A staff member introduces the 20th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival to visitors. [Photo/WeChat account: hzfbwx]

Nearly 30 Hangzhou-based film and animation companies gathered at the 28th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, also known as FILMART, under the banner of Hangzhou Pavilion from March 11 to 14.

During the four-day event, the Hangzhou Pavilion engaged in 860 discussions with companies and institutions from over 20 countries and regions, including Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, India, and ASEAN countries, resulting in intended transactions worth $9.14 million.

Hangzhou also attracted nearly 30 companies from various countries and regions to express their intention to participate in the 20th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival, or CICAF, scheduled for late May.

At the 17th Asian Film Awards, held on the eve of FILMART, two local films from Hangzhou, Dwelling by the West Lake and Only the River Flows, shone brightly. Actress Jiang Qinqin won the Best Actress award for the former film, which also received nominations for Best Director and Best Asian Film. The latter film garnered nominations for Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction.

During the market, Hangzhou-based film and media company Huace Group hosted an event focused on promoting seven new TV dramas and a range of film projects. The Hangzhou-produced Yueju Opera film He Wenxiu also made its debut at the Zhejiang Opera Film Exhibition held in Hong Kong.

Moreover, many Hangzhou film and TV companies showcased their latest technological applications. For example, Huace Group unveiled an AIGC multilingual intelligent translation project, which can generate multilingual translated content and plot introductions with fluent audio within just one minute.

A dedicated booth for CICAF was set up at the exhibition, where nearly 30 negotiation meetings were conducted with film and animation companies and institutions from Singapore, South Korea, and Russia, laying the foundation for initial cooperation agreements. Notably, South Korea will organize more than 10 animation companies, while Russia will bring together around 15 animation companies to participate in this year's festival. Efforts to expand cooperation with countries and regions such as Thailand, Malaysia, India, and the UAE were also actively pursued.

As Asia's largest cross-media and cross-industry film and entertainment trading expo, FILMART has served as one of the best platforms for global film and TV program copyright sales and procurement. Hangzhou has participated in the event for 13 consecutive years.