Busan Market mixed at midway mark

(亞洲電影資訊)


 

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By Patrick Frater
Wed, 12 October 2011, 07:20 AM (HKT)

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Market News The first half of Busan's new Asian Film Market was one of mixed fortunes and predictable teething problems.
But after a quiet Monday morning, the momentum seemed stronger in the afternoon and on Tuesday.

A shift from the Market's two previous homes in Haeundae's Grand Hotel and more recently the Seacloud Hotel to the open plan floor-space of the giant BEXCO convention centre in the Centum area was intended to provide buyers, sellers and producers with all-under-one roof-convenience. But a common refrain from film sellers on Monday was the question 'where are the buyers?'
Several said that the visitor numbers did not feel any bigger than last year, though admitted this could be a problem of perception in a vast and different space. "I wouldn't say there are more people in the market than in previous years," said Virginia LEUNG 梁倩莊 from Hong Kong and China's Distribution Workshop 發行工作室.
"We've had meetings one after the other," said an upbeat Lammy LI 李綺薇, from Film Asia Entertainment Group Ltd 華藝娛樂集團有限公司, which had a booth close to the market entrance.
"Busan is trying to be everything that FilMart is," said Audrey LEE 李玉蘭, a buyer with Hong Kong's Edko Films Ltd 安樂影片有限公司. Others also made the comparison with the March market in Hong Kong, and remarked that the similarities even included the high noise levels.
BEXCO's Hall 1 intermingled the stands of Asian Film Market sellers with the hardware, technical services and location attraction booths of BIFCOM on a single floor area. Adjacent, but separated by a low wall, was the semi-open plan area reserved for the one-on-one meetings of the Asian Project market. Next to that was the stage for presentations.
In mid-afternoon Monday, the KOCCA pitching sessions in the stage area attracted several hundred people and at 5pm appeared to be standing room only.
The Asian Film Policy Forum, which only really hit its full stride from Tuesday, is also at BEXCO but accessed through a separate entrance.
"The market is exactly what I'd expect, not better, not worse," said film seller Amy Aphiradee IAMPHUNGPHORN from Thailand's Five Star Entertainment Group ไฟว์สตาร์ โปรดักชั่นส์ after two days.
There were also some indications that the open plan format is allowing for more 'walk-in' encounters. "We had only three or four scheduled meetings today (Tuesday), but I've had back to back meetings from 11am till 6pm," said Michael FAVELLE of Australian sales company Odin's Eye Entertainment. In the Project Market, producer-director Ritesh Menon reported a much stronger second day. "We had many more people taking meetings today," he said.
On the positive side has been the large presence of Japanese distributors, a surprise given that there is another market on home turf in Tokyo starting in less than two weeks. "All the Japanese buyers are here with the exception of just two companies – Nikkatsu [Nikkatsu Corp 日活] and Pony Canyon [Pony Canyon Inc ポニーキャニオン]," said James LIU 劉嘉明, operator of Taiwanese sales company James LIU 劉嘉明.
The market floor also featured collective booths for European sellers, and two clusters organised by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). A business centre and a press room seemed calm, but the neighbouring cafeteria was doing steady business and allowed executives to sit out.
Other teething problems included comments that many festival screenings are completely sold out, which is frustrating for buyers, and that the market's open stands do not have anywhere to lock up valuable materials, such as screeners.
"I still wish there were fewer markets and that Busan and Tokyo would maybe work together more," said Oh Mi-yeon (오미연), CEO of Mano Entertainment 마노엔터테인먼트.
 
Photo caption (l-r): INOUE Toshihiko (Sapporo Hokkaido Contents Strategy Organisation), OH Seok-keun 오석근 (Busan Film Commission 부산웡상위원회), ISEKI Satoru 井関惺 (Tara Contents Inc タラ・コンテンツ) and Briccio G. SANTOS (Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP)) at a prize-giving reception for Iseki.