SINGAPORE :HOOQ – the largest Video on Demand service in Southeast Asia and India, announced today 10 titles have been selected for pilot development from its second installment of HOOQ Filmmakers Guild, to compete for the top 5 spots and produce their scripts into a full pilot episode.
The inaugural HOOQ Filmmakers Guild pilots have gone on to win various awards including the Grand Prize for Best Television Pilot at the 22nd Annual Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF), Best Comedy Programme for Indonesia and Best Actress in a Leading Role for Singapore at the inaugural Asian Academy Creative Awards.
Following the success of last year’s run to seek out budding film talents in Asia with great ideas who are in need of a platform to turn their unique stories into reality, a campaign was launched for filmmakers to submit scripts and treatments for television series and the selected ideas will each receive up to USD 30,000 to develop and produce a pilot episode that will debut on HOOQ. The best out of these pilot episodes, decided by HOOQ subscribers and a star-studded judging panel consisting of the top film talents around Asia, will be commissioned into a full series produced and aired on HOOQ.
Jennifer Batty, Chief Content Officer of HOOQ, commented, “We are so excited to present 10 outstanding scripts that have been commissioned for pilot development! As a big supporter of the local film industry, HOOQ Filmmakers Guild was set up with the aim of developing the next generation of Asian film talents by providing them with the opportunity to showcase their craft through mentorship and guidance from the Guild’s renowned panel of judges. We are extremely impressed with the quality of ideas from the submission and we are sure that audiences will get HOOQ’d on the final 5 pilots produced. Stay tuned for the completed pilots that will be live on the platform early next year!”
10 finalists emerged from this year’s submissions received by HOOQ over a 2-month period from all over Southeast Asia. The 2018 selections are Shunya (India), Klenix (Indonesia), The Headscarf (Indonesia), The Loser Minister (Indonesia), Babi! (Malaysia), Per Kilo (Philippines), Queen of Crowns (Singapore), She’s a Terrorist and I Love Her (Singapore), Lucky Girl (Thailand) and Split Second (Thailand).
Thai judge Banjong Pisanthanakun, renowned for the commercially successful box office topper Shutter, commented, “The diversity and quality of submissions we had received far exceeded my expectations. With a wide range of genres and styles, from period drama, horror, comedy to science fiction, we have witnessed the immense talent of Asia’s very best through this competition!”
“This is my second year on the judging panel and I continue to be blown away by the high standard of submissions and I am heartened to know there are many diamonds in the rough in this booming industry! Congratulations to all filmmakers who have been selected!” said Indonesian judge Mouly Surya, director of critically acclaimed and award-winning film Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts.
Filipino judge Agot Isidro, award-winning actress adds, “The submissions were not only great but they were original and had distinctive Asian cultural flavours and elements. The creativity of this year’s submissions were very impressive and I look forward to seeing the pilots!”
Judging was based on the relevance and potential appeal to Asian audiences, demonstrable creativity in storytelling and most of all, a well told Asian story with an original point of view.
Fellow Filipino judge Manet Dayrit, an award-winning veteran in the Filipino film industry, was impressed by the entries, “We have selected 10 of the best entries that best represents the spirit of Asian storytelling and we cannot wait for audiences to see the end product in the form of a pilot.”
AND THEN THERE WERE 10
The 10 entries that have been earmarked for pilot development span a range of genres.
Shunya (Zero) (India)
India’s selected entry by Sidhant Chowdhry & Prashansa Sharma from Daku Productions is a comedy that ventures into India – the land of spiritual demi-gods, where two frustrated cynics start a fraud ashram that accidentally ends up providing life changing experiences.
Klenix (Indonesia)
Indonesia’s selection from Elvin Kustaman of Yoodeo is a supernatural drama about an IT genius who accidentally invents an app which allows users to see ghosts. He decides to turn it into a business but under-estimates the supernatural and societal opposition to his innovation.
The Headscarf (Indonesia)
This Indonesia coming-of-age dramedy by Taqarrabie, Khalid Kashogi, Agasyah Karim and Pasha Yudadibrata; decidedly irreligious Emma receives an ultimatum from her born-again Muslim father: don a headscarf or be disowned. As a compromise, Emma agrees to attend Islamic Sunday School for 3 months. Emma must now try to figure out how to navigate her way through life juggling her newfound Hijabi friends from Sunday School and her more hedonistic friends, her growing understanding of religion with her materialistic passions in life.
The Loser Minister (Indonesia)
The third Indonesian selection is a comedy series by Nadia Vetta. When the Indonesian Minister of Communications blocks her favourite blogging platform, a controversial social media celebrity unleashes a video rant that goes massively viral. What she doesn’t expect is to then be appointed by the Indonesian president as the new Minister of Communications.
Babi! (Malaysia)
Malaysia’s entry by Roger Liew, June Wong, Shaiful Yahya of Ava Visuals is a political drama-comedy about a scandal-ridden politician who is thrown out of office in a landmark election and finds himself facing corruption charges and unable to flee to exile. He decides to quit politics and seek redemption with his family and the public …by starting a food truck selling salted egg nasi lemak.
Per Kilo (Philippines)
Created by the team of Dustin Edward Celestino, Remton Siega Zuasola and Abigail Lazaro from Make Waves Pictures. This tropical noir is about an unlikely duo of a wrongly convicted butcher and an aspiring action star who rescue a child from an international paedophile ring only to find themselves in the crosshairs of the local kingpin.
Queen of Crowns (Singapore)
This Singaporean entry by Ric Aw and Ong Yuqi from The Creative Room is a dramatic comedy about a Filipino domestic helper obsessed with becoming a beauty queen. Hilarity ensues as she struggles to hide her personal ambitions from her meddlesome, career-obsessed employer, Florence Tan.
She’s a Terrorist and I Love Her (Singapore)
The second Singaporean entry is by Luff Media is a comedy about a down-and-out man in need of cash and finds himself sham-married to a terrorist hell-bent on blowing herself up in a terror attack on Singapore. With true love as his only weapon, it’s a battle to win the “heart and mind” of his wife to save Singapore.
Lucky Girl (Thailand)
Thailand’s first selection is a crime drama by Issaraporn Kuntisuk and Chuenjai Studio, a dark tale about a young woman who discovers that death brings her luck and she has the power to change fate and destiny, as long as she is prepared to kill for it.
Split Second (Thailand)
The second Thai entry is an action comedy by Dorsakun Srichoo follows the adventures of an amnesiac Likay (Thai folk music) troupe clown who finds himself an unlikely hero when he saves a damsel in distress from an assassin during a performance. As more assassins show up, he must embrace his heroic alter ego to save both the damsel in distress he has fallen in love with and the townsfolk.
The final pilots will be available on HOOQ in the first quarter of next year and the best pilot will then be commissioned into a full series.