EXCLUSIVE: MakerVille, the recently launched entertainment subsidiary of Hong Kong media group PCCW, is set to make a splash at Filmart, unveiling an ambitious slate of movies and premium series, following its debut feature Mad Fate, which had its world premiere at Berlin film festival.
Lofai Lo, MakerVille’s CEO and former General Manager of PCCW’s free-to-air channel ViuTV, sat down with Deadline to talk through the slate and outline the company’s production strategy.
In addition to movies with international appeal, which Hong Kong has long been known for, he aims to put local creators on the map with a slate of high-end Cantonese and Mandarin-language TV series that can travel beyond Hong Kong. “We produce around 2,000 hours of programming a year for ViuTV, and while most is targeted at the local market, it’s allowed us to create an incubator structure where we can experiment with new ideas, directors and scripts,” Lo explains. “Through that process we’ve been able to select some high-potential talent and create a pipeline of premium content.
But we’re also an open platform in the sense that we work with some experienced filmmakers like [Mad Fate director] Soi Cheang, and some that are fresh out of university.
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