FilMart Celebrates Three Decades of Shaping Asia’s Screen Industry: ‘We Add Value by Helping International Companies Navigate the Regional Market’

Hong Kong’s FilMart celebrates a milestone this year, marking 30 years as the linchpin of Asia’s film and television market. From its origins as a regional trade hub to its current stature as a global meeting point for producers, distributors and innovators, FilMart has consistently reflected the evolution of the entertainment industry itself. This year’s edition runs through March 20 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“When we launched FilMart in 1997, we identified a critical gap in the global film trade infrastructure,” says Candas Yeung, associate director of service promotion at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the event organizer. “While Hong Kong was already celebrated as the ‘Hollywood of the East,’ the industry lacked a centralized, home-ground business platform in Asia. FilMart was designed to be that bridge — providing a familiar, efficient environment where international distributors could connect with Chinese mainland studios and Asian producers.”

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Over the past three decades, FilMart has grown from a primarily regional marketplace into a truly international platform. Participants span Europe, the Americas and across Asia, reflecting the rising appetite for cross-cultural content and co-productions. Where once the market focused on buying and selling distribution rights for finished films and television programs, it now encompasses a wider spectrum of IP collaboration, licensing, remake rights, animation, digital entertainment and other emerging content forms.

Strategic industry developments have punctuated FilMart’s rise. The 2003 Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) catalysed cross-border co-productions, enabling Chinese mainland projects to enter international markets while allowing global companies easier access to the mainland. Two years later, the launch of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, which bundled FilMart with the Hong Kong Intl. Film Festival (HKIFF) and Hong Kong Film Awards, amplified the market’s profile and solidified the city’s role as Asia’s entertainment hub. Integration with the Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) further expanded FilMart into a one-stop platform covering the full value chain, from script financing to global distribution.

“The evolution of FilMart has been both geographic and industrial,” Yeung notes. “Today, our dual roles as a ‘superconnector’ and ‘super value-adder’ stand us in good stead. We do more than connecting buyers and sellers, we add value by helping international companies navigate the regional market, providing professional services for IP trading while simultaneously spotlighting Asian content on the international stage.”

The more profound shift, Yeung notes, has been in the scope of the industry itself. “When we started, FilMart was about buying and selling film and TV distribution rights. Today, the transaction is no longer limited to finished films or TV programs; it encompasses a much wider spectrum, including IP collaboration, remake rights, licensing and cross-media content.” There has been a massive expansion into new genres and content like animation and digital entertainment.

Equally critical is the human connection, which has grown increasingly central to the market. “As the trend of cross-border collaboration and co-production is rising, the need for connection is paramount,” she says. “That is why we are bringing global producers together under the Producers Connect program, fostering the relationships necessary for these complex projects.”

The 30th edition will showcase enhanced programs, including the AI Hub, Producers Connect and the newly launched AI Academy, featuring more than 15 hands-on workshops. Over 790 exhibitors from more than 30 countries and regions are expected to converge on Hong Kong, with expanded pavilions from the Chinese mainland and several first-time participants from emerging markets.

“Post-pandemic, we recognized that online engagement and business matching are more important than ever,” Yeung explains. “To address this, we built an online IP catalog to facilitate business matching, extending business communication and discussions well beyond the physical market floor.”

As streaming platforms, AI-generated content, and short-form dramas reshape global consumption patterns, FilMart’s enduring value lies in its physical marketplace and curated networking opportunities.
“We are not just looking back at three decades of success, we are setting the stage for the next era of entertainment,” says Yeung. “By staying ahead of technological trends while deepening our role as a trusted global connector, FilMart will continue to be the essential bridge where the world’s entertainment industry converges to create, collaborate, and grow.”