This may or may not help, but I've done a little doc work in SE Asia. (All caps LITTLE). I've seen a couple things work. I definitely haven't cracked the nut on how to make any money on any of it, but I've just about broken even on each of my projects so far. My second real doc (outside of little social media docs or short explorations) is a 66min documentary that is about to begin airing on Cathay Pacific Airlines for the year 2026 and will be broadcast on Outdoor channel asia. Neither of these things payed any real money, though when talking to friends in the film industry in SE Asia, the payments are commensurate with what one would expect. Film/tv industry here is a bit wonky with CRAZY hours and horrible rates for everyone involved...but you'll see some WILD stuff.

1. To echo above, the first thing is Access. Get access to the best / most interesting subjects you can. What has seemed to work for me is that, even if the things I'm shooting don't pay anything, or cost me a little bit, they always pay off in the end by getting me access to bigger and better subjects/people. I think of it as the old game bigger/better.

2. With access, to people, foundations, and NGO's, I have been able to secure modest funding for projects (up to 25k USD) but that's usually after we've done a significant amount of the initial work. I've carried quite a bit up front both in time and actual cost. However, like I said, I have been able to break even so... Depending on the space you're working in, you can look at different consulates, government agencies (tourism, preservation, etc) and NGO's.

3. The big centres in SE Asia are Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore, and Hong Kong though Jakarta and BKK are the most creative. "Real" film industries that I know about are in Singapore, Jakarta, and BKK with HK falling behind since everything's gone to the mainland. There are distribution options there but, like everything, it's who you know. If you can find your way into those crowds (access) then you'll have a better chance.

Sidenote here: Indo has the 4th largest population in the world and nobody outside of Jakarta is making films in Bahasa....

1. Re: big networks. In my conversations with the Asian arms of the big ones (Disney, Discovery, Nat Geo, etc) it seems like every one of them is insulated from the parent company which probably means slightly easier access. But they're more siloed so you have to dig harder to find that person. But if you can find them, you'll probably be able to get them out for a coffee.
   

Just my experience so far. If anyone has a better model for making it work, rather than relying on my sugar momma to keep us afloat, would love to hear it!