by Momin Ali Munshi
The International Showbiz Expo ( ISBE) will be the world’s first 360 degree entertainment industry event, with a focus on developing the industry in a global context by looking outside of the US and Hollywood, towards rapidly growing markets such as the Middle East and Asia. Hosted by the global association/event management company MCI and a boutique IP acquisition, management and licensing/distribution company Xeitgeist Entertainment Group, the event aims to make the film industry truly global. They plan to do this by by supporting film, TV, theater, digital content and media companies, and young independent talent in these regions. Support them by bringing them together with the current industry moguls from all over the world, the Expo is designed to help development of their own media infrastructure and Industry Associations. The event will be a one-stop shop for furthering the entertainment industry framework of these regions.
Put simply its an event where all the big hot shots of the entertainment industry will meet, specially the people from developing film industries like ours will get a chance to interact with key players from Hollywood and Bollywood. This will be a platform for our film-makers/exhibitors/distributors to interact with professionals from all over the world and learn more about the evolving world of entertainment.
ISBE 2014 is all set to take place from October 20 to October 22 in ADNEC, Abu Dhabi 2014 and the preparations have started already! It is expected that over 2000 professionals and young creatives from all sectors of the global entertainment industry shall be attending the event to collaborate, hear from high level international speakers, pitch ideas, learn about future trends in the industry and interact with exhibitors. The conference panel discussions will present a forum for learning, whilst the trade show and exhibition floor makes sure business activity thrives.
Also International exhibitors from studios, distributors, media outlets, film/television/cinema/technology, talent and marketing agencies, theatre companies, festivals, commissions, software and hardware manufacturers, social media solutions, infrastructure and hosting providers and marketing services are also in attendance.
Moreover it will feature heavyweight speakers from Hollywood, Pakistan,India and the Middle East as well as a variety of diverse initiatives that will make it an integral, annual global launch pad for new creative content and ideas.Cheryl Isaacs the president of Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (Academy Awards President) will be one of the many guest speakers and attendees. If this is not huge well we dont know what is!
In addition Legendary Hollywood Independent Producer Edward R. Pressman (Wall Street, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Badlands, Reversal Of Fortune) will be honored with the Independent Producer Lifetime Achievement Award
The question now arises that who shall be representing Pakistan in this prestigious event?
Well hold your horses because from Pakistan our very own superstar Shaan Shahid will be going. He shall be representing Pakistan as an Actor/Producer/Director on the main discussion panel and the growing Pakistani Entertainment Industry. In addition to Shaan there are going to be many Distributors,Exhibitors and film makers from Pakistan who will be representing the growing market and for the first time ever will share center stage with the worlds leading Film makers.
Syed Noman Alam who is representing Xeitgeist Entertainment in Pakistan talked exclusively to Galaxy Lollywood and shared some information about the expo and Pakistan’s involvement in the same.
“This is a great opportunity for Pakistan Entertainment industry to get an opportunity of showcasing their specialization of respective entertainment industry on an International scale and sharing center stage with worlds most respected Entertainment Industry players. The Middle East, Asia, Pakistan and India are rapidly growing as key centers for content creation, talent and consumer demand so, for more established organisations, there are a multitude of new opportunities of which to take advantage. Conversely, there are smaller companies, independents and individuals who know the potential of collaborating with an international expert or Hollywood company, which this event will also facilitate.”
I am representing the Pakistan division of the ISBE 2014 and hope to encourage engagement of key media organizations from Pakistan.I want them to participate and showcase their companies on an international media platform. This is extremely crucial for the Pakistani industry as we need to learn how things work on an International scale!
Here in Pakistan when a film releases there is usually one person behind it and he’s doing everything. For instance Hassan Waqas Rana behind the upcoming “Yalghaar” , Azaan Sami and Zeba Bakhtiyar behind “021” and this should not be the case! We need to have a proper system of distributors, exhibitor . Also our films should get the much needed Interantional release as well. Waar was one of the biggest films of Pakistan, but it never released in the US because we dont know how these things work! We need to make films and release them internationally and by internationally I dont mean a few select countries I mean we release films around the globe! This Expo plans to do just that! We plan to bring together film-makers/distributors/exhibitors from and get them to sit together discuss things and take cinema forward…”
Now this is one event that will surely mean great things for Pakistan! We cannot wait for it to take place. If you want to know more about the event you can visit the website http://isbexpo.com We shall be reporting more on the event as the date approaches and more names get finalized!
