From March 17 to 20, 2025, the 29th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) concluded successfully at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event attracted over 760 exhibitors from 34 countries and regions, with more than 30 regional pavilions, including seven new pavilions from Australia, Cambodia, France, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. This further solidified FILMART’s position as a key global platform for film and television exchange and cooperation.
As a global leader in film production, Hengdian World Studios made a strong presence at the exhibition, highlighting its developments in the overseas short drama industry, international film collaboration, and its advantages across the entire industrial chain. Hengdian’s team engaged in deep discussions with global industry partners, reaching multiple cooperation agreements, injecting new momentum into Hengdian’s international expansion.
The rise of short dramas is reshaping the global film and television content landscape, and Hengdian World Studios, with its leading industry advantages, has become a central driver of this transformation. During the exhibition, Hengdian was invited to participate in the “Thailand-China Film & Television communication and Cooperation Forum” and the “International Short Drama Association 2025 Asia Forum,” where the future direction of the short drama industry was extensively discussed.Caroline Guo, General Manager of Hengdian’s International Business Department, focused on presenting Hengdian’s three major upgrades in the short drama sector: production infrastructure enhancement, global expansion, and ecosystem optimization. She stated that Hengdian and the Hengdian International Short Drama Alliance will continue to collaborate with domestic and international partners to build a sustainable short drama ecosystem and facilitate the efficient internationalization of Chinese short dramas.
In addition, Hengdian team reached initial cooperation agreements with several domestic short drama companies, including StardustTV, Hangzhou Rongliang Microdrama, and Dramalet Short Drama Platform. The goal is to deepen cooperation in optimizing production costs, expanding international markets, and improving content quality, driving the global development of short dramas.
Hengdian World Studios is actively strengthening its ties with the film industries of South Korea and Japan, while expanding into European, North American, and Southeast Asian markets. During a meeting with the Chairman of the Korean Film Council and the Deputy Director of the China Office, Hengdian showcased its filming capabilities through videos and images, impressing the Korean side with the scale and facilities of its studios. The Korean representatives expressed great interest in visiting Hengdian in the future to promote China-South Korea film cooperation. Hengdian’s team also recommended its filming resources to senior executives from several renowned Korean film and entertainment companies, further reinforcing its relationship with the South Korean film industry.
In the Japanese market, Hengdian’s team had in-depth discussions with Fuji TV about the potential for China-Japan short drama co-productions and the possibility of Japanese film productions being shot at Hengdian. Hengdian also engaged in discussions with representatives from WOWOW, exploring cooperation opportunities in film and cultural tourism. The WOWOW team highly praised Hengdian’s film industry chain and on-site construction capabilities and revealed that they are preparing a project based on a Chinese classic novel, with plans to visit Hengdian in the future to assess the feasibility of filming there.During the exhibition, a representative from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Japan’s Cultural and Creative Industries Division also visited Hengdian’s booth. As the department responsible for promoting Japan’s cultural and creative industries, the METI representative expressed interest in leveraging Hengdian’s global leadership in the film industry, its resource advantages, and its influence in the Japanese film sector to further foster film and cultural exchange and cooperation between China and Japan.
In addition to production partnerships, Hengdian actively promoted film education and cultural exchanges during the exhibition. Representatives from the Taiwan Film and Creative Industry Association expressed interest in facilitating exchange programs for young performers across the Taiwan Strait, exploring opportunities for cross-strait film collaborations. Representatives from the Hong Kong Cross-Strait Youth Exchange Promotion Association also discussed promoting internships and study programs for Hong Kong students at Hengdian, further enhancing Hengdian’s role as an international film talent incubator. In academic exchanges, Matthew Dabner from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) expressed hopes to leverage Hengdian’s platform to foster academic exchanges on short drama production between China and Australia, further advancing the international development of film education. Hengdian also engaged with film industry representatives from the Philippines, Cambodia, and Turkey, discussing industry trends, copyright trading, and cultural exchange, laying a solid foundation for Hengdian’s global talent cultivation and cultural exchange initiatives.
Hengdian World Studios also attracted significant attention from industry peers regarding its management expertise. The representative from Yangzhou Film and TV Base expressed interest in visiting Hengdian to learn about its operations and management practices, aiming to optimize their own film industry layout. Hengdian’s team shared insights into film base management and supply chain optimization with representatives from multiple countries, showcasing Hengdian’s industry influence and operational experience.
At the 2025 Hong Kong International Film & TV Market, Hengdian World Studios made significant breakthroughs in global short drama development, international film co-productions, talent cultivation, and industry exchange, further solidifying its position in the international film industry. Moving forward, Hengdian will continue to deepen international cooperation, optimize its industry ecosystem, and expand its global film market presence. By providing comprehensive filming and production support to global film creators, Hengdian will work alongside industry partners worldwide to explore new possibilities in the film industry, ensuring that every great story finds its place on the global stage.
