Russian thrillers, historical series, and animation to be shown in Asia
Russian film companies summed up the results of their participation in the
international film market Telefilm Vietnam, which was held in June in Ho Chi Minh
City. The Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) booth was organized by ROSKINO, the
Russian film promotion body; in total, more than 80 projects from 18 companies were
presented. Representatives of Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore,
Malaysia, India and other countries were interested in Russian cinema. Russian
companies held almost 230 meetings with foreign content buyers. The most popular
genres were animation, action, historical series, thrillers, military dramas, as well as
documentaries dedicated to popular science, history, travel and nature. There is a
growing interest among Asian partners in co-production in the field of animation.
Among the Russian projects that the Asian audience will soon see are the animated series I'll
Get You! Holidays and Rockoons, the thrillers The Vacant Life of a Chef, Ya idu iskat
and When She Comes, the historical series Ekaterina, the documentary series Space Flight,
Incredible Science and Mysteries of History, the action-movies The Silver Spoon and The
Silver Spoon goes South and others. Negotiations are ongoing on many projects. KEY HIGHLIGHTS
FILMS AND SERIES
Stella Release company is now discussing the theatrical release in Vietnam and Hong Kong
of a number of thrillers: The Vacant Life of a Chef, Ya Idu Iskat, and When She Comes.
The Chinese buyers were interested in the new melodrama Longer than a Day, about the
love story of a Kazakh girl and a French travel photographer; the ballet drama The Four
Seasons; and the military drama Convoy 48
Among the projects from Russia Television and Radio being considered for distribution to
the Asian market is the historical series Ekaterina that has a record success in the
international market (104 countries). Starting from the first season (2014), the saga of
Catherine the Great has been in distribution for almost 10 years. The first two seasons have already been shown on Vietnamese TV, and the third season is being prepared for release.
The documentary Space Flight will also soon appear on Vietnamese TV.
Odin Media said that films and series devoted to popular science and history (Mysteries of
History, Incredible Science, etc.), as well as travel and wildlife (The Great North Way,
Depth Hunters) were popular. In terms of fiction content, costumed historical dramas
(Margarita Nazarova, The Queen of Tigers; The Tolstoy Defense), and the detective films
and action series (French Spy, Psychic) attracted the attention of buyers. As a result of the
market, the Vietnamese distributors have selected more than 150 hours of documentary and
game content, and a package of lifestyle programs is being discussed with the Vietnamese
broadcaster. The company is also expecting an offer from the Hong Kong distributor for
drama and detective series.START online cinema launched five original series at the Telefilm Vietnam market.
Representatives of Vietnam and Hong Kong singled out the projects Sisters and Eva in
Labor for their extraordinary plot and visuals; the mystical series Passengers aroused
interest from buyers from Singapore. START is continuing negotiations on new deals and in
the near future, online cinema projects may find audiences in Asia.
Representatives of NTV Broadcasting Company said that Vietnamese companies have
shown great interest in drama, action, and historical series. There is a serious interest in non-
scripted TV shows, documentaries, and series—the detective story The Killer, the
melodrama Dr.Driver and the historical detective story Noble Detective, which takes place
in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century.
Sreda production company noted that the greatest interest arose in the series Patient Zero;
the headliner of the company—the series The Silver Spoon, and Trotsky; the films The
Silver Spoon and The Silver Spoon goes South and the festival film Tell Her. The large
Chinese media holding Qirun International Group is also interested in buying the films The
Silver Spoon and The Silver Spoon goes South. Sreda is now also negotiating with Harbor
Rights to present the company's projects in Asia, and with Visionfly in Vietnam and India.
The distributor Visionary International Media is interested in introducing Sreda's catalog to
Taiwan.Art Pictures Distribution presented a thriller The Rage for the first time in the Asian
market, and negotiations are underway on this project with a number of territories. The
company expects that the new dynamic thriller, which keeps the viewer in suspense until the
very end, will be of interest to the Asian audience. Previously, the company sold a number of
films in the sci-fi genre (Attraction, Invasion, Sputnik, and others) to the Vietnamese market.
For Planeta Inform Group, the Telefilm Vietnam market was also busy. Buyers from
Vietnam were interested in the new thriller Centaur and the full-length family cartoon
Wings 2 The real-life thriller Lost in the North, the drama The Elephant, and the thriller
The Hunter were in demand among Chinese distributors.
For Pimanov&Partners, participation in the Telefilm Vietnam market was their first
experience in the region. The buyers were especially interested in the full-length sports drama
Eleven Silent Men, the TV series Zhukov, and the documentary project Unknown
Kremlin. Stories, Legends, Facts. Representatives of the company held meetings with
potential partners from China, India, South Korea, Hong Kong. Negotiations are ongoing
with the aim of finalizing agreements.
Russkoe Film Company presented five projects at Telefilm Vietnam, of which the
headliners were the modern romantic comedies The Cruel World of Men and The Right
Guy to Marry. However, the TV series Torgsin. Trade House, a retro-crime detective story
about the NEP era in the USSR, and the military drama about the Great Patriotic War Heavy
Armor aroused the greatest interest.
ANIMATION
Animation companies presented 25 projects at the Telefilm Vietnam market. The market for
SMF Animation was productive. The company entered into a deal with Vietnam Satellite
Digital Television Company (VSTV) for the animated series I’ll Get You! Holidays and
Rockoons. In August and September of this year, the projects will appear on the satellite
children’s TV channel K + KIDS, and in the K + app for online viewing. As representatives
of SMF noted, the animated series I’ll Get You! Holidays aroused the greatest interest
among buyers, since the Soviet project I’ll Get You! was very popular in Vietnam in the
1980s-1990s. FPT Play, the largest OTT platform in Vietnam, with which cooperation is
already underway, was interested in the new seasons of the series The Secrets of Honey
Hills, The Adventures of Peter and Wolf and other projects.
Voronezh Animation studio said that representatives of companies from Southeast Asia are
interested in co-production with Russia in creating animation. The studio presented the fifth
part of the Snow Queen franchise The Snow Queen & The Princess; an animated series for
teenagers The Steel Family: Brotherhood vs Gold; and a new full-length project under
development, Arctic Heroes. As part of cooperation with CJ E&M Corporation, an
agreement was signed for the theatrical release of The Snow Queen & The Princess in
Vietnam—release dates to be confirmed.
RIKI Group presented serial projects to international buyers - The Fixies, Tina and Tony,
Beardy Bodo, as well as the Finnick franchise. At meetings with partners from Vietnam,
South Korea, Taiwan, India and China, the possibilities of content distribution to the
countries of the APAC region, co-production, as well as the possibility of co-investment were