Two The Point with Patrick Frater and Janine Stein

Our highlights from Media Partners Asia's annual APOS event in Bali last week, where there was hot and cold running AI and Microdrama, lots of talk about sports and India, with insights into Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. The unofficial agenda was all about changes at Disney in Asia and high-drama in Korea on multiple fronts. More about that later; meanwhile, here's the rundown f...

Hi-anxiety over advertising. Search for a saviour in microdrama. YouTube valued at $600 billion. Netflix worth more than Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros and Sony combined. And a winter freeze settled into Korea. MPA executive director Vivek Couto joins Patrick Frater and Janine Stein three weeks before APOS Bali to map where gravity has shifted — and what broadcasters, streamers and content makers...

What does it take to run an Asian film festival in Europe dedicated to mainstream popular movies, not arthouse cinema? In this episode of Two The Point, hosts Patrick Frater and Janine Stein sit down with Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, the powers behind the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, to explore the festival's 28-year journey from a risky Hong Kong cinema initiative to one of...

Changing Models, Day-One Revenue and Why the Michelin Approach Will Fail. Microdrama first-mover Anne Chan talks about who's really making money, what actually works, what doesn't, and what life looks like in a business that looks a lot more glamorous on an investment chart than it sometimes does from the inside. Two The Point is a weekly briefing on Asia's entertainment business. Hosted by Janine...

What really happened behind the scenes of "Nezha 2" – Asia's highest-grossing film of all time? In this episode, Patrick Frater and Janine Stein sit down with Christopher Chen, Executive Producer / Senior VFX Supervisor at Taipei-based Reno Studios, for a remarkably candid conversation about the making of the $2.25 billion blockbuster, the future of Asian cinema, and where AI fits in...

Join Janine Stein and Patrick Frater for a candid "nine out of ten" post-mortem on Filmart, recorded live from the Hong Kong Convention Center. This episode dives into the biggest trends, headline series, notable quips and quotes, and industry insights that shaped this year’s event. Video Chapters 00:00 Introduction: Filmart Post-Mortem 01:30 Our Premium Drama Picks 04:00 Microdrama’s In...

🎬 Vietnam film industry, Asian cinema investment and Beach House Pictures are the focus of this episode of Two The Point with Janine Stein and Patrick Frater . Beach House Pictures creative director Donovan Chan joins the podcast to discuss the company’s push into Vietnamese feature films, beginning with the upcoming theatrical release "Mr Hero". Chan explains why Vietnam has become one...

This week on Two The Point, Janine Stein and Patrick Frater break down the Asia impact of Paramount’s likely acquisition of Warner Bros – from theatrical distribution shake-ups to duplication risks in TV sales and syndication, and the future of HBO Max and Paramount+ across the region. Is this ultimately a Netflix win? Could Asian producers be the biggest beneficiaries? We also unpack: • Asian fil...

Indonesia’s streaming market flexes new muscle as Vidio climbs to No.2 in engagement behind Netflix. Prime Video talks up its APAC originals strategy with a licensing-heavy model anchored in Japan, India and Korea. Singapore International Film Festival changes dates, ditches film fund for 2026. Sony signals a creator-led approach to AI. TVB issues a rare positive profit warning. And six major Chin...

Patrick Frater and I spoke to Vidio's head of content strategy Mark Francis just ahead of Friday's showcase. Among other things, we talked about how his hyper-thoughtful local content strategy, taking the line-up broad, wide and deep, and the disciplined risk-taking that is driving growth in Southeast Asia’s largest market. Has he cracked the code for streaming in Indonesia? You decide...

This week’s “Two The Point with Patrick Frater & Janine Stein” comes to you from the front lines of the  International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), where Patrick has been racing between screenings of Asian films, taking in everything from big-budget Japanese features and silly Korean comedy to titles that have raised political hackles across the region. He talks about the festival’s distinc...

In this episode of Two The Point, Janine Stein and Patrick Frater speak with Simon Cornwell, co-CEO and co-founder of The Ink Factory and custodian of the John le Carré literary estate, about adapting premium IP for new markets — and why Asia is central to that strategy. The discussion covers the company's expansion into Asia, including the just-announced adaptation of "The Night Manager&...

Studio76’s Dennis Yang breaks down the economics of YouTube at scale — from his 14 curated channels that have attracted a billion views so far to surprises in global language customisation, connected-TV CPMs, AVOD dominance and what this means to his fledging subsidiary, Studio 886. A candid conversation about data, discovery, how YouTube is reshaping content value for producers, broadcasters and...

Media Partners Asia’s annual five-year forecast for the Asian screen entertainment sector is essential reading for industry watchers. The firm’s CEO and managing partner Vivek Couto this week joins “To the Point With Patrick Frater and Janine Stein” to do a deep dive into the reshaping of a $200 billion marketplace. Couto predicts that the overall Asia-Pacific business will continue to grow over t...

Unpacking what microdrama actually is — and why the terminology matters. Rather than simply “vertical video”, microdrama is defined by fast-paced, bite-sized storytelling designed for mobile-first consumption, where narrative hooks, emotional shocks and speed matter more than stars, directors or traditional production values. The conversation explores why romance, revenge and power-shift storyline...

To The Point returns with a wide-ranging tour of Asia’s entertainment business. Janine Stein and Patrick Frater take the temperature of the regional box office, unpacking Avatar ’s uneven performance across China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia, and what it says about mature versus growth markets. They also look at India’s surprise hit Dhurandhar and what it signals for Hindi cinema’s comeback. T...

This week on Two The Point, Janine Stein and Patrick Frater break down the biggest stories shaping Asia’s entertainment business — from cinema to streaming to corporate strategy. We start with "Avatar 3: Fire and Ash", as the franchise rolls out across Asia and emerges as a key bellwether for the health of theatrical cinema. With early box-office signals from South Korea and China, we as...

In this episode of 2 / The Point , veteran Asia film and TV journalists Janine Stein and Patrick Frater reflect on a week that captured the contradictions shaping Asia’s screen businesses as 2025 draws to a close. Coming out of the annual ATF in Singapore earlier this month, energy and attendance were strong, conference rooms were full and conversations were lively. And yet... caution reigns. Buye...