On March 8, 2023, Thai PBS held a premier of the documentary series ‘We Are the Zs’, a co-production that tells stories aiming to be ‘the inspiration and aspirations of the ASEAN New Generations’—the screening of the documentaries from all 6 producers from the 6 ASEAN countries participating in the Coproduction.
The Documentary series ‘We Are the Zs’ was under a collaboration between Thai PBS and the ASEAN media broadcasters partnership with the intention of creating a learning process and an exchange of knowledge and experience on content creation among the ASEAN member countries joining the project and to foster a relationship and network among the regional media organization in the region while presenting the socio-cultural diversity of the ASEAN new generations, especially the Generation Z (Gen Z). The documentary series ‘We Are the Zs’ has received the honor from Mr. Ken-ichi Imamura, a professional Documentary Executive Producer from NHK Japan to facilitate and be a mentor for the creators from 6 participating countries.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wilasinee Phiphitkul, Director General of Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) mentioned about the collaborative project between Thai PBS and the ASEAN regional partnerships that “This project is an important step for Thai PBS’s role as a public broadcasting service in ASEAN region as a hub connecting and transmitting socio-cultural knowledge among fellow media organizations in the region through various forms of media, this time being the documentary series ‘We Are the Zs’ that portrays the social point of view through the interpretations and production done by the 6 creators from 6 countries namely Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. From this collaboration onwards, Thai PBS will continue the collaborative relationship with the media partnership organizations to ensure the continuous exchange of knowledge, the learning process, and the development of public media in this region.
The documentary series ‘We Are the Zs’ portrays the social point of view through the interpretations and production done by 6 creators from 6 countries e.g.
- The documentary episode ‘Tech for the Future’ from National Television of Cambodia (TVK) is a story of a youth who creates a team to raise awareness of robotic and technology knowledge among high school students without any profit.
- The episode ‘Light from the Beach’ from Rekam Indonesia is set in a small village of Lombok Indonesia, two determined girls recognize that learning English is their ticket to achieving their dreams: one aspires to break the cycle of early marriage and complete her education, while the other dreams of securing a job to provide for herself and her family.
- ‘The Inheritor’ from Lao National Television (LTN) is about a young man aspiring to be a silversmith to preserve the value of his ancestors’ silverware handicraft and to uphold the legacy of his great-grandfather.
- ‘Kicking Off the Lemoi Dream’ from Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad tells a story of a teacher on a mission to bring his football team back to winning ways after the pandemic.
- ‘Growth’ from Thai PBS depicts the story before becoming perfectly roasted, coffee beans must be refined step by step from cultivation to harvesting to roasting, much like the villagers of Baan Chan Tai who have the desire to grow to perfection in their own ways.
- ‘Towards the Sun’ from Vietnam Television (VTV) tells a story of an ethnic minority female teenager struggling to raise her voice and change her father's opinion to let her go to school.
After this screening event held at Thai PBS Mini Theatre, the production members will take the advice received during the event to improve and continue to perfect the documentary piece before being broadcasted. The documentary film series ‘We Are the Zs’ can be viewed online via the application VIPA Later this year. Details regarding other interesting Thai PBS projects can be found on all other Thai PBS online platforms such as www.ThaiPBS.or.th, Facebook @ThaiPBS, YouTube @ThaiPBS, and LINE @ThaiPBS.
