Mumbai: The UK Film Council is backing 11 British film businesses looking to build their trading links with China, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia through participating in Asia’s biggest film and TV market, the Hong Kong FILMART from 17-20 March.

More than 4,000 people in the film industry and 400 companies go to the Hong Kong FILMART providing British businesses with a great opportunity to sell films and services into Asia. To support the companies, the UK Film Council and UK Trade and Investment (UKTi) are funding a market stand for the British companies for the fourth year.  

The market stand is just one strand of UK’s activities at the Hong Kong’s Entertainment Expo. Six UK films are receiving their Asian premieres at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF): Anand Tucker’s And When Did You Last See Your Father?, Nick Broomfield’s Battle for Haditha, Peter Greenaway’s Nightwatching, Ken Loach’s It’s a Free World and The Wind That Shakes the Barley, and Martin Scorsese’s Shine a Light about The Rolling Stones. The HKIFF is one of Asia’s most respected festivals with 250 films from more than 50 countries attracting more than 260,000 visitors.

This year, for the first time ever, a UK originated project has been selected to be included in the Asian Film Financing Forum (HAF). Bloodline, directed by Richard Jobson, is a co-production between the UK’s Independent Film Company and Hong Kong’s Jettone which produces Wong Kar Wei’s films. The forum aims to bring international filmmakers with films in development seeking co-production to Hong Kong to meet financiers, bankers, buyers, film funding bodies and international film distributors.