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Several of those corporations claim that it’s been five years since they participated in Filmart, so they feel it’s time to come back and reconnect with the region. “Our industry has undergone dramatic transformations, pushing us all to adapt and look for niches and new opportunities,” says Yuan Rothbauer, co-CEO of Picture Tree International.
“The lack of engagement with the Chinese market since Covid has made itself felt, which has also made Filmart an ideal platform to reconnect only with the majority of Chinese buyers, but also with buyers from Southeast Asian countries. “
Attendance is up compared to last year. Candas Yeung, associate director of service promotion at Filmart’s organizer, the Hong Kong Business Development Council (HKTDC), says around 750 exhibitors and 7,500 visitors registered for this year’s Filmart, compared to around 700 exhibitors and 7,300 visitors in 2023 (although that’s still the 880 exhibitors registered at Filmart’s last pre-pandemic fair in 2019). Of the visitors, about 40% are from mainland China, 30% from Hong Kong, and 30% from the rest of the world.
Major Hong Kong corporations such as Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures, Media Asia, One Cool Group, and Universe Entertainment will introduce new titles to the market (more on this soon). There will also be many Chinese exhibitors, such as Alibaba, iQiyi. , Tencent, CMC Pictures and Huace, as well as a large number of corporate pavilions from China’s provinces.
Other Asian pavilions include the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA); Philippine Film Development Council (FDCP); Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA); a delegation of 26 Thai companies under the auspices of the Thai Ministry of Culture; and a first active presence of Indonesian industry organized through the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
Filmart’s Entertainment Pulse lecture series will answer many of the questions on the lips of participants, with questions about co-production between Europe and Asia (following Create Hong Kong’s recent announcement of a European co-production fund); new technologies such as AI and virtual production; and a consultation on the streaming landscape with speakers such as Marianne Lee of Viu and Jessica Kam-Engle of CreAsia Studios.
In line with the generation component, Filmart is collaborating with Votion Studios to set up an on-site virtual production studio at the show, while the Hong Kong Institute of Design will announce the launch of a VP level for educational purposes at Shaw Studios in Hong Kong. .
Filmart is also unveiling its e-commerce platform, which was active for two months in mid-February and lately offers around 400 intellectual properties. ” This year, on the platform, we will provide committed business references and connect our exhibitors with partners. , investors, and distribution channels,” Yeung says. This exhibition will only attract potential buyers and investors, but will also facilitate partnerships for co-production projects. “
However, what would help Filmart regain its position as a leading film and television market in Asia would be for Chinese and Asian buyers to be able to source from the market in large volumes and make serious purchases. Among Chinese buyers, it’s unclear whether this is politics. or market forces (or a combination of both) that are holding them back, as China appears to have eased its quota restrictions over the past year and has recently experimented with more open distribution models.
Currently, companies selling products in a language other than English seem to be making more progress in the Chinese market: “Lately we have been having to close deals with China after years without reaching an agreement,” says Nicolai Korsgaard, commercial director at TrustNordisk. “The genres remain the same: action, animation and crisis films. “
But fewer U. S. independent films are being distributed in China compared to what now turns out to be a nonviolent pre-pandemic period. IFTA’s Prewitt says, “Some indie films are coming in, but other people have been saying for a few years that if you end up promoting China, that’s sauce, but you can’t include that in a monetary model. “
At the very least, this year’s Filmart will give distributors a clearer idea of whether that will ever change. It will also help Western corporations build bridges with other markets in the region in the run-up to Cannes.
As usual, Filmart takes a position from the Hong Kong Entertainment Expo, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and includes 8 other events, adding the Hong Kong International Film Festival (from March 28 to April 8), the HKIFF Industry Project Market (from March 11 -13), Asia Video Summit (March 13 and 14), Hong Kong Film Awards (April 14) and Asian Film Awards (March 10), which will take place at the Hong Kong Palace Museum a day before the opening of Filmart and just a few hours before the Oscars.
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