The ninth annual Asian Animation Summit has bitten the bullet and confirmed that this year’s event will take place in the virtual landscape, a move made in response to the continued travel restrictions and health and safety issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Summit will now take place online from November 16 to December 4 this year.

The event will see its regional partners undertake the process of selecting the most promising projects from their regions that are new to the market, and look for financing and partners. Event delegates will be able to watch along in real time as these projects are presented to panels of programming buyers.

Project presentations will be scheduled in morning and late evening time slots (EST) over three weeks. Because time zones and scheduling conflicts at home and work may prevent delegates from tuning in live, the sessions will also be recorded and made available for two weeks of catch-up viewing online.

“We are excited about the new opportunity this virtual AAS format creates to invite many more leading broadcasters to participate in the event than is usually possible,” said Kidscreen VP and publisher Jocelyn Christie. “And without the challenges of travel to consider – the costs, and time away from work and home – we are hoping that more attendees will be able to take part in the event virtually this year and discover some great new content from Asia-Pacific.”

Kidscreen’s intention is to return to a live AAS event format in 2021, and the regional partners remain committed to holding the event in Bali, Indonesia next year.

Registration for AAS Virtual 2020 is now open. More information about the event can be found online at www.asiananimationsummit.com.