HOOQ is on the search for the top film talents in Asia to turn their ideas into reality.
Calling all directors, producers, script writers and filmmakers of Asia!
The HOOQ Filmmakers Guild is a ground-breaking initiative that gives a voice to Asia’s upcoming filmmakers and writers. HOOQ Filmmakers Guild seeks to bring Asia’s most compelling stories to our audiences who are hungry for top quality Asian TV.
Each year, HOOQ will select five ideas to be made into pilot episodes. One of those pilots will then be commissioned into a full series as a HOOQ ORIGINAL. This is the third year in a row we’re seeking the best and the brightest of Asia’s filmmakers!
The HOOQ Filmmakers Guild is a ground-breaking initiative that gives a voice to Asia’s upcoming filmmakers and writers. HOOQ Filmmakers Guild seeks to bring Asia’s most compelling stories to our audiences who are hungry for top quality Asian TV.
Each year, HOOQ will select five ideas to be made into pilot episodes. One of those pilots will then be commissioned into a full series as a HOOQ ORIGINAL. This is the third year in a row we’re seeking the best and the brightest of Asia’s filmmakers!
How it works
- Join Genero
- Carefully read the entire brief
- Prepare your submission
- Submit a pitch before the deadline
HOOQ is Asia’s largest video-on-demand service, established as a joint venture by Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. HOOQ is available in Singapore, Thailand, India, Indonesia and the Philippines delivering over 10,000 Hollywood, regional and local movies and TV shows to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling them to stream and download on their Internet device or platform of choice. The HOOQ Filmmakers Guild represents the extension of the brand’s vision: ‘a million stories for a billion people’.
We’re looking for concepts and fresh ideas that are in synch with what HOOQ is trying to achieve in this brand new digital content age. Whether it’s a situational comedy, a supernatural drama, a crime procedural drama or limited series, a HOOQ ORIGINAL needs to be compelling enough that someone would stay up all night to binge watch every episode!
You are not constrained with traditional TV durations hence the pilots can be as short as 20 minutes or up to 60 minutes long. What matters is the story and characters that lend itself towards binge-viewing and naturally, be binge-worthy.
A HOOQ ORIGINAL has to push the envelope on the conventional boundaries of Asian television. So if your concept is something that a free-to-air broadcaster would love, it’s probably too staid to be a HOOQ ORIGINAL.
We’re looking for relatable, compelling stories and characters that speak to the audience in your home country, a series that everyone would love to watch, but no one dares to make. We want to tell the stories that need to be told but haven’t found the right home yet.
What we don’t want is a generic one-size-fits-all Asian series concept that is devoid of any cultural grounding. Any concept submitted has to clearly be targeted at one of the 8 countries that the Guild spans SINGAPORE, THAILAND, MALAYSIA, INDIA, PHILIPPINES, INDONESIA, VIETNAM or CAMBODIA. It would be great if it has cross-border appeal but the primary target should be your own home audience. Our focus is on exceptional storytelling first and foremost.
Whilst your concept submission to the Guild must be in English, your pilot can have dialogue in your native language or a language mash-up as long as that is culturally authentic and true to your home country. For example, a Singaporean concept can be a mix of Hokkien and English or utilise Singlish or can be in Mandarin entirely. A Malaysian concept can be in Malay and English or utilise Manglish. A Filipino concept can be entirely in Tagalog or English mixed with Tagalog. Remember, our focus is on authenticity and relatability to your home audience.
Whilst we are open to submissions in all genres, we don’t want yet another run-of-mill interpretation of the genres that Asian viewers are familiar with. Horror, crime and supernatural for example are staples of local TV and cinemas across our region - filmmakers need to ensure that their concepts are not yet another tried and tested formula but rather, represent an elevated version of a genre. Always ask - how can you create something familiar yet excitingly new and totally unexpected?
We are NOT looking for feature film concepts that can be sliced up into smaller parts. If you have a feature film concept, then it has to be re-developed appropriately into a series format. We need concepts that have longevity as a series that can carry multiple seasons rather than a limited series. But we also need to see the best of what your pilot can deliver, with the fullest potential in terms of character and plot development.
Above all, filmmakers should ensure that their concept has an identifiable genre or if it is a genre mash-up, an identifiable number of genres.
The 5 selected filmmakers will each receive a budget of USD $40,000 to develop and execute their pilot. This creates a very tight creative sandbox for the filmmaker and their team but is meant to invoke the spirit of guerilla filmmaking. Whilst filmmakers should give thought to whether or not their pilot concept is executable within the budget, they are encouraged to exercise inventiveness and creativity fully to see their vision through to fruition.
If you are a filmmaker or writer or producer or in the film industry, living in SINGAPORE, THAILAND, MALAYSIA, INDIA, PHILIPPINES, INDONESIA, VIETNAM or CAMBODIA or a citizen of the above countries based elsewhere, you are eligible to submit a pitch to the 2019 Filmmakers Guild.
The concepts will be evaluated by a panel of judges from the industry and HOOQ, and the strongest five ideas will be turned into pilot episodes. The pilots will then be evaluated by the panel of judges and also placed on the HOOQ platform. The winning pilot will be determined based on the judges evaluations and subscriber viewings. We will look to the marketplace to decide as well.
The winning pilot will earn a full commission as a HOOQ ORIGINAL!
29 July - 31 October 2019
Open for submissions
1 - 5 November
Review of submissions for eligibility
6 - 15 November
Judging panel will review and shortlist submissions
16 - 29 November
Shortlisted entries will need to pitch their submissions to a local judging panel in person
2 - 6 December
5 filmmakers will be awarded with USD $40,000 to produce the pilot
2 December - 13 January
Script development phase 1
13 January - 28 February
Script development phase 2
2 March
Submission of script and show bible
3 - 31 March
Production of the pilot
31 March
Submission of completed pilot and promotional materials
April
Judging
End April
Pilots to air on HOOQ
June
Announcement of winning pilot. Any announcement date changes will be communicated by HOOQ.
The following are required for a submission to be considered:
1. Showreel - Filmmakers should submit a detailed set of verifiable credentials and a showreel with your best works.
2. Treatment - Your concept submission should take the form of a creative treatment either in the form of a written narrative or a presentation and must be in the English language. The creative treatment must be supplied as a PDF and should contain the following:
A logline that sums up the series in an interesting and enticing manner
A concise but detailed pitch of the show
A synopsis of the main characters
A brief episodic synopsis to give the judges a sense of where you see the story going, post-pilot
Brief biography of your team, specifically, the writer of your show
3. Script - Your treatment must be accompanied by at least 10 pages of the script for the pilot.
Filmmakers are encouraged to include in the creative treatment any other relevant information that would help the judges visualise or imagine the show with greater clarity, including but not limited to viable casting, concept visuals or a rip reel. However, these are not necessary and should only be included if you feel they will enhance your submission.
The pilot script should be submitted as a separate PDF file. The pilot script should conform to American screenplay writing standards and formatting requirements as far as possible. We encourage script submissions in English as far as possible, but will accept script submissions in your native language.
Submissions will only be accepted via the Genero platform. Any submissions via any other avenues will not be entertained.
Filmmakers should ideally have credentials in the film industry, either as a working professional across any aspect of film production, e.g. scriptwriter, director, producer etc.
All parties involved must be 18+ and a native of any of the following Asian countries: SINGAPORE, THAILAND, MALAYSIA, INDIA, PHILIPPINES, INDONESIA, VIETNAM or CAMBODIA. Foreigners may participate in their country of residence or submit according to the language of the country they are submitting under.
Filmmakers are only eligible to submit one entry.
Majority of your production must take place in the country of your submission.
Majority of script submitted must take place in the regions noted above, and may cross borders within the region
Each submission will be graded by the judging panel based on the following criteria:
Creativity and originality of concept
Character development
Series potential
Writing sample and visual reel
Market relevance
HOOQ’s decision will be final and exercised in its sole discretion.
Each pilot episode shall be judged based on the following criteria:
Judges will score each pilot in the areas of:
Creativity and originality
Character development
Series potential
Market relevance
Technical craft
Viewership of the pilot on HOOQ
HOOQ’s decision will be final and exercised in its sole discretion.
The judging panel will consist of top film talents from around Asia including award-winning directors, producers and actors.
All Media: Global/Worldwide, in perpetuity, including talent and music.
Any tax liability arising out of these Rules are your sole responsibility.
HOOQ’s decision shall be exercised in its sole and absolute discretion.
HOOQ reserves the right to modify or cancel the Brief or its Rules, at any time, in its sole absolute discretion and without prior notice and in accordance with clause 2.7 ‘Cancelling Briefs, Direct Commissions or Re-Edits’ of Genero’s terms.
In the event of a cancellation of the Brief prior to production commencing, HOOQ may at its absolute discretion elect not to award the Filmmaker Budget.
In the event that your Submission is shortlisted by HOOQ and in consideration of your receipt of the funding, you agree to execute such documentations as may be required by HOOQ.
By submitting the Submission, you expressly consent to the disclosure of your personal information to HOOQ for the purposes of administering this Brief.
Only shortlisted entries will be owned by HOOQ. HOOQ will not be responsible for any similarities of character or storyline that subsequently appears on HOOQ.
Upon commissioning, filmmakers will be paid in 3 tranches:
20% on commissioning
50% upon delivery of approved script, character and show bible
30% on delivery of approved offline cut
Before you submit your pitch, please make sure:
You have an active Genero creator account (sign up now)
You have carefully read the full brief on this page
Your submission meets the Submission Guidelines and Restrictions (detailed in the brief above).