Asian Filmmakers Enjoy Global Success through Hong Kong Collaborations

No cinephile would miss the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), an established platform dedicated to showcasing Asia’s finest productions. Since its first edition in 1977, the annual event has continued to capture global attention.

In 2023 alone, nine world premieres, five International premieres and 68 Asian premieres were held during HKIFF, featuring acclaimed filmmakers Ann Hui and Soi Cheang. As the organiser of HKIFF, the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to help Asian films flourish.

Jacob Wong, Director of The HKIFF Industry believes they play a role in connecting people with money to people with ideas. The Industry Office was set up by HKIFFS to coordinate film industry activities and has enjoyed great success in facilitating co-production projects. A prime example is the Beautiful series which was financed by one of China’s leading video platforms Youku and production company Heyi Pictures. HKIFF Industry then invited directors to take part. The series shone a spotlight on Asian filmmakers, including Korean and Japanese directors Kim Tae-yong, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Kang Je-kyu and Nakata Hideo, who presented their works to millions of viewers worldwide.

Support from HKIFFS doesn’t end there.

The Society also engages in overseas distribution under its HKIFF Collection initiative. It has previously supported Sakahara Atsushi’s Me and the Cult Leader which premiered at Sheffield International Documentary Festival in the United Kingdom. HKIFFS also co-produced Ishii Yuya’s All The Things We Never Said with Heaven Pictures Hong Kong. Both Japanese films were later sold by the Society’s distribution arm, HKIFF Collection, to markets including South Korea. These efforts illustrate Hong Kong’s continuous contributions to artistic productions and cinematic diversity.

Promoting content diversity and nurturing talent
The HKIFF Industry remains highly committed to helping the next generation of talent as building a talent pool “is the next thing to do”. In Jacob’s words, “We want to support young people with great ideas who may be able to make good movies.” One of the ways is through the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) where shortlisted filmmakers with projects in production are connected to contacts for post-production and distribution, while those with brilliant film ideas are introduced to potential investors for financial support on projects that are still in the early stages of development.

By not limiting the project submissions by region, genre type or budget requirement, HAF has become an effective business matching platform with entries beyond Asia, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Iran. Jacob believes HAF would be of particular interest to producers of non-commercial films in Korea as independent cinemas there are still reeling from the pandemic.

According to Jacob, HAF selects an average of 35 projects each year, with around 40 percent of them eventually hitting the big screen. Among them, South Korean thriller The Yellow Sea by Na Hong-jin and Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, which later won Best Film at the third Asian Film Awards.

In 2023, HAF shortlisted 43 projects from over 330 submissions seeking production assistance. Over 400 guests registered with HAF and more than 1,000 private business meetings and individual media interviews were arranged. “We are established. We are considered to be one of the better project markets in this part of the world… We have projects that go to major film festivals.” A highly successful HAF project is Ayka - a Russian, German, Polish, Kazakh and Chinese co-production that took home the Best Actress Award at Cannes Film Festival 2018. Such international accolades cement Hong Kong as the hub for which film talent gather and thrive.

The impact Hong Kong still exerts over world cinema is evident. As Jacob explained, “Film festival programmers will come to look at WIP (Work-In-Progress) projects to see if there’s anything that they should be on the lookout for, so that they would invite them to their film festivals.” Selected WIP projects are also afforded the opportunity to find funds, sales agents and film festival support at Cannes Film Festival. The line-up of HAF Goes to Cannes in 2023 features Japanese director Tetsuya Tomina’s Who Were We?, which was sold to mainland China during its post-production stage. The Japanese drama was recently in competition at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2023. Further HAF projects from Asian directors have also been welcomed at international film events, including Busan International Film Festival.

Hong Kong as a regional entertainment powerhouse
In recent years, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) has been running concurrently with the HKTDC Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART), Asia’s premiere entertainment industry event that has attracted over 700 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions in 2023. Both Korea and Japan returned with large-scale pavilions to showcase their latest offerings amid growing popularity of Asian productions. In fact, two large-scale Korean pavilions brought 45 exhibitors to FILMART 2023 with a well-received event on K-drama.

“During FILMART, there are a lot of people coming from all over the world to do film business. They’re selling and buying and they can also come to HAF to look at projects, to see if there’s anything that they want to invest in. So, a co-production market or a project market very much need to be associated with a film market,” explained Jacob.

Looking ahead to 2024, the HKIFF Industry will develop a platform for facilitating the production of TV dramas given the global success of Japanese and Korean series. The upcoming 22nd edition of HAF also promises to ride on the success of 2023, reinforcing the depth and breadth of co-production and financing opportunities for Asia’s film talent. With many more industry events scheduled for FILMART 2024, it is not to be missed for anyone who wishes to stay on top of cinema trends and strengthen industry connections.

For further details, please contact us at filmart@hktdc.org