Hong Kong FilMart’s Expansion Is Built on Hopes of China’s Entertainment Engagement

variety.com:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief COVID, changing money flows and a new superpower Cold War of sorts may have, over the past few years, helped to reduce the connections between the film and TV industries of China and the rest of the world — so, will the 2024 edition of FilMart, whose organizers continue to claim bridgehead status, be the market to increase those connections?

Candas Yeung, the Trade Development Council associate director who takes over as head of FilMart this year, says that visitor and exhibitor numbers have crept up again this year — to an anticipated 7,500 and 715, respectively — and that fully 40% of market participants hail from mainland China. “That’s a pretty significant proportion and they are very active in the market, both buying and selling, and making some announcements,” Yeung says. “Clearly, Hong Kong remains a crucial intermediate link between mainland Chinese and the rest of the world’s entertainment industry.

We will try to support them through things like our business- matching efforts and to help these companies promote their films and provide opportunities for financing, networking and collaboration.” Mainland Chinese companies including Linmon (which claims that English is its internal working language), Alibaba and iQiyi are expected to make cross-border announcements this week.

Such outreach, however, has been at a low ebb in recent years. After a decade of chaotic embrace, a disconnect may have been triggered in 2018 when the Chinese government reined in companies like Wanda that were seeking to buy big stakes in Hollywood.