Mumbai: Given the challenges faced due to the pandemic, the South Asian Film Market (SAFM) announces an extension of the deadline for entries. The 2021 edition is scheduled for Q1 2022 in Abu Dhabi. The submission and the short-listing process started in April 2021 and will run till 15th July 2021 (late deadline).
South Asian Film Market (SAFM) is a global festival for film and web series content creation, finance, and distribution. Filmmakers are invited from across the globe to celebrate and promote South Asian content with the intent to offer a fair opportunity to present their craft during these uncharted times. The purpose is to take South Asian cinematic content international by traveling to various places outside South Asia. SAFM’s previous editions took place in Singapore and now will be held in UAE. Hundreds of industry professionals ranging from festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, OTT Heads, heads of production houses, and global media converge at this event.
SAFM welcomes filmmakers from all corners of the globe, belonging to any nationality to make content with a South Asian context and connect. While SAFM celebrates South Asia, it wishes to welcome the whole world to South Asia in any way it can. The team is delighted to say that filmmakers are coming from different countries with films and ideas which are South Asian at heart and in language and are pleased to encourage all such ideas and everyone engaging with South Asia. SAFM is a traveling market as we are traveling across the globe with South Asia.
“As the most coveted financial event of the region, South Asian Film Market is a great opportunity for filmmakers to showcase their remarkable talent across the globe and connect with the best in the movie business. SAFM is a platform that facilitates face-to-face discussions with the entertainment industry stalwarts on diverse topics.” Said Parul Singh, Event Director, SAFM.
SAFM is instrumental in mentoring indie filmmakers to pitch their ideas to global financiers, producers, and studio heads. This global festival is the bridge that introduces these filmmakers with immense potential, to potential investors and producers. SAFM takes a direct hand in guiding and navigating the filmmakers and the stories they wish to tell through the troubled waters of production into the safe harbors of a release or launch.
Since its launch in 2018 in Singapore, SAFM has facilitated the creation of compelling success stories for South Asian content. In its inaugural edition, two projects found gap funding, one of which was the path-breaking sci-fi web series JL50 which was released worldwide on SonyLIV, and a Tamil language feature film ‘Maadathy’, that garnered critical acclaim at prestigious film festivals around the globe. At the 2019 edition, two more projects were chosen for funding and are currently in pre-production.
Details:
Regular Deadline: 1st April to 15th May 2021, Fee: (100 USD)
Late Deadline: 16th May to 15th July 2021, Fee: (115 USD)
Entries are divided into 4 major categories. Eligibility criteria for the respective categories are:
- Co-Production Feature Film: A filmmaker with a bound script
- Web Series: A web series project with a complete bible
- Book To Screen: A ‘Relevant Rights’ holder of a book that can be adapted into a film and/or web series
- Gap Funding: For partially or fully shot films looking for completion funds for balance shoot and/or post-production
