters, but will now be held under the SMF banner beginning this year.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Jasper Donat, chief executive officer of Branded Ltd, said Digital Matters will be giving film and television industry professionals an opportunity to look at the future of entertainment through the lens of the fan. In addition to YouTube stars Alfie Deyes and Marcus Butler, who have a combined reach of almost 10 million subscribers, 250 fans will be invited to the conferences, which will cover different aspects of online entertainment, including gaming, content creation, marketing, funding and branding.

“There are so many events that have big industry guys and stars on stage. When you have these social stars, if you don’t know who they are, it’s very hard to understand the impact that they have and the influence they have. So if you bring their fans in, it’s like producing a show within a show. We want the industry people to watch the fans with the star,” said Donat. “We want our attendees to draw their own conclusions about where the future of entertainment is going.”

The SGIFF will also have a stronger focus on digital content with its new The Future Of Cinema forum series, moderated by Singapore film-maker and SGIFF board member Tan Pin Pin. The series will explore the topic of digital distribution and how independent film-makers now have increased access to new platforms that allow them to premiere their works and reach wider audiences.

The SMF will also see the launch of the South-east Asian Film Financing (SAFF) Project Market under ScreenSingapore 2015, in partnership with the South-east Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA), a non-profit association that seeks to strengthen collaborations between media producers and financiers in the region, and the Ties That Bind (TTB) producing workshop, which is designed to assist ten producers from Asia and Europe with potential European-Asian co-production projects. The SAFF Project Market serves to connect promising producers and their projects with commissioners, investors and co-production partners.

In addition, the Asian Television Awards will also celebrate its 20th anniversary with a two-day event that will be held at Suntec City on Dec 2 and 3. The show will be carried on MediaCorp’s Channel 5, Astro’s Ria, Bangkok TV’s Channel 7 and Channel 7HD, and will also be broadcast live for the first time on Toggle, Media Channel, Bugaboo.tv and Tonton.

The SMF will take place from Nov 26 to Dec 6. More than 17,000, including media professionals and celebrities, as well as members of the public, are expected to attend. HON JING YI