FILMART & EntertainmentPulse Conclude After Strong Showing

FILMART has wrapped after welcoming over 7,500 participants from 50 countries and regions during the four-day event.

The event saw over 760 exhibitors from 27 countries and regions and a year-on-year increase in ASEAN exhibitors and buyers of 50 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

During the event, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), organizer of FILMART, signed multiple MOUs with Guangzhou, Thailand and Shanghai.

Several film companies leveraged FILMART’s platform to unveil their latest productions and upcoming plans. Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group, for example, revealed the Hong Kong Cultural and Art Industry Revitalisation Program, in which it commits to invest no less than HK$5 billion over the next five years to reinforce collaboration with Hong Kong’s cultural and entertainment industry.

The Hong Kong Film Development Council launched the Hong Kong-Europe-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme, with the support of the Hong Kong SAR Government’s investment in the Film Development Fund, to encourage more international productions to come to Hong Kong.

One of the guest speakers at EntertainmentPulse, Catherine Souyri-Desrosier, international department director of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, said, “Co-production is at the heart of France’s cultural policy to promote cultural diversity, cultural exchanges and cross-fertilization. As [such], France has developed a proactive policy to support co-productions with more than 60 bilateral treaties, including with four countries in Asia: China, Cambodia, South Korea and India. We look forward to collaborating with outstanding Asian crews and developing high-quality productions.”

FILMART showcased the emergence of talented young directors from Hong Kong, many of whom were supported by the Hong Kong SAR Government’s First Feature Film Initiative and Film Production Financing Scheme.

Stanley Kwan, a film director from Hong Kong, said at EntertainmentPulse, “The Hong Kong SAR Government and industry veterans should assist high-quality films in reaching international audiences through various channels and bring new directors to people’s attention to encourage more new talents to create.”

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia staged a country pavilion for the first time at FILMART to showcase its film and TV productions. Rina Dayamanti, festival director of Jakarta Film Week and one of the pavilion representatives, expressed that Indonesian exhibitors were eager to meet Mainland Chinese buyers and explore the possibility of producing Indonesian versions of mainland IP projects. At the pavilion, Indonesian producer Talamedia announced that Cercamon acquired the worldwide rights to Crocodile Tears, and KawanKawan Media revealed that it concluded principal photography of its latest feature, Tale of the Land.

At the concurrent EntertainmentPulse, topics in the world of digital entertainment, including animation and cross-border collaboration, were explored. Shimizu Shinji, chief advisor of Toei Animation, the company behind Ikkyū-san and One Piece, shared his insights on the application of digital entertainment in animation creation.

This year, FILMART strengthened its online platform to promote exhibitors’ creative IPs, provide business referrals and facilitate business matching. As of early March, over 1,000 film and entertainment works have been uploaded to the platform. It will remain open until April 13. Registered users can rewatch EntertainmentPulse seminars and connect with buyers and exhibitors until then.