Telefilm Canada’s Western office is encouraging the industry to take a new look at its fully updated Canada-Asia Creative On-line Directory. The directory is a part of the agency’s Asia Pacific Initiative aimed at expanding business opportunities and international distribution for Canadian audiovisual products in the Pacific Rim.

Christine Lim, an investment analyst at Telefilm and director of the Asia-Pacific Initiative, says the directory now includes all the active Asian companies that have done coproductions with Canada.

The directory also points to individual Canadians working in Asia, as well as Asian-Canadians active in the Canadian market. Each company listing includes key personnel, coproduction credits and a company’s ‘culture’ or areas of specialization.

In terms of markets, Lim says the Asia Television Forum (Dec. 3-5) in Singapore, held in conjunction with the Asia Film Market and Conference (Dec. 2-4) and Asia Animation, will again have Telefilm support and a Canada Pavilion. Telefilm was present in ’02 when 10 companies seeking program buyers and coproduction partners attended.

ATF has replaced MIP-Asia as the premier television programming market in Asia. The event moved from Hong Kong to Singapore in 2000.

Approximately 1,000 participants from some 40 countries attend.

Telefilm will also offer support for directors attending the 8th Pusan International Film Festival, Oct 2-10, in Pusan, South Korea.

The event has historically programmed Asian features, documentaries, shorts and animated films, but Lim says, ‘This year we hope to be doing a retrospective of [about a dozen] Canadian films. Pusan has always concentrated on Asian fare, but [festival organizers] want to make the programming more international.’

In other Asian coproduction news, Lim says the South Korean audiovisual authorities have requested a reduction in minimum participation in coproduction financing, from 30% to 20%, and an expansion of the treaty to include feature films.

‘Since the treaty has been signed [with Singapore] there’s been a great push for documentaries,’ adds Lim.

Last year, Canada and China coproduced seven programs (mostly animation series including Braceface and Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings) representing cumulative budgets of $38.7 million. There were also ’02 coproductions with partners in Japan and Hong Kong.

Canada and Japan have signed nine coproduction deals over the years, but only one in ’02.

The Canada-Asia Creative On-line Directory was developed in collaboration with Po-Ping Auyeung, a producer and a casting agent with extensive contacts in Canada and the Asia Pacific region. Earl Hong Tai is Telefilm’s director for the Western Region.

-www.telefilm.gc.ca

-www.piff.org

-www.asiatvforum.com