FILMART 2017

The 2017 Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) is taking place March 13 to 16, and about 800 exhibitors are expected this year at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

More than 30 countries and regions will be represented, with new exhibitors from territories such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine. In addition to major markets such as the U.S., France, the U.K., Korea and Japan, more than 200 exhibitors are expected from 15 “belt and road” countries across Central Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, including China, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will also have a key presence at FILMART, with more than 50 exhibitors from ASEAN countries, including the return of a Thai Pavilion and Indonesian exhibitors. In addition to the returning group pavilions from various countries and regions, such as Cambodia, Canada, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, the U.K., the U.S. and Vietnam, there are a number of newcomers. These include the Chinese Film Association of Malaysia and Media & Entertainment Association (MEAI) from India.

FILMART 2017 is expecting record-breaking participation from Mainland China, as well as first-time government-led pavilions from Ningbo and Fujian Pavilion. Also, a number of major players from the film industry in Hong Kong will be on hand, among them China 3D Digital Distribution, One Cool Film Production, Sun Entertainment Culture and Universe Films Distribution. New participants include Digital Domain, Fantastic Television and Fox Networks Group Asia.

From the TV world, more than 300 exhibitors are set to attend. There will be a Hong Kong Animation & Digital Entertainment (HKDE) Pavilion, sponsored by CreateHK, with more than 30 local companies from various sectors of digital entertainment, including animation production, visual and digital effects, post-production, mobile applications and new media (including 360-degree shooting and VR) and interactive content development. A demonstration zone will be set up in the HKDE Pavilion so that FILMART visitors will be able to experience the VR technologies and content contributed by the exhibitors. Also this year, there will be a wide range of documentary productions from some 100 exhibitors from nearly 20 countries and regions such as Japan, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, France and the U.S.

A series of more than 70 special events—thematic conferences, networking cocktails, press conferences, film premieres and award presentations—are set to take place during the four-day fair period. Six thematic conferences will feature hot topics such as VR and VFX technologies to give industry players a look at the emerging market opportunities and the fast-changing technologies.

Around 30 international industry veterans are lined up as speakers. These include Oscar-winning director Ruby Yang, whose work includes The Blood of Yingzhou District; Genki Kawamura, producer of Your Name; Daniel Son, the head of the VFX division at Digital Idea; Chris Bremble, founder and CEO of Base FX; and Delna Bhesania, the CEO of Bardel Entertainment. Conference sessions include “What’s Next for the Chinese Film Market?,” “New Opportunities in the Explosive Growth of Online Entertainment,” “Opportunity for Documentaries in Asia,” “Is the Internet a Challenge or Opportunity for the Show Business?” and “China Animation: Ready to Hit the International Market?”

The Market Screenings will take place in screening venues in HKCEC and offsite venues, namely UA Cine Times (Times Square, Causeway Bay) and The Cinema in the Hong Kong Arts Centre. About 40 world and international premieres will be held at FILMART.

The Entertainment Expo Hong Kong (EEHK) is a concurrent event, being held from March 13 to April 25. The kick-off ceremony of EEHK will take place on March 13 at the HKCEC.