The 'Hong Kong Cinema @ CANNES 2026' event, jointly organized by the Hong Kong SAR Government's Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), the Hong Kong Film Development Council (FDC), the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), is being held at the Cannes Film Festival from 12 to 23 May. The event aims to promote cross-regional co-production opportunities while underscoring Hong Kong's role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange and a regional intellectual property (IP) trading hub.
As a highlight of the event, 'Hong Kong Night' was held on 16 May at Majestic Beach in Cannes, bringing together around 600 international film professionals, including producers, distributors, investors and film promotion organisations. The event connected these global industry players with Hong Kong exhibitors, emerging producers, and Hong Kong actors Carlos Chan and Natalie Hsu, as well as winning teams of the FDC's Content Development Scheme for Streaming Platforms, creating valuable opportunities for international exchange and discussions on collaboration.
The Hong Kong Pavilion is staged at the Marché du Film, featuring a strong line-up of Hong Kong film production and distribution companies, including Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures, Entertaining Power, Media Asia Film, and One Cool Film. Other participating Hong Kong film companies include Fortune Star Media, Golden Network Asia, Mandarin Motion Pictures, and Blast Films. Exhibitors feature a range of latest and upcoming productions, including Edko Films' 'Cold War 1994'; the Chinese film 'Under Current', the top opening box office title of 2025; Entertaining Power's 'The Fruitless Tree'; Media Asia Film's 'Twilight of the Warriors: The Final Chapter'; and One Cool Film's crime action film 'The Trier of Fact'. These feature film projects have attracted producers, investors and distributors from different countries and regions.
Anna Cheung, Assistant Executive Director of the HKTDC, said: 'By co-organising 'Hong Kong Cinema @ CANNES 2026' once again with the CSTB, FDC and CCIDA during the Cannes Film Festival, the HKTDC helps the Hong Kong industry follow up on projects discussed at the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) held in March, and brings Hong Kong original works to overseas markets. We also support international screen productions in entering the Asian market via Hong Kong, reinforcing the city's role as a vital bridge connecting Asian and the global markets.'
Participating companies said the Hong Kong Pavilion provides a highly effective platform for meetings with international buyers. Grace Chan, Head of Distribution at Entertaining Power Co. Limited, said: 'I bring the family-drama-themed title 'The Fruitless Tree'. It is very important for me to meet every programmer from different film festivals. This is a really good bridge for us to come here and present a movie to everyone in the market especially film festival programmers.' Vanessa Lo, Vice President of Sales and Distribution at Media Asia, said: 'Media Asia joined the Hong Kong Pavilion at this year's Cannes market to seek partners for 'Twilight of the Warriors: The Final Chapter', and successfully established partnerships with buyers from multiple territories including France, Germany, Singapore and Vietnam.'
A series of industry seminars and exchange activities were also organised. At the seminar titled 'Capital Flows & Co-Production Opportunities in Hong Kong, Asia and Beyond', speakers shared insight into funding trends and co-production opportunities. Another seminar, 'Hong Kong Power: The ground-breaking AI ecosystem building cinema, technology and research', featured representatives from Mei Ah Entertainment and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, discussing AI development in film creation, production workflows and talent development. The newly introduced 'Spotlight on Hong Kong: Pitching Session' starred five emerging Hong Kong producers and their latest film projects. The event also introduced its first-ever business matching meetings, connecting the Hong Kong delegation with overseas producer delegations from organisations such as Cinecittà (Italy), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), ICEX Spain Trade and Investment, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Telefilm Canada, CNC (France), Cinema do Brasil, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH (Germany), and Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Fund. These meetings have deepened long-term collaboration between Hong Kong and international institutions, while promoting co-production and partnership opportunities worldwide.
