ASEAN filmmakers keen for co-productions in reaching more markets

Abang Adik was released last December and it topped the box office not only in Malaysia but also in the Taiwan region and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

"I think in Asia, everybody's talking about bigger markets, bigger production values (that can be achieved by) working together," Sirisak said.

This is why he welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and how it can help in tapping the "very big" Chinese film market for Thai filmmakers. He said that he is proud that some Thai TV dramas are now hits in China.

He said that the BRI will encourage more co-production. "I think (filmmakers) from Asian countries would love to do something together," Sirisak added.

Dayrit from the Philippines said the Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance has helped in connecting Asian film industry players. She said that members of the alliance join the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) and other major film festivals where they have the opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and close business deals with their colleagues. The Belt and Road Film Festival Alliance was established in 2018, initiated by the SIFF Organizing Committee. The alliance aims to strengthen film-cultural exchanges among BRI member countries.

ASEAN filmmakers also talked about the benefits and challenges that are presented by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).

For Dayrit who has worked extensively on restoring classic Filipino movies, tools like AI are a boon as they can accelerate the technical process of film restoration like "cleaning" a film or rendering visual effects.

"The advancements in AI has made (film restoration) more efficient (and) cheaper," she said. It will also reduce the time spent on technical work while allowing those in the movie industry to focus more on creative work, she added.