ContentAsia On Air

Roger Cheng, producer of Black Tide Island, joins Janine Stein to discuss the making of the premium Taiwan drama, whichfollows five jailed doctors and intellectuals held at Green Island Prison during the White Terror period (1947–1987).Cheng talks through the storytelling approach to a five-year journey from research to screen, the decision to rebuild Green Island's prison as a full-scale set in Tainan rather than use CGI, the medical and language training given to the cast, and the musical thread running through the series, inspired by prisoners who formed a band while incarcerated. He also discusses reactions from descendants of former prisoners, the interactive online experience built alongside the show, and the wider state of co-production and premium drama in Taiwan.Black Tide Island was directed by Jim Wang and produced by Hakka TV and Go Inside.·      (00:00) Introduction to Black Tide Island·      (01:03) Why this story, personally·      (02:33) Five years from idea to screen·      (04:05) Handling the politics of the WhiteTerror era·      (05:56) Rebuilding Green Island Prison in Tainan·      (10:08) Medical training for the cast·      (10:28) Music, opera, and the prisoners' band·      (13:02) Filming in Hakka, Taiwanese, Mandarinand Japanese·      (16:19) The interactive online experience·      (18:47) Reactions from descendants of prisoners·      (23:43) Co-production and Taiwan's creativefreedom·      (29:40) Roger Cheng's company, Go Inside, and TheATM HeistExplore the Black Tide Island interactiveonline experience: https://blacktideisland.tw/enRoger Cheng's earlier documentary, InsideThe Great ATM Heist, is available on CNA's YouTube channel:Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zId2XwHQAsPart 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk63FhCWtFMSubscribe for more conversations with producers, executives and creatives shaping Asia's screen industry. Suggestionsfor future guests are welcome in the comments.

Asia's unscripted formats market has shrunk by about two-thirds over the past five years. So what does it take for an indie agency to survive, let alone win?On this episode of ContentAsia On Air, Jin Woo Hwang, co-founder of Korean formats agency Something Special, joins Janine to talk about life as an indie formats creator, developer and distributor in a market defined by risk aversion and shrinking budgets. He explains why broadcasters have pulled back from funding creative trial and error, why Koreanformats are still considered a safer bet, and where indies fit into an environment of mega-mergers. Hwang also shares his formula for balancing acquisitions against original development, the story behind “Unforgettable Duet” – a dementia-themed format that took real persuasion to get commissioned and is now in its second season –  and how AI is changing the format development process for the better.

Filipino filmmaker Quark Henares joins ContentAsia On Air to talk about his expanded role shaping the Philippines' film industry, adding reality TV to his credits, his work withRein Entertainment, and giving back through the Lennon Group — plus DJ Fridays and protecting family time.The "Where's the Lie?" director also opens up on saying yes a lot, the Philippines' creative superpower, protecting the theatrical window, streaming's impact, shifting tastes, smarter content, and co-production.Then he gets personal about who he chooses to work with: "I'm 45 now, and what's in front of me is probably the same amount of time as what's behind me. So you just want to work withpeople you really get along with and who collaborate well… decent people."ContentAsia On Air is produced by ContentAsia – A PencilMedia Company. More at contentasia.tv

Onat Diaz — director of "Wildflower", "Dirty Linen" and "The Alibi" — joins Content Asia On Air to talk about "The Silent Noise", a 10-episode limited series produced by ABS-CBN Studios for Prime Video about a deaf 10-year-old boy who may hold the key to a murder. The show just won Best Asian Content at the Global OTT Awards in Busan, the Philippines' first-ever win in that category, beating out entries from Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and China. Lead actress Angelica Panganiban, who plays Jackie Carpio, has also just been nominated for Best Female Lead in a TV Programme/Series Made in Asia at the 2026 ContentAsia Awards; winners announced on 27 August.Onat talks about building a mystery series around silence and about swinging between the loud, spectacle-driven "The Alibi" and the restraint of "The Silent Noise" (shot back to back). He also opens up about adapting distinctly Filipino stories for a global streaming audience, and what sets Philippine storytelling apart as the region's spotlight shifts beyond Korea and Thailand.Guest: Onat Diaz, director Host: Janine SteinFollow Content Asia On Air for more conversations on the Asian content industry. More at contentasia.tv.

Indra Suharjono, co-founder of i.e. Entertainment and one of the most influential names in Thai content distribution, joins Content Asia On Air for a no-BS conversation about where Thailand's industry is headed.We cover why distribution - not co-production - remains Thailand's biggest long-term opportunity, what made "The Medium" and the record-breaking "Love Destiny" work when so many co-productions fail, how Netflix's "Mad Unicorn", "Master of the House" and "The Evil Lawyer" succeeded by staying authentically Thai instead of chasing a Korean template, the real economics of BL/GL (where fandom commerce, not licensing, drives the revenue), and Indra's "threat index" for what Thai producers still need to fix.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review - it really helps spread the word.Content Asia On Air is brought to you by ContentAsia - the industry's go-to voice for what's really happening in Asian content, on air and online. More at www.contentasia.tv

Content Asia On Air host Janine Stein sits down with WenWen Han, founder and CEO of the Short Drama Alliance, to go inside the fast-moving world of vertical short dramas.Among other things, WenWen talks about the conversations she facilitates between vertical drama creators around the world, the information gaps she's addressing, and the differences (or not) between producers in China and elsewhere. She also digs into common misunderstandings, growth, scale, the biggest threats facing the industry, and what she's learned building a global community of creators, producers, platforms, and writers since launching the Short Drama Alliance.Her podcast, Inside Vertical Short Dramas, is available across all major platforms.Short Drama Decode | 短劇解碼器 is on YouTube: @ShortDramaDecode Timestamps for this episode 00:00 – Intro & why TikTok is the giant to watch 00:11 – Welcome to Content Asia On Air with WenWen Han00:56 – How WenWen got into microdrama by accident 02:57 – From producing to founding the Short Drama Alliance 03:49 – Has the China–overseas information gap actually closed? 05:27 – What the Alliance community looks like today (300+members, global reach) 07:08 – Why she started writing books on China's shortdrama ecosystem 09:01 – Has the industry's growth surprised her? 09:03 –Breaking down 3 recommended microdramas: "Reborn as a Fish", "The Family We Built", "Fatally Deal with a Mafia King" 16:43 – Can China retain its microdrama lead asother countries invest? 18:38 – Who's fueling the global microdrama boom? 20:36 – Do writing mistakes differ by region? 21:15 – Her #1 piece of advice for newmicrodrama writers 21:50 – Gender role reversals: the "soft spouse"male lead and CEO female lead 24:04 – The impact of AI on microdrama production25:42 – Is there a future for vertical reality and natural history formats?27:22 – Where will microdrama be in 3 years? 29:10 – WenWen's closing thoughts on storytelling in the mobile-first era 29:23 – Wrap-up

What does it really take to produce a microdrama series? In this episode, we sit down with Absol Bai, a veteran microdrama producer, to talk about the intense reality of creating content in one of the industry's newest, fastest-moving and most demanding fields. From casting actors in days to finishing post-production in under a week, Absol breaks down the process and the product. We dive into:🎥 What the vertical video industry offers young filmmakers that they would never get elsewhere💰 Where he would spend bigger budgets as microdramas scale up⚡ What it's like working in an environment were speed is everything 🎭 Retraining actors for vertical storytelling📍 Why creativity looks different in a booming sectorA candid conversation about innovation, constraints, and why this chaotic new industry might be the best thing that happened to his career.00:00 A Day in the Life of a Micro Drama Producer05:06 The Evolution of Micro Dramas07:46 The Recipe for Success in Storytelling11:52 Casting and Talent in Micro Dramas13:50 Challenges and Surprises in Production14:56 Favorite Projects and Learning Experiences16:56 Age Diversity in the Industry18:46 Personal Growth and Career Surprises21:14 Budgeting for Production22:12 The Future of Micro Dramas and Industry Dynamics

In this episode of "Greenlights & Ground Truths", ContentAsia’s Janine Stein speaks with Ding Zhong, director of the animated feature Into the Mortal World.The film, produced by Winsing Animation, reimagines Chinese mythology through a story that moves between the celestial and mortal worlds, exploring questions of fate, identity and family bonds. As the film continues its international festival run, Ding Zhong talks about the challenge of bringing culturally rooted stories to global audiences and why emotional storytelling travels across cultures.The conversation also looks at the broader landscape of Chinese animation, the growing international visibility of Chinese animated films, and how emerging AI tools may change the way animation is produced.Ding Zhong, who teaches at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, also shares little-known facts about origins of Into the Mortal World, which began as a student graduation project before becoming a full-length feature."Greenlights & Ground Truths" is ContentAsia’s series of conversations with Asia’s creators.

In this episode of ContentAsia’s Greenlights & Ground Truths, producer Lina Tan discusses her new film, Khadam, and how Red Communications fuses Malay folklore with its signature women-centred storytelling — using horror to ask a universal question: who are women really slaves to?Set in the 1950s, against the backdrop of Malaysia’s independence and the rising optimism sweeping the country, Khadam follows a woman who inherits her family’s saka — a dark spiritual legacy — after her mother’s death. As its grip tightens, she races to protect her young daughter.The horror drama stars Indonesia’s leading scream queen Aghniny Haque alongside Malaysian A-lister Remy Ishak, and is directed by Shamyl Othman. The film is produced by Red Communications and Komet Productions, with partners China’s Sil-Metropole and India’s Applause Entertainment. Indonesia’s MAGMA Entertainment also serves as executive producer.Khadam was one of four films showcased at JAFF in Jogjakarta at the end of 2025, spearheading what organisers described as a “Nusantara” wave — highlighting the growing creative synergy between Indonesia and Malaysia. The other titles were Munafik (the Indonesian remake of the Malaysian horror franchise from Skop Productions and Syamsul Yusof), Khurafat Indonesia, and Badut Gendong.

ContentAsia's Janine Stein talks to Nizam Razak, writer/director of "Papa Zola The Movie" and head of Malaysian production house Monsta about the animated blockbuster, now heading into a 13-country international rollout including Indonesia, Turkey, India and Saudi Arabia.With RM55 million (US$13.5 million) at the Malaysian box office in just 27 days and counting, the film marks a deliberate creative shift for Monsta — away from shonen-style superheroes towards a more emotionally grounded, adult protagonist: a very ordinary, very human family hero.We’ll talk about the risks behind that decision, the realities of greenlighting something different, and why stories about perseverance, responsibility and fatherhood are resonating far beyond Malaysia.