Asia’s most influential film producers confirmed to visit NZ

Media release

26 August 2011

Asia’s most influential film producers confirmed to visit New Zealand

Four of Asia’s most influential film industry figures have confirmed their attendance at the Asia-Pacific Producers’ Network (APN) Symposium in Auckland in November 2011.

Zhonglei (James) Wang, Shogo Tomiyama, Jin Wha (James) Choi and Satoru Iseki, representing leading film companies from China, Japan and Korea, head up a list of 23 delegates confirmed to date.

James Wang is the President of Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, China’s largest privately owned film production company. Huayi’s movie ticket revenues of $1.6 billion Yuan in 2010 accounted for a 30 per cent share of the Chinese market.

James Choi is Chief Executive Officer of Kang Je-Kyu Films, one of Korea’s leading production companies, which produced Korean box office record breakers Shiri and Taeguki.

Shogo Tomiyama is a producer at Toho Studios, a key production studio in the history of Japanese cinema that has produced a number of classics by legendary director Akira Kurosawa, including Seven Samurai, Hidden Fortress, Kagemusha, the Godzilla series and the international hit Ring.

Satoru Iseki, who began his career as production manager to Kurosawa, is a senior Japanese producer with multiple credits to his name, including executive producer of the New Zealand hit The World’s Fastest Indian and producer of Smoke, The Emperor and the Assassin and Battle of Wits - the biggest Hong Kong/Mainland China/Korea/Japan co-production of 2006.

The APN represents a group of more than 80 leading screen producers, primarily from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand. The annual symposium, hosted this year in Auckland from 11-13 November, offers a chance to develop relationships and generate new projects and partnerships.

“Bringing such a powerful group to New Zealand is incredibly exciting and provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the New Zealand screen industry,” says APN President, Paul Carran.

Members of New Zealand’s film and screen industry are invited to attend a forum with network members on Sunday 13 November. The forum will open with a keynote address, followed by local industry leader discussions on production, co-production, post-production, cross-cultural storytelling.

“We’ll also be providing a pitching session for up to ten New Zealand projects – this is a fantastic opportunity for those in the local industry to network and engage with these industry leaders”.

Hosted by Film Auckland, part of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), the annual symposium of the Asia-Pacific Producers Network is being held in New Zealand for the first time. It is made possible with the generous support of UNITEC, Images and Sound, Pieter Holl and Associates, and funding partners Film New Zealand, the Ministry of Economic Development, the New Zealand Film Commission and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

Pitching submission information and online conference registration for the 13 November conference can be found at www.filmauckland.com/apn

Ends

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