The 30th edition of Hong Kong Filmart closed on Friday evening with – as expected – microdramas and AI front and centre of the conversations; hot and cold running location incentives and production rebates; enthusiasm over high-end TV series and Chinese films; and free-flow BL/GL stars from Thailand. 

The event opened last Tuesday with show organisers, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), expectations of about 790 exhibitors from a record 38 countries and regions and 7,700 industry professionals from 50 countries and regions. The closing numbers published on Friday hit 8,000 delegates from 53 countries and regions.

About 40% of delegates were from Hong Kong and mainland China, and the others from Asia and the rest of the world. First timers included Belgium, Myanmar, Poland, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. The global mix also included Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam along with Canada, France, Italy, Korea, the U.K. and the U.S., among others. 

The four-day market featured about 40 different events, including content showcases, press conferences and panel discussions, organisers said, plugging the show as “exemplifying Hong Kong’s position as a centre for cultural and artistic exchange”.

A new initiative this year – Producers Connect – brought together more than 100 producers from around the world. The programme was  jointly organised by Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, the Hong Kong Film Development Council and the HKTDC. 

The post mortem – including the focus on microdrama and AI – is all in the latest episode of Two the Point with Patrick Frater and Janine Stein,  recorded live at the Hong Kong Convention Centre on the final day of the market. 

00:47-03:50 | Shiniest shows with the biggest buzz – PCCW Media’s The Season, which releases in June, & Fifth Season’s The Night Manager Hong Kong.  
Listen to our whole conversation with The Ink Factory’s Simon Cornwell about the adaptation here. 
Unconfirmed chatter puts the budgets for both at around US$18 million, which is way more than normal spend in Asia. 
 
05:17-06:12 | Cold War 1994 film premiere, a prequel to the Hong Kong spy-action franchise, boasting a star-studded local cast alongside Hugh Bonneville and Aidan Gillen. A second prequel, Cold War 1995, is being planned. 

06:12-08:23 | Boys Love (BL) and to a lesser extent Girls Love (GL) is where Thailand played to its strengths, although there was much more that Thailand brought this year. The BL/GL Showcase drew enough screaming fans for organisers to break out crowd-control barriers. Did they need them? Probably not, but it’s a classic fan-meet touch, which is what the genre and its preference for YouTube is really all about.  

08:30-13:18 | Microdrama Who are you if you don’t have a microdrama – or plans to make/buy/launch one/some? Hurtling from what seems like obscurity to some kind of maturity in about a year, a microdrama angle (or the illusion of one at the very least) was a must-have at Filmart. Traditional producers continue to pile in, including China’s Linmon and Singapore-listed mm2. 

13:18-16:52 | AI: A Tool, Not a Replacement AI – zero surprise here – was a major theme, and woven into almost every conversation as a tool for (mostly) good. Who you really really want on your team right now are people who know how to prompt for best results. 

16:52 – 24:32 | Star Speakers: Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Chan, clearly confident enough to say he’s scratching his head on where we go from here; his love/hate views on government subsidies; and why he is “starting to sound like an old fart now”.  

24:51 – 26:55 | iCable Revival 
No, Hong Kong’s iCable – one of the first and once among the most powerful pay-TV operators in Asia – is not re-heating pay-TV (for one, it already relinquished its license). New bosses have put the revitalised free-TV biz in the hands of Ivy Wong and Cora Yim. The new iteration is young, trendy, and Cantopop-flavoured, with events and fan engagement built in. 

26:55 – 31:17 | Location Services & Government Incentives A beauty pageant for film incentives and unique/unusual/varied physical filming locations, won by Russia with a high 45%, Malaysia’s RM300 million extended programme, and sweeteners such as Cambodia’s offer to pay for site recces. (See page 6 of 23 March 2026 eNewsletter)