NEWS & VIEWS
July 2018
7
Creating a mutual force to
present ASEAN to the world
First, can you share with us the
strategies you have developed
for Beach House Pictures (BHP)
in bringing the Association
of South-east Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to the world?
Jocelyn Little: Over the past 12
years, BHP has showcased ASEAN
to the world across many genres of
content. We have approached our
strategy from two angles. The first
has always been to look for stories
that will appeal to international
audiences such as Singapore’s
Wild City or cutting-edge science
and engineering mar vels like
Petronas Towers and Marina Bay
Sands. We have also showcased the
rich cultural and historical travel
destinations around the region in
shows such as the 10-part series
in Indonesia — Wondernesia — as
well as two seasons of the popular
Cesar’s Recruit, which is shot en-
tirely across Asia.
And the second angle is to
employ different business mod-
els to fund the content — these
range from full commissions with
platforms such as Discovery, Na-
tional Geographic and the History
Channel to actually building co-
productions relationships between
regional and international part-
ners. A good example of this was
our Frontier Borneo series, which
we worked on with Kyanite TV from
Malaysia last year. This project was
co-funded by Singapore’s Info-
communications Media Develop-
ment Authority (IMDA), National
Film Development Corporation
Comprising 10 member states,
the Association of South-
east Asian Nations (ASEAN)
may collectively appeal to a wider range of international
audience with its culturally rich history and diversity. APB
prompts Jocelyn Little, managing director of Beach House
Pictures (BHP), to discuss collaborations among ASEAN
member states to further enhance and raise the level of
awareness and opportunities in the ASEAN film industry.
Malaysia (FINAS), Discovery Asia
and UK TV.
In your opinion, what makes
ASEAN attractive and appeal-
ing to global audiences? More
importantly, how does these
elements enhance ASEAN film-
makers’ storytelling capabilities,
and how is BHP incorporating
these elements into its content
production?
Little: ASEAN is one of the most
culturally diverse regions in the
world, but is actually relatively
untapped in terms of international
exposure — there are still so
many intriguing stories to tell.
There are also countless loca-
tions that could be attractive
for international producers as
locations for both factual and
fiction content, if we can make
them competitive in pricing with
a high quality of skilled crew and
production support infra-
Teddies 2, commissioned by
Mediacorp’s Okto and Network Nine
from Australia, is co-produced by the
kids division of Beach House Pictures
and Northern Pictures.
structure. Finally, by working to-
gether, we can discuss and launch
even more varieties of develop-
ment and production investment
models to help these stories and
locations fu lfil their potential.
How is BHP contributing in rais-
ing awareness of this region,
and what opportunities do you
see the ASEAN film industry of-
fering to the wider Asia-Pacific
region?
Little: We are heartened to see
that the 14th Con-
ference of ASEAN
Ministers Re-
sponsible for
Information
(AMRI) has
made it a
priority to
encourage
co-pro-
duction in
the
❝ ASEAN is one of the most culturally
diverse regions in the world, but is
actually relatively untapped in terms
of international exposure — there
are still so many intriguing stories to
tell. ❞
Who Runs the World is a series Beach House Pictures is producing for
the History Channel. The series is being shot across six ASEAN countries:
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
region. Between ASEAN member
states, we need to foster more op-
portunities for producers to work
together, gain experience and
acquire new skills in production.
As a region, we are lucky to
have a diverse set of cultures and
backgrounds. Through the frame-
work for co-production in the
audio-visual sector for ASEAN, we
envisage there will be more shar-
ing of knowledge and expertise
between countries, and we can tell
compelling stories about ASEAN to
the world.
Lastly, what are some of the pro-
jects that Beach House Pictures
is currently working on?
Little: BHP is currently working on
— Jocelyn Little,
Managing Director, Beach House Pictures
a wide range of projects such as
Master Chef Singapore; The Art of
Craft, which is a co-production with
China’s CCTV 9 and supported by
Singapore’s IMDA; a documentary
of Raffles Hotel; and First Man Out
— a survival series that is being
shot around Asia — with Discovery
International.
Our kids team is producing
Teddies Season Two, which is a
co-production with Mediacorp’s
Okto, Northern Pictures and Net-
work Nine from Australia. We are
also currently shooting a series,
Who Runs the World, for History
Channel, which is being shot in
six ASEAN countries: Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Viet
nam and the Philippines.
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