Southeast Asia boasts a rich and thriving film industry, charting remarkable storytelling and growth in the past few years. We are also beginning to see budding interest and experimentation in the series space, signaling growing industry opportunities and a ripe moment to create more learning and sharing forums for local screenwriting talents in this wildly diverse region. 

That is why Netflix, with the support of Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), organized a series writing workshop for 23 creators from Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. Held from 21 to 25 February, this exclusive program was specifically designed to help writers sharpen their series writing abilities, with sessions and panels led by leading industry experts and screenwriters.

More than 20 participants from Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand took part in a five-day virtual series writing workshop.

“Netflix’s storytelling expertise makes them a natural partner to complement IMDA’s efforts in developing sought-after screenwriters that can create broad content genres, including premium content for OTT platforms,” says Mr Joachim Ng, Director, Media Industry Development, IMDA. 

 With the launch of recent titles from Southeast Asia including Bangkok Breaking, Girl From Nowhere, The Whole Truth, Ali & Ratu-Ratu Queens and Photocopier, Netflix has been at the forefront of bringing great stories from the region’s film and TV industry to a global audience.

“We want to shine a spotlight on local creators in Southeast Asia, and to tap into local expertise and collaboration to bring these stories to the world stage,” says Malobika Banerji, Director, Content (SEA). “We hope to be able to create more such forums for creators to gain insights from industry experts, who can share their knowledge and talk through best practices.”

Insider look into series creation

Led by screenwriter and producer Joe Peracchio (The Flash), the workshop included scene-building exercises and in-depth analyses of seminal series such as Stranger Things and Squid Game. 

Calling the workshop “an exclusive insight into series creation at the highest level,” Singaporean filmmaker Ler Jiyuan (Invisible Stories) says, “We learn from Joe how a writer’s room really works in Hollywood, candidly and honestly. This is knowledge that you can’t get elsewhere.”

Lead trainer Joe Peracchio conducting a module on the structure of episodic drama series.

Participants also learned how to develop character arcs, and create suspense in a panel discussion with Kim Eun-Hee (Kingdom)and Park Eun-Gyo (The Silent Sea), who were behind some of Netflix’s most popular Korean series.

For many, it was a timely reminder to value and pay attention to the creation of characters.

“As writers, we are listeners of stories told by characters, and then putting those stories together into a script,” says Thodsapon Thipthinakorn, scriptwriter behind popular Thai rom-com The Con-Heartist. “If we’re able to create a character who is full of life, this will successfully garner the attention of our audience.”

And that is how local stories can resonate with a global audience, says Indonesian director Lucky Kuswandi (Ali & Ratu Ratu Queens). “Workshops like these not only help us to create better stories,” he explains, “but they also empower new diverse filmmakers in Indonesia, equipping them with the tools needed to tell underrepresented Indonesian stories to the world.”

Describing the five-day workshop as a collaboration across cultures and between writers, Peracchio says, “Creatives need support, inspiration, continuing education, and strong networks that yield new collaborations. Forums like ours this week fuel all of that, and hopefully deliver new tools and encouragement for our writers to draw on in the face of challenges, so that they will keep creating the great stories that will touch audiences in new and profound ways.”

Images can be downloaded here. Credit: Netflix

Vivien Tan
Publicity SEA
[email protected]