Hong Kong Entertainment Expo gets underway
The 20th edition of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, currently underway until 14th April, promises to be an arts and culture extravaganza showcasing the best of Hong Kong film, television, music and digital entertainment across 10 events.
Entertainment Expo 2024 comprises a series of events, including the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART), Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), Hong Kong Film Awards, Asian Film Awards, Asia Video Summit, Digital Entertainment Summit, EntertainmentPulse, Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), ifva Festival, and Microfilm Production Support Scheme (Music).
The Expo’s opening ceremony will take place on 11th March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, to be attended by representatives from the local film, TV and entertainment industries and international exhibitors and buyers.
The annual Expo attracts international stars, directors and entertainment industry elites to Hong Kong with Leon Lai announced as this year’s Expo ambassador.
Alongside the three founding events, Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and Hong Kong Film Awards, seven core programmes will showcase Hong Kong’s status as a leading business hub for the creative industries in Asia. These include the newly added Asia Video Summit and Microfilm Production Support Scheme (Music), together with the Independent Film and Video Media Festival, Asian Film Awards, Hong Kong - Asia Film Financing Forum, EntertainmentPulse and Digital Entertainment Summit.
Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Expo is sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), the Film Development Fund and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR.
Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART), 11th-14th March
Organised by the HKTDC, FILMART is Asia’s leading entertainment content marketplace for creative industries. It aims to facilitate content production, distribution, co-production and investment opportunities, while strengthening Hong Kong's position as a regional intellectual property trading hub.
Some 750 exhibitors from more than 25 countries and regions will showcase at the event, which also gathers leading industry professionals from around the world to engage in dialogue, establish networks and explore business opportunities. Diverse international and local productions will also be shown.
FILMART features over 30 regional pavilions from different countries and regions, including first-time exhibitors from Hubei province, Macau and Indonesia.
Additionally, a series of renowned film and TV production companies will showcase their works, such as Alibaba Cultural Entertainment, Huace, Daylight Entertainment, Artop and Linmon Media from Mainland China; TBS from Japan; Contents Panda from South Korea; BEC World from Thailand and major streaming platforms Bilibili, iQIYI and Tencent. Hong Kong film production companies introducing their upcoming projects include Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures, Golden Scene, Mandarin Motion Pictures, Media Asia and more.
The Hong Kong Design Institute will announce the opening of its virtual production studio at the Expo, while first-time participant Hong Kong Baptist University will showcase the latest in AI, visualisation and human-machine interaction technologies for film production.
FILMART, in collaboration with creative tech company Votion Studios, will also debut a virtual production studio on-site, demonstrating the latest production techniques and real-time content generation.
The four-day event will feature a variety of activities, including press conferences, film showcases, seminars, networking sessions and screenings. It will also showcase the latest international productions and cutting-edge technologies, with a focus on virtual production, video streaming, co-production and AI-generated content.
The FILMART online platform is open until 13th April. The platform promotes the creative IPs of FILMART exhibitors, with dedicated business referrals and business matching.
EntertainmentPulse, 11th-14th March
EntertainmentPulse will run concurrently with FILMART to provide the latest entertainment industry insights and market information. Distinguished global industry leaders will explore a wide range of topics, including co-production opportunities in Asia and Europe, the internationalisation of the entertainment industry in Mainland China and ASEAN, generative AI, and the rise of streaming content and its impact on the industry. The event will also feature an engaging dialogue between two generations of filmmakers on Hong Kong movies.
These seminars will gather an impressive array of keynote speakers sharing their invaluable insights, including:
- Jihong Chen, Equity Partner, Zhong Lun Law Firm
- Alaa Fadan, CEO and Chairman, Talfaz11 from Saudi Arabia
- Binxing Fu, President, Huace Group
- Winradit Kolasastraseni, President Digital Media, True Digital Group
- Stanley Kwan and Soi Cheang, renowned Hong Kong film producer and director
- Li Jie, President, Alibaba Pictures
- Raymond Phathanavirangoon, film producer
- Shimizu Shinji, Chief Advisor, Toei Animation
- Catherine Souyri-Desrosier, International Department Director, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée
- Catherine Xujun Ying, Vice President, CMC Inc.
Digital Entertainment Summit (DES) to be held on 13th March is themed ‘The Realm of Animation: The Global Perspective and Cross-Border Collaborations’. The 14th Digital Entertainment Summit will discuss the latest industry developments and the future of digital entertainment. Featured speakers include Shimizu Shinji, Chief Advisor of Toei Animation from Japan; Byunga Han, Anime Director of Ashubia Animation Production from Korea and Matthew Chow, Managing Director of Simage Animation and Media Ltd.
The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) will run from 28th March-8th April
HKIFF Industry Project Market runs from 11th-13th March
More information on the Entertainment Expo
Image top: Organised by the HKTDC, FILMART is Asia’s leading content trading platform for creative industries. The event will take place from 11 to 14 March at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre; Image above: The 3rd edition of EntertainmentPulse will be held concurrently with FILMART from 11th to 14th March.
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