Opening Art March 2024 in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART) and EntertainmentPulse, being held from 11 to 14 March, brings together leading industry figures from around the world to showcase the latest cinematic masterpieces and ground-breaking technologies as well as share their insights.
As part of the month-long Entertainment Expo (EE), the two events offer a treasure trove of content, shining a spotlight on Hong Kong’s diverse creative industries and cementing the city’s position as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. They also embrace the digital realm, providing an online platform to promote IP projects and facilitating opportunities for participants to expand their reach in the international market while reinforcing Hong Kong’s status as a regional IP trade hub.
The Entertainment Expo (EE), organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and sponsored by Create Hong Kong, the Film Development Fund and Hong Kong SAR Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, held its opening ceremony this afternoon. It was officiated by Hong Kong SAR administration chief secretary Eric Chan, Hong Kong SAR culture, sports and tourism secretary Kevin Yeung, HKTDC chairman Dr Peter K N Lam, Hong Kong, Macao & Taiwan Affairs Office of China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) Shi Zhi-yan and Hong Kong entertainment ambassador Leon Lai as well as representatives from event organisers and supporting institutions.
Dr Lam said, “Over the past 20 years, we have worked with different film and entertainment organisations to create this mega event and bring together the best and brightest in entertainment from around the world to Hong Kong to facilitate dialogue and collaboration, strengthening Hong Kong’s role as a premier hub for business and entertainment. For its 20 edition, the Entertainment Expo brings together ten industry events to showcase the many facets of Hong Kong’s film, TV, music and digital entertainment sectors.”
He noted, “One of the Expo’s flagship events is FILMART, Asia’s largest entertainment content marketplace for filmmakers, distributors, buyers and investors to show their work, engage in dialogue and explore collaboration opportunities. EntertainmentPulse, which runs parallel to FILMART,.gathers global industry leaders for engaging conversations on a variety of industry topics and for collaboration opportunities.”
FILMART features the first-ever virtual production studio
This year, FILMART welcomes some 750 exhibitors from over 25 countries and regions. It features more than 30 regional pavilions, including first-time exhibitors from Hubei, Indonesia, and Macau.
The Thai Ministry of Culture set up a dedicated Thai Pavilion and organised Thai Day on the first day of FILMART. To strengthen bilateral trade ties, the HKTDC and the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) of the Thai Ministry of Commerce signed an MoU.
This year’s exhibition sees a significant presence of exhibitors from Mainland China, including industry giants, such as Alibaba Culture Entertainment and Bilibili who are participating for the first time. Other prominent exhibitors include Huace, iQIYI, Shanghai Youhug Media and Tencent, showcasing their latest productions.
Exhibitors from Hong Kong, such as Media Asia, Emperor Motion Pictures, Edko Films, Golden Scene, Mandarin Motion Picture, One Cool Pictures, PCCW Media, and Universe Films set up booths to showcase their upcoming films and projects.
Additionally, the Hong Kong Design Institute held the opening ceremony of its virtual production studio and announced they will set up Hong Kong’s largest virtual production training centre in Shaw Studios. First-time participant Hong Kong Baptist University showcases the latest AI, visualisation and human-machine interaction technologies applied in film creation.
FILMART has partnered with Votion Studios, a Hong Kong-based creative tech company, to set up a virtual production studio at the event. This marks the first time such a studio has been featured at FILMART to showcase the latest advances in production techniques and real-time content generation.
Media partners attending FILMART can conduct on-site interviews and create real-time content, leveraging this cutting-edge technology. Moreover, the event’s online platform serves as a hub for showcasing and promoting exhibitors’ creative IPs, offering professional business recommendations and business matching services during and after the event.
FILMART showcases some 30 sessions of various events to foster knowledge exchange and facilitate connections, including press conferences, project showcases, seminars, networking events and more.
Notably, the inaugural Rhythm of Martial Arts Music Concert took place today led by music director Dr. Mui Kwong Chiu. The concert highlighted the exceptional talents of six renowned film music composers, including Richard Yuan, Peter Kam, Punk Chan, Leon Ko, Julian Chan and Lam Kwan-Fai. Popstars Deep Ng and Edmond Tong delivered performances of iconic theme songs from classic Hong Kong films. The event also featured a special guest appearance by Thai film composer Terdsak Janpan.
EntertainmentPulse brings together heavyweight industry leaders
At the third EntertainmentPulse, global industry leaders discuss a wide range of topics, including Hong Kong-Europe-Asia co-productions, development of streaming, globalisation of Chinese and ASEAN content as well as generative AI content.
Asia Video Industry Association CEO Louis Boswell, engaged in dialogue with iQIYI international business department vice president Kelvin Yau and True Digital Group digital media department president Winradit Kolasastraseni, to discuss the latest developments and opportunities of the Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model of streaming platforms.
Over the years, Hong Kong cinema has produced many box office hits, with a significant number of emerging filmmakers. “Meeting of Brilliance: A Dialogue between Two Generations of Filmmakers on Hong Kong Movies” features renowned film critic Thomas Shin, Fly Me to the Moon director Sasha Chuk and film producer Stanley Kwan as well as Dust to Dust producer Soi Cheang and director Jonathan Li, representing two generations of Hong Kong film.
Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) industry programme provides filmmakers with opportunities
The HKIFF industry programme selected several projects for funding from a record-breaking 460 submissions from 48 countries and regions. Covering diverse genres and themes, these include projects filmed by acclaimed filmmakers and producers, such as Koji Fukada, Michael J. Werner, Zhang Lu and Guan Hu.
The Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) is an integral part of the newly expanded HKIFF industry programme. At HAF this year, 10 directors are making their debut and seven film projects from Hong Kong will be featured.
As Asia’s most significant financing platform, HAF has facilitated the successful distribution of over 213 feature film projects since its establishment in 2000. It is held concurrently with the inaugural HKIFF Industry-CAA China Genre Initiative (HCG), which supports the development of Chinese genre films.