Hong Kong FilMart 2025: Five Takeaways From Asia’s Recharged Global Content Market

variety.com:

AI applications and a live showcase of Hong Kong’s film music legacy, FilMart proved once again why it’s considered Asia’s premier film and TV marketplace.

Here are the top takeaways from this year’s edition. 1. ASEAN Presence Explodes as Southeast Asia Takes Center Stage One of the biggest headlines this year was the rise of ASEAN countries as strategic players in both market scale and content ambition.

Exhibitor participation from the region grew more than 50% year-on-year, while buyer attendance increased by 15%. Malaysia’s national film body, FINAS, used the event to finalize a memorandum of understanding with Korea’s KOFIC and engage in market access talks with Cambodia. “It was a great start on the first day of FilMart 2025,” said FINAS CEO Dato’ Azmir Saifuddin Bin Mutalib, “among the discussions that concluded successfully is the discussion with the HK Cultural & Creative Development Agency on co-production funding.” Elsewhere, Thailand and Indonesia curated pavilions and forums designed to spotlight their creative capabilities and global ambitions, affirming that Southeast Asia is no longer a side act — it’s part of the main billing.

Newly launched this year, the Producers Connect program quickly became a hub of high-level conversation and practical matchmaking.