The Fifth Annual Asian World Film Festival Announces Expanded Two Day Industry Forum Schedule and Content

The 2019 AWFF Industry Forum schedule has been announced by Asian World Film Festival Director, Georges N. Chamchoum, and Rick Ambros, AWFF Executive Board Member, who will moderate the panels. Experts from all areas of film including financing, streaming, development & production, legal and international co-production will be in attendance. Those who attend the Industry Forums will learn more about the current state of film on an international scale and what the future of the entertainment industry looks like from top industry insiders on panels at each of the forums.

Headlined by James Farrell, Head of International Originals at Amazon Studios, the global streaming panel will examine how the voracious appetite for online content is changing the dynamics of the entertainment business. The future of film finance will also be a focus as will the success of Asians in Hollywood, the explosion of Asian content and what that means for the future of film. Panels will also tackle the challenges that filmmakers face on a global scale in an ever-changing landscape. Many panelists will shed light on the growing role of digital players such as Amazon and Netflix and how it is reshaping the way films and series are financed and released.

Hollywood producer, Paula Wagner (Marshall, Jack Reacher, Mission Impossible, The Last Samurai) will join an industry panel composed of top producers and directors to discuss the trends in filmmaking and content creation for a global market.

A special panel consisting of participating 2019 AWFF filmmakers will also take place. Focused on their own films and Oscar and Golden Globe Foreign Language submissions, they will talk about challenges, filmmaking opportunities and trends that are happening in film from their specific regions all over Asia. The AWFF film directors on this panel will include; Zoya Akhtar, Director, Gully Boy (India Oscar Submission) Tony Chan, Director, The Bravest (China), Caylee So, Director, In the Life of Music (Cambodia Oscar Submission), Oualid Mouaness, Director, 1982 (Lebanon Oscar Submission), Tony Farjallah, Director Morine (Lebanon), Dian Lee & Ineza Rousille, Director/Producer, M for Malaysia (Malaysia Oscar Submission) and will be moderated by Rick Ambros, Asia Media Consultant & AWFF Executive Board Member.

Because the globalization of content is providing new opportunities for filmmakers and producers to reach new audiences, there will also be separate industry forums focused on the booming film content coming out of Southeast Asia and the co-productions that are coming out of Russia, Georgia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Tax incentives and reasons why these locations are now becoming important filming destinations will be discussed.

A workshop dealing with the film market place and other important aspects of international independent film screenings and distribution will also be included in the industry forum line up. Led by independent film veteran, Sydney Levine of Sydney's Buzz, the workshop will offer insights on the year round film festival circuit for independent filmmakers, finding a distributor, finding a sales agent and how to promote your film.

Tickets for panels and films are now available.