FINAS partners Spacetoon International to produce documentaries and bring Malaysian content to the world

FINAS PARTNERS SPACETOON INTERNATIONAL IN TIE-UP TO DEVELOP DOCUMENTARIES

Co-production deal will help internationalise Malaysian content and facilitate transfer of technical knowledge needed in ensuring development and production of quality content by Malaysian producers

 

FLARE STUDIOS WITH THE SUPPORT OF FINAS WILL JOINLY PRODUCE A LIVE ACTION SUPERHERO MOVIE WITH SPACETOON RUSSIA

Tomok to star alongside Russian actress and celebrity in what is dubbed to be Malaysia’s first international sci-fi action-packed superhero movie

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 June (Thursday) – In a further effort to put Malaysian content on the global map, FINAS striked a deal with Spacetoon International, one of the largest youth and children’s content networks and broadcasters in the world.

The Memorandum of Understanding is for the co-funding of five 30-minute documentaries within 2009. Both parties will each invest USD25,000 for every documentary project. The total investments for all five documentary projects will be USD250,000.

 In addition, Spacetoon will leverage on its international network of distributors to market the content globally.

Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim said the partnership provided a significant breakthrough into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market.

 He said Spacetoon was also present throughout the world and had the knowledge on how to produce content that meets international standards.

“FINAS will have instant access into a few countries and additionally, the documentaries will have the right flavour to capture the interests of global audience,” he added.

The minister added that it would be a good learning experience for the Malaysian producers and he hoped that there would be a transfer of knowledge that would catalyse more quality productions locally.

He said the documentary on Malaysian “identities” would help to promote and sell the country in the most subtle way.

On another note, Malaysian animation studio, Flare Studios Sdn Bhd signed a joint-production deal with Spacetoon Russia LLC with the support of FINAS to produce a live action superhero movie entitled Mantera for worldwide release.

Although a live action movie, Mantera will be heavily fused with CGI and digital “special-effects” while Spacetoon Russia will provide its expertise in various aspects of international movie-making, particularly in live explosion techniques (pyrotechniques). The recent “One In A Million” champion Tomok will play the lead alongside a Russian celebrated actress. It will be co-directed by a prominent Malaysian movie director alongside a famous Russian movie director.

Mantera will be the first of many international collaborative efforts with third parties – the collaboration will be a good opportunity for production exposure, international product marketing and networking.

This will enable local production houses to work alongside directors and film experts from overseas – which will also include weapons, explosives and pyrotechnic experts.

Spacetoon believes that this movie will be a huge success as it is targeting the youth and young adults which represents 60% of the population of the countries that it currently has presence.

In addition, Spacetoon will help with the marketing of the documentaries and  movie. Through Spacetoon’s established and expansive networks, Spacetoon will help to promote the co-production with Malaysian producers as well as market the documentaries and movie through its offices in Korea, India, Russia, Indonesia and Middle East and North Africa. In total, Spacetoon has strong presence in more than 23 countries worldwide.

“I think this is a very good collaboration as it gives market access for local content and made possible with Spacetoon's international distribution network,” said the parent company Spacetoon Media Group President and CEO Fayez Alsabbagh.

He said the company was expanding at a rapid pace and the recent developments in Malaysia were natural given the potential of the country’s creative workforce. Spacetoon's business footprint covers the Middle East, North Africa, Indonesia, Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, and India. Closer to home, in Indonesia, Spacetoon has successfully launched Spacetoon's Children's TV.

“Malaysia is our choice naturally, given the country’s strong pool of human capital and talents in the areas of multimedia, creative and digital technologies,” Fayez added.

He said the collaboration would see the children’s content media giant and Flare Studios producing contents for Spacetoon’s own channels as well as other globally appealing contents with focus on creating intellectual properties for added and sustained values.

The parent company, Spacetoon, is an integrated media group involved in TV, Radio, licensing, merchandising, online and interactive products, with operations now extended to Indonesia, Korea and India.

Spacetoon possesses the rights to the largest library of Arabic-dubbed animated cartoons in the Arab world. 

In addition to the extensive global animation collection, Spacetoon's in-house studios produce proprietary children’s programmes that increase awareness of the outside world - the environment, education, health, and family values.

Organisations such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) use Spacetoon television as a medium to deliver important public service announcements to the emerging young generations.

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