Over 400 exhibitors from 28 regions have signed up at the 10th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART), 15 percent more than before, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in Hong Kong Monday.

 

The 10th FILMART, which has become the cross-media platform, opened Monday. A wide variety of products and services, spanning from film, animation, digital entertainment, audio-visual equipment, post production and music productions, will be on show at the four-day event.

 

The show includes first time exhibitors from Turkey, the Bahamas and Iran. More than 160 film screenings and international premieres will be arranged for trade visitors and over 4,000 buyers have already registered online to visit the show.

 

 

Five seminars will be held during the show while the inaugural Hong Kong Music Fair will be launched. It is a dedicated pavilion for music industry professionals and players to explore business opportunities on copyright trading, new media application, technology transfer and cross-media partnerships.

 

The Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum will be held concurrently with FILMART for the third time. The forum serves as a matchmaking platform for the film industry, helping commercially viable and promising film projects in Hong Kong and Asia locate financial and business support through co-productions or joint ventures.

 

Of the 25 projects selected for this year's forum, a number of Hong Kong directors including Stanley Kwan, Fruit Chan and Gordon Chan will be pitching their projects. All selections will be able to contest for six awards, totaling an amassed 410,000 Hong Kong dollars (about US$52,903) in cash, and 200,000 Hong Kong dollars (about US$25,806) worth of services. The awards will be announced and presented in conjunction with the FILMART's 10th Anniversary Celebration on March 22.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2006)