Asia Side of the Doc: Five Big Takeaways from Tokyo

Last week’s Asia Side of the Doc was a memorable event.

• Senior-level decision-makers attended.
• There were lots of involved delegates from across the region.
• The backdrop was a huge city that is still reeling from last year’s catastrophes.

Here are my “Big Five” Takeaways:

1.Tohoku Pitch

• The “Tohoku Pitch” was a day of doc pitches by producers from the region that was hit hardest by the tsunami.
• Story after story addressed devastating loss and the will to recover.
• I recalled over and over again the suffering of our Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood after 9/11 – struck that Japan’s catastrophe was of a much larger scale.
• We were all pleased to see that several of pitches appealed to France Televisions, Germany’s Autentic and others.

2. Japan’s Insularity

• We heard that the 1-2-3 hit of earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima has challenged Japan’s decades-long inward trend.
• Networks, stations and producers all said that they are eager to find new ways of telling stories.
• They are open to new production models and new partners.

3. NHK / France Televisions

• Two distant public broadcasters have committed themselves to a long-term copro relationship.
• The Case Studies that they presented were fascinating. Congrats!!

4. Asia is Thriving!

• The 2011 boom in the Asian TV market continues.
• Western players like Discovery, Nat Geo, A+E and the BBC are expanding their footprints.
• Some are replacing their pan-regional feeds with local channels that target newly viable markets.
  • Taiwan is a good example.
  • This creates opportunities for local Taiwanese producers
  • But budgets are very slim!
  • At the same time, regional and local players are looking across their borders while attempting to fill any vacant niches for channels.
• I was forcefully reminded that ‘Asia’ is a vast region that is deeply divided by language, culture, economic development, regulation, creative tastes and much, much more.
  • The channels that are succeeding – like Discovery and Nat Geo – are pursuing a ‘guerrilla’ model that is dedicated to racking up small victories in distribution and programming.  (Admission: I worked on the pre-launch business plan for Discovery Asia.)
  • The frontal assault of the North American multichannel model doesn’t work!

5. China: “Watch out for the hype!”

• 2011 was touted as the ‘The Year of the Documentary’
  • But China is still an emerging television market.
  • There is a thin but expanding cadre of experienced and talented doc producers.
  • They are centered on CCTV and the doc channels offered by regional governments.
• The Online channel universe feels like a chaotic free-for-all.
• A Westerner who is committed to factual co-production in China said, “We’re patiently waiting for the right project.  And we turn down a lot of the wrong ones. We’re prepared for a long wait.”

Memorable!

• Congrats to Keiko Bang and Yves Jeanneau who are the organizers of ASD, their teams, hosts and sponsors.
• It was a very special honor to participate in the “Year of the Tohoku Pitch.”
• Photos: Mike Lee, Bang Productions Seoul.