Held from 10 to 13 October at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) in Busan, South Korea, Hong Kong Cinema @ BUSAN 2026 featured a series of activities, including the Hong Kong Pavilion, Hong Kong Night and more. The campaign promoted the development of Hong Kong's film industry, served as a bridge between Hong Kong filmmakers and overseas industry players and buyers, fostered collaboration opportunities and highlighted Hong Kong's role as an international hub for East-meets-West cultural and artistic exchange as well as a regional IP trading centre.
Showcasing creative diversity and advancing Hong Kong cinema
This year, several Hong Kong film production and distribution companies actively participated in the exhibition at the Hong Kong Pavilion, including Blast Films International Limited, Cappu Films Limited, First Step Movie Distribution Studio, Just Distribution Company Limited, October Pictures Limited, and Xiaowu Brothers (Hong Kong) Limited.
Other Hong Kong film companies, including Edko Films Limited, Emperor Motion Pictures, Golden Network Asia Limited, Golden Scene Company Limited, and One Cool Pictures, also engaged with international buyers and investors to explore collaboration opportunities.
The Pavilion also showcased several Hong Kong films selected for the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). These included Dead End, distributed by One Cool Group and selected for the Vision-Asia section of BIFF, where it had its premiere. The film also won the Higher Education Institution Group of the 7th First Feature Film Initiative, funded by the Film Development Fund. Also featured was Cold War 1994, produced by Edko Films Ltd., which was selected for the Special Screenings & Carte Blanche section.
Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries Drew Lai remarked that CCIDA is dedicated to boosting film productions and nurturing talents for the film industry through various funding schemes under the Film Development Fund (FDF). In addition, CCIDA will set up a dedicated Support Unit for Non-local Film Productions, making it easy and convenient for overseas crews to film in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Night fosters global industry exchange and collaboration
Hong Kong Night was held on 9 October at the Paradise Hotel Busan, serving as the curtain-raiser for Hong Kong Cinema @ BUSAN 2026 and showcasing the creative strengths of Hong Kong's film industry to the international community. The event attracted more than 750 industry professionals from Hong Kong and around the world, fostering cross-border business networking and industry exchange.
Members of the Hong Kong delegation attending Hong Kong Night included Isabella Lam, director of Dead End, and cast members Maggie Shiu, Hedwig Tam and Lokman Yeung.
Delegation members also participated in the Producer Hub programme, where they met producers and production companies from around the world, explored opportunities for cross-border collaboration and further strengthened ties between Hong Kong's film industry and the international filmmaking community.
Producer Kelvin Shum said: "Through the Producer Hub, we have the opportunity to not only present our projects, but also to connect with filmmakers from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and other markets. This enables us to better understand the industry's latest developments, market demand and unique filmmaking processes of different countries. It is a truly rewarding and invaluable experience."
Exploring screen adaptation and development opportunities for Hong Kong IPs
This year, CCIDA selected and organised, for the first time, four outstanding original works from Hong Kong outside the film category to participate in the Busan Story Market (BSM). The selected projects comprised three animated works: Blacky the Metal Arm Cat, Cirkillation and Tai Lung Fung – Full Throttle Kitchen as well as the comic title Disposable Dolly.
Representative of Blacky the Metal Arm Cat said: "As a local Hong Kong IP, we spend most of our time creating in the studio, making it challenging to reach out to industry professionals worldwide. BSM has allowed us to connect with producers, investors and potential partners from different countries, which is crucial to facilitate Hong Kong Ips' expansion into overseas markets and their continuous development."
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About HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The HKTDC is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With over 50 offices globally, including 13 in the Chinese Mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on @hktdc and LinkedIn
About CCIDA
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) since 2009, was established in June 2024. CCIDA is a dedicated office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectors with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate development of the arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. CCIDA's strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration, promoting industrialisation of the arts, culture and creative sectors under the industry-oriented principle, and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and our positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
About HKFDC
In his Policy Address in October 2006, the Chief Executive announced that the then Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology will co-ordinate the film-related policy, planning and activities, including manpower training, Mainland and overseas promotion, and filming support. From 1 July 2022 onwards, the relevant work is co-ordinated by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. In order to support the Secretary and to ensure the policy is in line with the sustainable development of the film industry, the Government established the Hong Kong Film Development Council (HKFDC) on 15 April 2007.
The Film Development Fund (FDF) was first set up by the Government in 1999 to support projects conducive to the long-term development of the film industry in Hong Kong. Since 2005, the Government has injected a total of about $2.9 billion into the FDF to support Hong Kong film industry along four strategic directions, namely nurturing talent, enhancing local production, expanding markets and building audience.