Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the 27th HKTDC Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART) returns from 13 March to 16 March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). A forum, EntertainmentPulse, will be held concurrently.
FILMART is one of the founding events of Entertainment Expo. The Expo’s kick-off ceremony will take place on the first day of FILMART, gathering representatives of local film companies, global exhibitors, visitors and Hong Kong entertainment ambassador Mr Leon Lai.
FILMART gathers global exhibitors
FILMART is Asia’s largest cross-media, cross-industry entertainment content-trading platform and is a founding event of Entertainment Expo. This year’s event has attracted more than 700 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions.
In addition to leading Hong Kong major film and television companies, more than 20 pavilions – including from Europe, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States – will showcase entertainment products from around the world.
The four-day FILMART will feature a variety of events, including press conferences, showcases, summits, seminars, screenings and more, to highlight the latest in entertainment and encourage participants to exchange ideas and build connections.
EntertainmentPulse will discuss a series of topics, including the hype behind dating and romance reality shows, application of Web3 in entertainment industry and Chinese donghua as soft power.
Speakers include Mr Jiang De Fu, COO of Bona Film Group, which released The Battle at Lake Changjin in 2021 that raked in more than RMB5.7 billion (US$824 million), to become the country’s highest-grossing film to date. Mr Hou Hong Liang, Chairman and Producer of Daylight Entertainment Co Ltd, which created famous TV series, such as Nirvana in Fire and The Story of Ming Lan, and Mr Sebastian Kim, Director of International Content Sales and Acquisition of CJ ENM from Korea, who has made his mark with tvN’s popular Korean dramas, such as 25, 21 in 2022, will also feature. Mr Sanmesh Thakur, Executive Vice President & Territory Head – APAC of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited and Mr Ziraviss Vindhanapisuth, Vice President of International Business from BEC World Public Company Ltd, are also part of the stellar speaker line-up.
Hong Kong films have recently done well at the box office, including the first-ever local film to break the HK$100 million (US$12.7 million) record. EntertainmentPulse has invited Mr Jack Ng, director of A Guilty Conscience, Mr Sunny Chan, director and screenwriter of Table for Six, and Ms Judy Chu, director and playwriter of Sunshine of My Life, to discuss the growth and global reach of Hong Kong filmsat a Dialogue with Hong Kong Directors event on 16 March.
A major financing platform in Asia, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) will be held alongside FILMART and EntertainmentPulse, connecting filmmakers, investors, producers and distributors.
The 21st HAF has selected 28 in-development projects (IDP) and 15 work-in-progress projects (WIP) from 350 submissions from 38 countries and regions, covering a variety of genres, including comedy, horror, fantasy, romance, suspense, drama and animation. These projects will be highlighted alongside projects from acclaimed filmmakers and producers, such as Arsalan Amiri, Anthony Chen, Fruit Chan, Stanley Kwan, Teddy Robin, Lin Yu Hsien, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Nai An, Jakrawal Nilthamrong, Nader Saeivar as well as venerable festival director Marco Müller as producer. HAF will feature 22 directors making their feature debut and highlight 10 film projects from Hong Kong .
