FILMART Online & EntertainmentPulse Open

FILMART Online, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), has opened, along with the first edition of EntertainmentPulse.

The four-day virtual events, taking place from March 14 to 17, bring together more than 740 exhibitors and 8,000 individuals from across the industry who are releasing and promoting more than 2,300 of their latest film and TV productions.

Exhibitors from Hong Kong include Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures, Entertaining Power, Golden Network, Golden Scene, Golden Sun Films Distribution, Mandarin Motion Pictures, Media Asia Distribution, Mega-Vision Project Workshop, Mei Ah Entertainment Group, One Cool Film Production, Sil-Metropole Organisation, Universe Films Distribution, TVBI and PCCW.

More than 240 production companies from Mainland China are included in the lineup of exhibitors, including China International TV Corporation (CITVC), iQIYI, Youku, Bilibili, Tencent, China Huace Film & TV, Daylight Entertainment, Artop International, Shanghai Youhug Media, Fantawild Animation, Midnight Blur Films, Hangzhou Ix Media, Perfect World Pictures and Hengdian Entertainment.

The event also features pavilions from Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Changsha, Xiamen, Taiwan, the European Union, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and the U.S., among others.

Exhibitors can showcase their productions and company information on their own dedicated pages on the FILMART Online platform, which enables buyers to search for productions in their field of interest and features built-in video conferencing and messaging functions. The organizer will also arrange online business matching for buyers and provide a list of recommended exhibitors.

The debut EntertainmentPulse presents a series of seminars that will showcase the latest developments in the Hong Kong film and TV industry under the new normal. On the first day of the fair, representatives from The Walt Disney Company, Huace Group and NHK Enterprise, along with Hong Kong actor and film producer Gordon Lam, will address such issues as content creation, documentaries and Hong Kong productions.

In this morning’s Opening New Doors for APAC Storytellers session, Jessica Kam-Engle, head of content and development for The Walt Disney Company in Asia Pacific, shared how Disney+ collaborates with content creators to bring Asia-Pacific productions to audiences worldwide. Upcoming discussions will be held with Takonkiet Viravan, group CEO of The One Enterprise; CEO of Digital Domain Daniel Seah; Sebastien Borget, co-founder and COO of The Sandbox; and Leo Matchett, CEO and co-founder of Decentralized Pictures. Additional featured sessions include Blending in with Audience: Localisation of Scripted TV Formats and Digitalizing Entertainment Experience with NFTs.

Another highlight, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) is running through March 16. The forum will present shortlisted movie projects, with 28 in-development projects and 15 work-in-progress projects. Among the shortlisted projects, 11 of them are based in Hong Kong while 21 up-and-coming directors make their first attempt at directing a feature film. New works by veteran professionals are also on the list.