The Hong Kong Filmart, Asia's biggest film market, was held from March 22 through 25 this year, coinciding with the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).
The Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart) was founded in 1997, just months after the handover of Hong Kong to China. Since 2008, Filmart has become the major regional market for commercial Chinese films as well as for foreign films.
The Unifrance booth in 2010 represented 22 French companies. The booth proved highly popular, with the first two days packed with intense negotiations. Sales agents were delighted to make contact with film and television buyers, some of whom had not made the trip to the Berlin Film Market in February. A large number of sales agreements were signed, with other deals still in the pipeline and due to be finalized at Cannes.
The 2010 Hong Kong International Film Festival presented 22 French films in its official selection, including two titles already signed up with a distributor for Hong Kong: Micmacs will be released by Intercontinental, who took advantage of the presence of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Julie Ferrier to pave the way for the film's promotional campaign. The release of The Refuge by François Ozon will be handled by Golden Scene, who welcomed the actor Louis-Ronan Choisy in Hong Kong over four days.
Gaspar Noé was in attendance to present his film Enter the Void and to take part in numerous interviews with the media.
A French Evening, which has become an annual tradition at the festival, was held March 22, featuring screenings of Micmacs and Enter the Void. The screenings were followed by a cocktail party for 300 guests, including buyers, sales agents, journalists, local distributors, and Hong Kong movie industry personalities.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet gave a "Cinema Lesson" to second-year directing and cinematography students at the APA Film School. Jeunet also presented the Award for Best Actress at the Asian Film Awards ceremony (the local equivalent of the Oscars) on March 23, accompanied by the Chinese actress Xun Zhou.
Emmanuel Laurent, director of the documentary Les Deux de la vague, was also invited to Hong Kong as a guest of the festival to present his film, which was included in a new program, Asian Side of the Doc, launched this year in collaboration with France, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and Filmart.
