Filmart’s back, in person: Hong Kong movie industry hopes trade event will spark interest, investments in local productions
- Regional film networking event returns after three years as virtual trade show, attracting nearly 700 exhibitors from more than 25 countries and regions
- Local movie industry expects boost from Filmart, following string of hits including A Guilty Conscience
Buoyed by recent box office hits, Hong Kong filmmakers are hoping the return of Asia’s largest in-person movie trade show this week will see an influx of buyers and investors putting their money into new local productions.
The Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (Filmart) trade show, held as a virtual event in the past three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will run from Monday to Thursday.
Hosted by the Trade Development Council, the event offers an opportunity for producers, distributors, investors and professionals to launch promotions, network and negotiate deals for film financing. This year’s event has attracted nearly 700 exhibitors from more than 25 countries and regions.
Apart from major local companies, more than 20 overseas participants have set up pavilions to promote film and television productions, including those from mainland China, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Italy, the United States and Europe.
The event is expected to give the city’s movie industry a boost following the recent success of several films, especially the courtroom drama A Guilty Conscience, which became the highest-grossing Asian film of all time in Hong Kong with a record-breaking box office of more than HK$108 million (US$13.76 million).
The low-budget movie, a courtroom drama directed by first-timer Ng Wai-lun, stars stand-up comedian Dayo Wong Tze-wah as a sharp-tongued barrister who tries to redeem himself after landing an innocent woman in jail.