34 Russian film companies, including seven producers of animation, are presenting projects under the single brand Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) at the South Korean market, Broadcast Worldwide2022 (BCWW).
The Russian Content Worldwide stand at BCWW 2022 is organised by ROSKINO, a Russian film promotion body.
ANIMATION PROJECTS
CTB Film Company focuses on the animated series Moonzy and The Barkers by presenting new episodes and discussing the purchase of rights in Korea, mainland China and other countries. The company has been working with South Korea for many years, releasing both feature films (Salyut-7, The Scythian, Cosmoball,and The Little Humpbacked Horse) and animation projects (Wolves and Sheep and Fantastic Journey to Oz). Local distributors also acquired the rights to the new animation projects My Sweet Monster, The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute, and The Barkers Mind the Cats.
SMF Animation is presenting The Secrets of Honey Hills, The Adventures of Peter and Wolf, and I’ll Get You! Holidays among other projects. The company emphasized that they see great prospects for cooperation with Asian partners, which have managed to build a huge animation empire in a short time and have set new production quality standards for the world. For this reason, content co-production, licensing, and merchandising are of particular interest.
Digital Television Russia presents their new project Heroes, which is scheduled for release in Russia in early September, and animated series from its catalog—Leo & Tig, Fantasy Patrol, Be-be-bears, and Puppies and Kittens. The company started cooperation with Korean partners several years ago and two projects are already being broadcast in Korea—Trees and Leo & Tig.
ROSKINO CEO Inna Shalyto said, “The BCWW 2022 market is an opportunity for us to get to know the preferences of the Asian audience in more detail, and we are pleased to offer this broad range of new projects for a wide variety of participants. Participation in this market is an important step towards new potential interest in the Southern Korean market and the entire Asian region, which is already absorbing content of many different genres. South Korea is a long-term partner for many Russian producers—South Korean TV channels and streaming platforms have repeatedly bought Russian projects and Russian films have been released in cinemas. The BCWW 2022 market will further strengthen cooperation and establish new contacts, including with representatives of other countries participating in the event.”
FILMS AND SERIES
Central Partnership, which has been regularly working with distributors in South Korea over the past six years, is presenting the most diversified catalog in terms of genre and types of content. Among their new productions are the adventure film, Raiders of the Lost Library, about the search for the Library of Ivan the Terrible; the action-packed thriller Who’s There?; the documentary series Oxygen about climbing one of the highest peaks in the world—Broad Peak. Films from the Central Partnership catalog have been released in Korean theaters and on VOD platforms. Animation, action, and historical blockbusters have enjoyed particular success.
START streaming service brings a number of highly-acclaimed dramas across a diversity of genres from sci-fi and romance to mystery, action, adventures and more. The No Man Zone, Life Sucks!, Vampires of The Midland are among the latest top-notch releases. Alyssa and Container’ S2 will be introduced as a sneak peak to the upcoming fall season lineup. START sees international buyers being attracted to both quality productions and intricate plots and ideas, creating a path to more format licensing deals, and the company hopes that this market will follow this trend. South Korea remains as one of the most attractive markets for international distribution. START previously closed its first deal in the region with CJ&ENM for the three seasons of the hit series Gold Diggers (now distributed by Oble).
All Media (a START company) is participating in the BCWW market for the first time. All Media had already closed deals in the region before, and released several films in South Korea, thus the company sees great potential for continuing this cooperation further. Buyers from South Korea are mostly interested in action films, thrillers and family movies, so All Media (a START company) is bringing to the market the historical action Litvyak, thrillers LIVE and Behind Closed Doors, the drama The Riot and the romance Danube.
Art Pictures Distribution presents the full-length sci-fi thriller Reversible Reality, the more.TV original series Chicks, the hit family comedy Ivanovs vs Ivanovs and the 2022 crime action Varyag. Previously, the company sold the rights to distribute the series How I Became Russian to Yoon & Company.
Mars Media Entertainment is counting on interest in the series The Prisoner, the story of the Cossack Alyokha, who, on leaving home, discovers the world, meets a devoted friend, and learns of true love. Representatives of the company believe that adventure films will resonate with viewers of different ages and from different countries. Previously, the series The Golden Horde and The Great were sold in South Korea.
Sovtelexport, the official content distributor of Russia Television and Radio, is presenting new products from its catalog: the drama series Elizaveta, The Stenographer, and The Son; the documentary films Yamal Nature Reserve and The Highest Point. Sovteleexport is already working in South Korea with Sangsaeng Broadcasting Corp., CJ E&M, and Welike TV channel. Licensing requests have been received for the new adventure drama Elizaveta, and the company is confident that market participants will be interested in this project. Documentaries from the Russia Television and Radio catalog are also in demand in the Asian region.
The online multimedia platform KION is betting on social stories such as the series The Kidney, My Mom’s Penguins and Consent. The company also expects that the comedy series Padre Sergius will be of interest to Korean partners due to the eternal good versus evil theme. In addition, KION is presenting documentary projects. Representatives of the online platform said that the company had experience in Korea and a large amount of high-quality content is produced there.
Russian Word Vision (RWV) is presenting the melodrama Velga; the comedy Friend for Sale; and will continue negotiations on the sports drama Eleven Silent Men; the drama Non-Orphanage; the thriller Homeward, the documentary SOLO; and other content.
Odin Media is counting on interest both in the premiere projects Kremlin. The era of tsars and The Deepest Cave on Earth, as well as in works which have not previously been widely represented at Asian film markets: The Great North Way and The Hunt for Beria. The company is interested in developing cooperation with South Korea and with the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Odin Media works on an ongoing basis with such South Korean distributors as Sonamu Pictures and Netopia.
