Film and TV exhibition attracts considerable interest
HONG KONG - The Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART) is currently in full swing – attracting hundreds of film and television corporations to promote their products for international buyers.
Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, FILMART runs from Monday to Thursday. It aims to promote Hong Kong as a regional hub for distribution and production of film, television programs and entertainment-related products.
Companies from the Chinese mainland have been common at FILMART. Many are looking beyond the mainland market in order to attract international interest in mainland-produced films and TV programs.
Among them is the Zhejiang Huace Film & TV Co Ltd. It is hoping to lure buyers and investors its TV dramas, including Eternal Love, Negotiator, Brotherhood of Blades.
Aware of the potential for co-productions, the company has spent recent years developing contact with overseas film and TV markets. This is to explore the preferences of overseas audiences - especially TV viewers. It aims to create the first co-produced TV drama which can appeal to both Chinese and overseas viewers.
Developing such a TV show is not impossible, explained Zhao Yifang, founder and CEO of Huace Group. Chinese young people and young people overseas have some common interests.
She said young people today, regardless of their nationalities, were confident, adventurous, creative and enterprising.
Appealing to their ambitions, sense of entrepreneurship and also exciting technology was a way to win over both Chinese and overseas young people.
Discussing co-production between the mainland and Hong Kong, Zhao said TV series and films promoting "peace" or "democracy" could appeal to all young people. Films featuring Chinese history and Chinese legendary figures were also embraced by everyone, she added.
Different approaches used in production and storytelling should be noted when considering the overseas market, Zhao noted.
To do this staff at Huace will tap target overseas markets to learn about people's viewing preferences before adapting the original TV product and exporting it, said Cecilia Zhu, vice-general manager of Huace Global.
Since it was founded in 2005, Huace has forged a close relationship with film and TV giant Warner Brothers. Many TV dramas Huace helped produce have been well received on the Warner Brothers' DramaFever, a streaming-video subscription service provider.
My Amazing Boyfriend and Les Interpretes produced last year were among the most popular, with overseas audiences praising them.
Huace initiated a strategic alliance program in 2014. It aims to encourage collaboration between industry specialists around the world.
Over the past two years, Huace has established a close rapport with the 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and ITV, a British commercial TV network.
The US biopic disaster film, Deepwater Horizon, was released last year. Huace was involved in its marketing and distribution.
