Mumbai: South Asian Film Market (SAFM) in Singapore is taking placefrom 31st August to 1st September in Singapore and will be attended by important filmmakers and industry stalwarts. It is a unique initiative which offers a platform for selected filmmakers to raise funding for their projects from certain high net worth individuals (HNIs). It is the only such platform for South Asian films outside South Asia and had witnessed great success in its inaugural year in 2018. 4 films were funded of which 2 of them are ready for the release and the other 2 is are in their pre-production stages.
Films in the West are produced by hedge funds and high net worth individuals who plough moneyin them purely as an alternative form of investment.SAFM is the only unique platform to offer this opportunity in South Asia. Singapore is often referred to as the financial capital of the region is the most appropriate place to host this as the city often acts as a bridge between South Asia and South East Asia. This year, 15 filmmakers will fly down to Singapore and pitch their project to a set of jury panel members which includes Abhay Deol (Actor/Producer), Kilian Kerwin (Ivanhoe Pictures), Saugata Mukherjee (Hotstar), Saurabh Gupta (M! Capital Ventures) and Shariq Patel (Zee Essel).
Commenting on SAFM, Abhay Deol, Actor / Producer, mentioned “I am very excited to be a part of the Jury at South Asian Film Market 2019 in Singapore. It is a unique format that brings filmmakers and high net worth individuals to a common platform. Investing into films as an alternative investment class is very common in the west and SAFM is bringing that to the content boom in South Asia. One of my films was also at SAFM last year which then got funded and is now up for release soon".
“We aim to bridge the gap between creativity and finance and introduce fresh capital to films. South Asia is witnessing a boom currently in this space and it is the best time for investors to explore such investment”, said Abhayanand Singh, Chairman, SAFM.
SAFM is also introducing a new section this year wherein publication houses will pitch for the adaptation of their books as films or web series.
