How One Festival Changed Asian Cinema

Who Owns Attention Now? Vivek Couto on Asia's New Power Map

Hi-anxiety over advertising. Search for a saviour in microdrama. YouTube valued at $600 billion. Netflix worth more than Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros and Sony combined. And a winter freeze settled into Korea. MPA executive director Vivek Couto joins Patrick Frater and Janine Stein three weeks before APOS Bali to map where gravity has shifted — and what broadcasters, streamers and content makers need to do about it.

How One Festival Changed Asian Cinema

What does it take to run an Asian film festival in Europe dedicated to mainstream popular movies, not arthouse cinema? In this episode of Two The Point, hosts Patrick Frater and Janine Stein sit down with Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, the powers behind the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, to explore the festival's 28-year journey from a risky Hong Kong cinema initiative to one of Europe's most important platforms for Asian talent.Sabrina and Thomas reveal how they convinced Hong Kong filmmakers that Italian audiences genuinely wanted martial arts and action films – not just critically acclaimed arthouse selections. They walk through the pivotal moment when the festival moved from a 216-seat art cinema to Udine's grand opera house, and how that shift attracted major Asian directors and stars including Jackie Chan, Joe Hisaishi, Johnny To, and Takeshi Kitano.The conversation turns to the current state of Asian cinema: Why is Japan thriving (with five films in Cannes 2026's official selection), while Korea faces crisis? Why is Chinese cinema unpredictable but commercially dominant? And what does this landscape mean for global distribution?CHAPTERS:0:00 – Intro & Guest Welcome1:12 – How It All Started: From Italian Cinema to Hong Kong3:40 – The Breakthrough: Convincing Filmmakers European Audiences Cared5:55 – The 216-Seat Theatre Story: First Hong Kong Festival Edition6:24 – Moving to the Opera House (1999)8:18 – Festival Evolution: From Intimate to Industry Giant8:50 – Focus Asia Industry Program28:20 – Amazing Guests: Jackie Chan, Johnny To, Joe Hisaishi, Takeshi Kitano30:27 – The Current State of Asian Cinema31:02 – Japan's Strength at Cannes32:01 – The China Question: Why Western Audiences Struggle32:55 – Korea's Crisis & Box Office Dynamics34:04 – Closing Thoughts

Microdrama: How to Tame a Multi-Billion Dollar Business | Anne Chan, AR Productions

Changing Models, Day-One Revenue and Why the Michelin Approach Will Fail. Microdrama first-mover Anne Chan talks about who's really making money, what actually works, what doesn't, and what life looks like in a business that looks a lot more glamorous on an investment chart than it sometimes does from the inside. Two The Point is a weekly briefing on Asia's entertainment business. Hosted by Janine Stein and Patrick Frater Guest: Anne Chan, CEO, AR Productions Produced by ContentAsia and F Media

Nezha 2: The Truths Behind a US$2.25B Success

What really happened behind the scenes of "Nezha 2" – Asia's highest-grossing film of all time? In this episode, Patrick Frater and Janine Stein sit down with Christopher Chen, Executive Producer / Senior VFX Supervisor at Taipei-based Reno Studios, for a remarkably candid conversation about the making of the $2.25 billion blockbuster, the future of Asian cinema, and where AI fits into all of it.Christopher pulls no punches: six to eight months of animation discarded, cultural clashes, a production that stretched and stretched again, and a delivery that felt like a miracle to everyone involved.But the conversation goes much further — from Taiwan's rising role as a production hub, to why Korean drama budgets have become a "Frankenstein" problem, to the nationalist wave reshaping box offices from Indonesia to Vietnam. Christopher also shares his own remarkable backstory: born in Taiwan, raised in Brazil as part of a diplomatic family, trained in Canada and London, and mentored by legendary producer Gary Kurtz.And as for AI and virtual production? He cuts through the hype with a clear-eyed take on what machines can — and cannot — replace.Topics covered: * The making (and near-unmaking) of "Nezha 2" * Why 30-40% of the film's VFX was done outside China * Cultural identity vs. commercial filmmaking in Asia * Taiwan's TAICCA agency and its role / impact * Netflix's pivot toward new Asian markets * Virtual production and generative AI: replacement or enhancement? * Upcoming projects: "Ghost Month", "Absolution" and Netflix's "Agent from Above" Subscribe for weekly conversations on the Asian screen industry Hosts: Patrick Frater @ Janine Stein Guest: Christopher Chen | Reno Studios, TaipeiProduced by ‪@ContentAsia‬ [https://www.youtube.com/@ContentAsia] & F Media

FILMART 2026 Post-Mortem: Microdrama, AI, BL & more

Join Janine Stein and Patrick Frater for a candid "nine out of ten" post-mortem on Filmart, recorded live from the Hong Kong Convention Center. This episode dives into the biggest trends, headline series, notable quips and quotes, and industry insights that shaped this year’s event. Video Chapters00:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0] Introduction: Filmart Post-Mortem01:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0&t=90s] Our Premium Drama Picks04:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0&t=240s] Microdrama’s Inflection Point06:30 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0&t=390s] AI in Production08:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0&t=525s] Peter Chan's Reflections on life, co-production and the way forward11:00 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0&t=660s] Financing and Subsidies12:45 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0&t=765s] iCable’s free-TV Revival14:15 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwIs5bkWz0&t=855s] Netflix’s Murdoch DocumentaryWhat's Inside:Premium Drama Spotlight: The markets top two shows – PCCW Media’s premium English-language drama The Season, and Cantonese series The Night Manager Hong Kong. What we heard…The Microdrama Inflection Point: Microdramas have become something of a "savior" for some in the industry. We analyze some of the conversations and the challenges outlined across Filmart. AI in Production: Lots of human involvement in AI, which is being integrated into everyone’s workflow. The key conversation is no longer if to use AI, but "how to prompt".Peter Chan's Honest Reflections: Legendary director Peter Chan’s insights, including his candid views on co-production (or not), and an admission: "I'm scratching my head on where to go from here".Financing and Subsidies: Despite a shrinking streaming commissioning market, government money is clearly playing a huge roleiCable’s free-TV Revival: Ivy Wong and Cora Yim are leading iCable’s free-TV revival. Netflix’s Murdoch Documentary: Old STAR / FOX hands on what they think of Netflix’s new series… and some of it is not pretty. Hosts: Janine Stein, Patrick FraterPodcast: Two The Point with Patrick Frater and Janine Stein – a co-production by ContentAsia and F Media#Filmart [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/filmart] #HongKongFilmart [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/hongkongfilmart] #Microdrama [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/microdrama] #AsianContent [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/asiancontent] #AITools [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/aitools] #PeterChan [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/peterchan] #TheSeason [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/theseason] #TheNightManagerHK [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/thenightmanagerhk] #PCCW [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/pccw] #iCable [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/icable] #AsianDrama [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/asiandrama] #ContentAsia [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/contentasia] #FilmMarket [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/filmmarket] #VerticalVideo [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/verticalvideo]