Entering its 30th edition this year, Hong Kong Filmart takes place at a time of unprecedented technological disruption in the media and entertainment industry, as well as political strife in the world’s major institutions.
At the time of writing, Filmart organizers Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC) were still considering the impact on visitor numbers of the ongoing US-Iran conflict, although most of the overseas participants are from within the region, cancellations may be limited. However, there are other events closer to home that may give planners a big headache.
Scheduled for March 17-20 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Filmart provides a platform for the film, broadcasting, animation and technology industries with a virtual retail market, an extensive conference program and a series of business matching and networking events.
According to TDC statistics, more than 780 marketers and 7,700 industry professionals are expected to attend this year’s event, with about 42% of marketers coming from Hong Kong and Mainland China and the rest from overseas. National leaflets are hosted by South Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand and a wide range of provinces and cities in China.
On the consumer side, about 30% come from Hong Kong, 60% from the rest of Asia and 10% from outside the region. TDC reports “highly active engagement” from Asian regions including mainland China, Korea and Southeast Asia. “Besides these strong sites, we are seeing growing interest from emerging markets in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America,” said TDC Associate Director of Service Promotion, Candas Yeung.
The retail business is slow in the latest market systems, at least compared to pre-pandemic times, but this is consistent with the virtual retail markets everywhere in the world. These days, film and TV marketing seems to be more about providing intelligence to a rapidly changing industry, than the quotidian business of signing contract memos. Filmart had a strong conference line-up last year and looks set for some exciting events this year, including a returning focus on AI technology development, microdrama and international co-productions.
The AI Hub, piloted last year, includes an exhibition space, a series of 15 workshops and a panel discussion. Companies exhibiting at the trade show include China’s Alibaba Cloud, Daogu Culture, Kling AI, Kino X AI and MiniMax. Workshops include AIGC sessions (audio, text, photos and videos), visual production, digital people, animation, shorts and IP protection.
Yeung says AI Hub aims to shed light on both the creative and business aspects of AI filmmaking: “Our mission goes beyond learning tools. By helping content creators use AI to guide their production, we actively encourage collaboration between content creators and technology experts. We see this collaboration as an important new business opportunity for the industry.”
Filmart’s AI Hub in 2025
The focus on microdramas will likewise explore both the practical side of making stand-up dramas – a booming industry that has overtaken the traditional film and TV business in mainland China in terms of revenue – as well as business angles, with speakers from Chinese companies including DataEye, Mansen Culture Media and Xiaowu Brothers HK.
International cooperation will be discussed through the Producers Connect forum which aims to match local producers with their overseas counterparts. Ten overseas film agencies have signed up to participate in the program, including the British Film Institute, China Film Co-Production Corp, Cinecitta of Italy, Film Development Council of the Philippines, ICEX Spain Trade and Investment, Korean Film Council, Ministry of Culture of Indonesia, FINAS of Malaysia, Slovakia Film Commission and Vietnam Film Development Association.
The panel discussion, part of Filmart’s Entertainment Pulse series, will take an in-depth look at co-production with speakers including Peter Ho-sun Chan from Hong Kong, Anthony Chen from Singapore and Golden Globe-winning producer Janet Yang. In addition to sessions on AI, microdrama and co-production, Entertainment Pulse is also hosting panel discussions on animation, broadcasting, film financing and a Sharing session with Hong Kong Filmmakers and producers and directors including Amy Chin and Patrick Leung.
Notably absent from the conference program is the participation of Japanese producers and filmmakers, despite the fact that Japan is currently one of Asia’s most fertile filmmaking regions with a growing interest in international co-productions. Two Japanese film and TV agencies – UniJapan and the International Drama Festival Tokyo – host the Filmart flyers, as they have done in previous editions of the market, but beyond that, Japan’s representation remains small.
Although the TDC declined to comment, the Hong Kong government is now more in line with Beijing’s foreign policy, recently banning Japanese films, music and other entertainment products following comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that Japan would consider military intervention if China attacked Taiwan.
The decline of Takaichi’s comments affected mainland China more than Hong Kong – no Japanese films have been released in China since then. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Infinity Castle last November, although the Japanese articles included That’s it again Tokyo taxi were recently released in Hong Kong to strong box office results. However, the China-Japan conflict seems to be affecting Hong Kong film production and major film events.
Japanese actor Takuya Kimura recently released the next episode Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled Indespite the first film being popular in Japan, it was reportedly due to the tension between China and Japan. The Asian Film Awards, the main event of Hong Kong’s Entertainment Expo, which usually takes place the night before Filmart, has canceled the main awards ceremony, citing the need for nothing in the wake of last year’s Tai Po fire disaster.
However, the awards are organized by the Tokyo International Film Festival, and there have been speculations that there have been concerns about the viewing of the event, as Japanese cinema has had a strong year and is likely to come away with more awards.
In addition, this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF, April 1-12), another important event within the Entertainment Expo, is light on Japanese topics, although since the festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary, it would always focus more on the history and current state of Chinese-language cinema.
Unfortunately, the China-Japan dispute is not the only international issue affecting Hong Kong’s international trade and business events. Filamuart strongly promotes its highly connected nature – positioning itself as a bridge between West and East Asian markets including mainland China, Southeast Asia and the rest of Asia. But the truth is that, due to the changing regulatory environment and a number of failed financial deals, the West is now not interested in working with China.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government has been investing in supporting local filmmakers and encouraging international co-productions. But the area continues to grapple with the impact of the National Security Act, which has raised scrutiny issues for some jobs. This year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, another Entertainment Expo event scheduled for April 19, has dropped four titles from its list of contenders, including the Best Asian Chinese Film category, sparking censorship concerns.
None of this bodes well for Hong Kong’s film industry, which is also battling commercial headwinds, including a wave of cinema closures and a difficult financing situation. In particular, three major Hong Kong companies – Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP), One Cool Group and Universe Entertainment – opted out of building the expensive booths that usually front this year’s Filmart trade show.
However, there are still bright spots in the local industry, including a strong crop of indie filmmakers who continue to get films into production and into the festival circuit (see Deadline interview with HKIFF Industry to find out more about Hong Kong indies). And in the last few years, other films have become mainstream, including Media Asia Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In and EMPs The Last Dancehave become record-breaking hits.
During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, Edko Films’ The Night Kingabout a defunct nightclub in Tsim Sha Tsui East, it was a huge hit in Hong Kong and Mainland China, grossing $27.5M (RMB190M) in China alone. Many Hong Kong companies continue to exhibit at Filmart, including Edko, Golden Scene, MakerVille Company, Media Asia and Mei Ah Entertainment.
The Night King by Jack Ng‘
“While the industry is looking at a time of change, it is doing so from a position of incredible strength; domestically, we have seen local films consistently break HK$100M. [US$12.8M] the box office benchmark for the past few years,” said Filmart’s Yeung.
“Far from lagging behind, Hong Kong companies are aggressively expanding their international presence. We are also seeing strategic diversification in content. Companies are expanding their portfolios beyond traditional film to embrace new formats such as microdramas and broadcast series, while also incorporating AI technology.”
Some of the issues that currently concern Filmart – the China-Japan conflict and the US-Iran conflict – will hopefully be a distant memory in next year’s edition, while others are long-term and linked to China’s internal politics, as well as technological developments that are reshaping international content industries. The challenge for Filmart is how to navigate these internal and external forces going forward.
