CANNES, France: Singapore-produced documentaries with strong Asian flavour are in high demand by international broadcasters.

This week at MIPTV in Cannes, the world's largest marketplace for TV content, co-production deals worth over US$10 million were negotiated between local companies and international broadcasters.

As Asia's economies expand, Asian media content is increasingly in demand by Western audiences.

And one documentary to look out for is a US$1.5 million production on dinosaurs between established US broadcaster WGBH, Bang Productions Singapore and MediaCorp's Caldecott Productions International.

Tom Koch, Director, WGBH International, said: "I think that the issue of working in Singapore is that it's a kind of crossroads... having someone located in a place where there is easy access to the rest of Asia makes a great deal of sense for us.

"We are certainly aware of the thriving and growing documentary and television markets, and production capacities within Singapore. It's a great opportunity to introduce Asian content to North America."

The joint project, called "Lost World of Chinese Dinosaurs", brings viewers to China's Liaoning province to explore the discovery of a pigeon-sized winged dinosaur fossil.

It is expected to be watched in at least 50 countries, with parts of it also available on the internet for podcast.

WGBH will distribute the documentary in North America and Caldecott Productions International will, in turn, distribute it in Asia.

The documentary is scheduled to be completed in December this year.

Ong Hee Yah, Managing Director, Caldecott Productions International, said: "This project is very significant for us because it is the first time that a story on dinosaurs is being done in China.

"And for the regional viewers, they will find it very intriguing because who would have thought you would find dinosaurs in Liaoning of all places. So in a way we are very happy about it because we have found our own 'Jurassic China'."

In the last five years, Singapore companies have produced over 160 hours of documentaries for Discovery Channel and National Geographic.

The production cost of each hour of programme was about US$120,000.

Also in the pipeline is another 15 hours of documentary content over the next three years for National Geographic.

And production will be done through an apprentice programme, where local talents are matched with their foreign counterparts.

Tony Chow, President, Association of the Independent Television Production Companies, said: "Local companies will have a chance to work with really good documentary filmmakers, build their skills up, and by the third year, they will have their own capabilities. They can pitch to other broadcasters beyond Discovery and National Geographic."

This project will be co-funded by National Geographic, the Media Development Authority of Singapore, and Off the Fence, an international television content distribution company.

The production cost is expected to be US$300,000 an hour.

At MIPTV, VOOM HD Networks, Singapore's Mega Media and the Media Development Authority of Singapore also announced two new documentary projects.

Both projects zoom in on the adrenaline-charged BMX sport, which will be presented to audiences in high definition.

Another advantage that Singapore companies have on the global stage is the fact that they are increasingly producing high definition content.

High definition production is hardly done in Asia with the exception of Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.

But those three industries rarely produce documentaries in English, leaving Singapore to fill that demand for high definition documentaries.



- CNA/so