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2015 Bangkok International Digital Content Festival Kicks off April 27

The second Bangkok International Digital Content Festival will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from April 27 through May 3.

The 2nd Bangkok International Digital Content Festival will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from April 27th to May 3rd.

It is organized by Thailand Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Software Industry Promotion Agency (Public Organization) (SIPA), and Thailand  Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), in coordination with 5 major digital content associations namely Thai Animation and Computer Graphics Association (TACGA), Digital Content Association of Thailand (DCAT), Thai Game Association (TGA), E-learning Association of Thailand (e-Lat) and ACM SIGGRAPH Bangkok Chapter.

The BIDC 2015 will promote and support the fields of Animation, Gaming and e-learning.

This is a fast-growing industry which already employs around 1,500 people in Thailand.

In the past, Thailand's animation production companies were mainly tasked with outsourced animation from overseas productions. Now, however, Thai animation companies produce and co-produce series that are sold around the world. Examples include Shelldon, from Shellhut Entertainment, which has sold in over 100 territories.

Vithita Animation's Pang Pond series has shown across Asia, and the character was nominated as 'Global Warming Ambassador' by the Thai government.

Kantana Animation's feature - Khan Kluay – the blue elephant – not only topped Thailand's box office, but was released internationally by The Weinstein Company and the Jim Henson Company in the US.

Revenue from Thailand's animation industry is now estimated at over $500m. Similarly the games industry is currently seeing growth of around 15 percent per year, and is valued at over $600m. Thailand has been fast to build skills in the growing market for smart-phone and social network gaming apps.

Thailand has also developed creative properties as well as technical skills. Characters such as 2 Spot's 'Bloody Bunny' has appeared not only in gaming apps, but also on T-shirts, coffee cups and shopping bags, and has been licensed in overseas markets including Japan, Israel, South America and Europe.

Mrs. Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, Director-General of the Department of International Trade Promotion says, “The digital economy has seen enormous growth in Thailand, and has the potential to play an important role in the economy of Thailand. As part of the government's pro-active policy of industry support, we are keen to assist the digital content industry to expand, develop, and improve infrastructure.”

There will be both public events and industry events.

On 28th and 29th April, the BIDC 'Business Matching' Event will bring 40 leading companies from Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam,Cambodia, US, and UK to engage in one-on-one meetings with over seventy Thai companies.

Over 300 meetings have been scheduled, and visiting international companies will also visit local studios, facilities, and companies.

This is the second year that the Business Matching Event has taken place. Last year it generated estimated revenue for Thai companies of over $15 m.

Other events at the BIDC will include:

  • Guest speakers, including Marilu Corpus of CLICK! Licensing Asia, Inc. and LIMA.
  • Screenings of 'Magic' by George Lucas, which employed a team of Thai visual effects artists.
  • A screening of the Thai animated feature Mahajanaka.
  • Local Thai characters including Shelldon, Bloody Bunny, The Salad, and Pang Pond.
  • Awards for local entrepreneurs working in digital content.
  • An Exhibition of Leading Thai digital content companies.

Source: Bangkok International Digital Content Festival

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.