New Delhi : In light of the travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the HKTDC Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART) is being moved online in 2020. Presented by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), FILMART Online will be held from 26 to 29 August this year with the aim of creating business opportunities for the global entertainment industry in the face of a challenging business environment.

FILMART Online is set to attract more than 600 exhibitors from 36 countries and regions, including new joiners from Argentina, Brazil, Austria, Ireland, Switzerland and Israel. Major film production companies from Hong Kong, Mainland China, India and the rest of the world will continue to give their support for the virtual version of Asia’s largest content trading platform, with more than 2,000 of the latest film and television productions being released and promoted. The big names from Indian entertainment industry will also take part in the FILMART 2020 that includes Zee TV, Cinestan AA Distributor, Venus India, Star Entertainment, Indiacast, Klay Entertainment and Toonz Animation.

The Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), a respected Asian film financing platform, will also participate in FILMART Online, continuing its efforts to create business exchange opportunities for film industry participants by exhibiting 32 HAF film projects currently in the development stage and 22 work-in-progress film projects.

A number of new features will be introduced for the virtual iteration of FILMART. These include dedicated web pages for exhibitors to showcase their company profiles and productions along with a virtual screening platform, equipped with digital rights management (DRM) encryption and an individual watermark, to ensure that authorised buyers can enjoy film previews with ease.

FILMART Online will also use big data and artificial intelligence technologies to enhance the search function, making it more efficient for buyers to find their desired film and television productions. In addition, buyers will be provided with details of recommended exhibitors that closely match their needs, while virtual business matching meetings will be arranged to connect exhibitors with potential buyers.

Speaking on taking the event online, Rajesh Bhagat, Consultant South Asia, Hong Kong Trade Development Council said “The novel coronavirus pandemic has impacted various industries across the globe, including the film and entertainment industry. FILMART Online will address industry concerns over the current uncertainties by organising six online conferences focusing on how industry players can adapt to an ever-changing market by redeploying their content acquisition, and by highlighting the latest production and marketing strategies”

Other topics being covered at the conference include the latest trends in streaming platforms across the Asia Pacific region, and insights into the development of interactive entertainment content.

The line-up for the conference features a number of respected industry figures, including Vivek Couto, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Media Partners Asia Research Services; Karan Bedi, CEO of MX Player; James Li, Senior Vice President of New Classics Media Group and CEO of New Classics Media Pictures; Wenfeng Liu, CTO of iQIYI, Inc.; and Olivier Klein, Lead Technologist, Asia-Pacific AWS Solutions Architecture of Amazon Web Services.