Spurring Asian filmmakers’ creative minds

The HOOQ Filmmakers Guild is a platform for Asian film talents with creative minds, empowering them to bring their stories to screens

The pilot episode of six original screenplays — Bhak, Suay, Haunt Me, How To Be A Good Girl, Aliansi and Heaven and Hell — will be premiered on HOOQ, a subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) platform, this March 22.

The six pilots were selected from more than 500 submissions received by HOOQ from all over South-east Asia, and comprise a mix of genres, from sci-fi comedy to action-thriller and supernatural-horror.

As part of the inaugural HOOQ Filmmakers Guild, the six pilots will stand a chance to be commissioned into a full series on the platform.

Following the pilot premiere, the six screenplays will undergo judging from five filmmakers from Asia, namely Mouly Surya and Nicholas Saputra from Indonesia, Erick Matti from the Philippines, as well as Wasin Pokpong and Puttipong Promasakha Na Sakolnakorn from Thailand. In addition to professional judging, viewership numbers will also be taken into consideration, and will be factored in before the winner is selected.

Launched in June last year, the HOOQ Filmmakers Guild is an annual initiative designed to seek out film talents in Asia. Each of the six screenplays received US$30,000 to produce the pilot episode.

Commenting on the success of the HOOQ Filmmakers Guild, Peter Bithos, CEO of HOOQ, said: “We at HOOQ are proud of the pilots which the HOOQ Filmmakers Guild has produced. These pilots are proof of the quality of filmmakers and unique stories across South-east Asia.

“HOOQ is committed to supporting the talented filmmakers across Asia in 2018 and beyond, as we continue to push boundaries to develop stories from an Asian perspective and keep our subscribers HOOQ’d month after month.”