FILMART & EntertainmentPulse 2023 Editions Open in Hong Kong

Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART) and its EntertainmentPulse conference have begun at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and will run through March 16.

Aside from local exhibitors such as Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures, Golden Scene, Mandarin Film, Media Asia, One Cool Pictures, PCCW Media and Universal Films, a record number of over 330 mainland exhibitors are also attendance. This includes producers and distributors such as Zhejiang Huace Film & TV, Daylight Entertainment, Fantawild, Beijing Yiding Legend Culture Co. and Linmon Media, as well as the streaming platforms iQIYI, Tencent and Youku.

The venue hosts nearly 30 overseas pavilions, including those from the mainland, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Italy, the U.S. and Europe, allowing the aforementioned exhibitors the chance to trade with global buyers.

This year’s EntertainmentPulse will see industry leaders discuss a variety of topics, including the hype behind dating and romance shows, the application of Web3 in the entertainment industry and Chinese donghua animation as soft power. The forum began with Spotlight Conversation: The Asian Wave in 2023 and Beyond, co-hosted by Sebastian Kim, director of international content sales and acquisition at CJ ENM; Sanmesh Thakur, executive VP and territory head for AsiaPac at ZEE Entertainment Enterprises; and Ziraviss Vindhanapisuth, VP of international business at BEC World Public Company.

EntertainmentPulse will also see Bona Film Group’s COO, Jiang Defu, discuss the development and future of Chinese Film, and Daylight Entertainment’s chairman and producer, Hou Hong Liang, talk about making quality TV content.

Running alongside FILMART and EntertainmentPulse, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) connects filmmakers, investors, producers and distributors. The 21st edition has selected 28 in-development projects and 15 work-in-progress projects from 350 submissions. These come from 38 territories and cover various genres, including comedy, horror, fantasy, romance, suspense, drama and animation. It features 22 directors making their debut and highlights ten film projects from Hong Kong.

“FILMART is one of the founding events of the Entertainment Expo and has, over the years, become the largest cross-media and cross-industry entertainment content-trading platform in Asia,” said Margaret Fong, executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. “With the full resumption of international travel, this year’s FILMART has attracted 702 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions. In last year’s policy address, the Hong Kong SAR chief executive outlined the government’s commitment to foster the cultural development of Hong Kong and expedite the city’s progression into an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange. I believe that with the government’s strong support, the industry can seize more opportunities and grow further.”