"One-Person Crew" Disrupts Reality: Who Still Clings to Traffic After the "Peak of the Show"? Hong Kong International Film & TV Market Reveals the Future "New Survival Map"

Every reporter｜Ding Zhouyang Every editor｜Huang Bowen

The six trophies of “One War After Another” and “Little Leo’s” repeated loss form a footnote to the recently concluded 98th Academy Awards. However, this was not a boisterous feast, as the clash between streaming media and dark horses seemed to fail to ignite public enthusiasm. In this era of infinitely fragmented attention, the once-glorious Academy Awards are no longer the sole focus of the spotlight.

From March 17 to March 20, the 30th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FILMART), hailed as “Asia’s largest B2B trading platform for film and television content,” was held by Victoria Harbor.

This year’s exhibition gathered over 790 exhibitors from 38 countries and regions. A reporter from the Daily Economic News observed on-site that although the industry faces challenges, the venue was still bustling with crowds and lively discussions, indicating that the B-end market remains highly active and enthusiastic.

Image source: Event organizer

However, the market’s desire for innovation in business models and technological empowerment has become increasingly urgent. Exhibitors are no longer satisfied with just buying and selling copyrights; instead, they are pragmatically exploring new keys to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and broaden monetization channels. As AI (artificial intelligence) makes the realization of film and television creativity more accessible, tangible and perceptible experiences in real life have become scarce.

This is precisely the core secret of the Sichuan pavilion’s rise to become one of the “largest pavilions” at this film exhibition: content, cultural tourism, products, and services will truly blend seamlessly, responding to the market’s demand for unique experiences and providing a vivid “Sichuan sample” for the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries.

A team of over ten people replaced? The film and television industry welcomes the “one-person era”

“Last year, we often complained that films made by AI had a strong ‘AI flavor’, and creating fantastical effects still required a team of over ten people to meticulously craft details; yet this year, the AI short plays showcased have come incredibly close to the standards of live-action filming in terms of audiovisual language, with coherent logic and delicate emotions, making it hard to distinguish between reality and illusion,” said a film and television practitioner while showing a clip of an AI short play to the reporter.

The explosive upgrade and iteration of AI has pushed film and television professionals to the peak of confusion. Are the hard-earned experiences and skills from the past still useful in the face of AI’s rapid evolution?

For two consecutive years, the technological upgrades and production capacity explosion of AI have been the focus of the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market. The AI Hub, which debuted at last year’s event, returned on a larger scale this year, showcasing new technologies and breakthroughs in fields such as AIGC (AI-generated content), AI short plays, and AI animation with exhibitors like Alibaba Cloud, Keling AI, Vidu, and MiniMax.

“This time, I’m collaborating on an AI project with investors from mainland China, Singapore, and other places,” said renowned Hong Kong filmmaker and former chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards, Man Chun, to the reporter. “Their team has matured in developing AI videos and music. This year, we set up a booth at the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market to introduce our ‘AI Wukong’—using AI to create Wukong for film services.”

“The arrival of the AI era has become a foregone conclusion, and we cannot refuse it,” Man Chun admitted.

He also mentioned that there is indeed an underlying concern in the film and television industry: if AI comes, will everyone no longer need to shoot films or form crews?

“But we must take the initiative to harness this new technology, as every technological innovation is essentially a new opportunity for humanity,” Man Chun stated.

OpenClaw (an open-source artificial intelligence framework) makes “one-person companies” possible. The once labor-intensive and capital-heavy film and television industry will also break down cost barriers, enabling every ordinary person to potentially have “one person, one crew.”

The newly established School of Future Media at the University of Hong Kong also made its debut at this year’s Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, where relevant personnel showed the reporter different style short films made by students using AI. “If focused, each student can complete a project in just over a week. In the future, as projects mature, the students’ outstanding works can be directly discussed for distribution cooperation with platforms. Once AI lowers costs, as long as students are creative, there are limitless possibilities.”

Sichuan enterprises team up, and the Sichuan pavilion becomes one of the largest pavilions at FILMART

“We particularly thank the Sichuan Provincial Publicity Department for organizing companies to establish the Sichuan pavilion, which is one of the largest pavilions at this year’s Hong Kong International Film and TV Market,” said Zhang Shufen, president of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, as a representative of the organizers of the 30th Hong Kong International Film and TV Market. “The Sichuan pavilion also hosted multiple themed promotional activities, which not only added color to this year’s exhibition but also fully reflected the deep friendship and strategic vision of cultural industry cooperation between Sichuan and Hong Kong. Today’s brilliant presentation of the Sichuan pavilion is another important outcome of deepening cooperation between the two regions.”

Image source: Every reporter Ding Zhouyang

Li Xiaojun, deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Publicity Department and secretary and director of the Sichuan Provincial Radio and Television Bureau, introduced the advantages of Sichuan’s film and television industry development. He pointed out that Sichuan provides excellent services, with a full-chain service that is incredibly considerate, having built a comprehensive service ecosystem from script incubation to post-production, creating a “Made in Sichuan” one-stop platform that allows creators to focus solely on artistic creation; Sichuan’s policies are strong, with substantial support, establishing a special fund of 300 million yuan for film and television to provide high-quality shooting plans at competitive prices for global creators; Sichuan’s platform is excellent, with convenient global connections, relying on international platforms such as the “Golden Panda Awards” and a well-connected three-dimensional transportation network, filming in Sichuan can reach nationwide and global destinations.

Familiar elements like the Sanxingdui, pandas, and Nezha appeared in the Sichuan pavilion. Exciting stories were also staged here one after another.

The new drama “Entering the Game,” starring Guo Qilin and Song Zu’er, officially premiered as a key project of “Sichuan-made” film and television. Director Yi Zheng revealed the unique positioning of the drama on-site: “This is an atypical spy war piece; we attempt to reconstruct traditional spy war narratives through workplace logic. The Republican-era spy war is the shell, while workplace counterattacks are the core.”

Yi Zheng, who has directed several hit series such as “The Oath of Love,” “The Burning Ice,” and “The Young Song Dynasty,” has unique insights into mastering youthful narratives and capturing the emotional resonance of Generation Z (typically referring to those born between 1995 and 2009). He is expected to perfectly blend the vibrant youthful qualities and suspenseful tension from previous works, presenting viewers with a new spy war piece that combines intricate plots with growth satisfaction. “Entering the Game” will be aired in the second half of this year.

Zhang Rong, secretary of the party committee and chairman of the Emei Film Group, stated that the company will bring the historical film “Su Dongpo” to the big screen. “Su Dongpo is a pride of Meishan, Sichuan, and his life is closely intertwined with the bloodline of Bashan and Shushui. His openness and wisdom are shared spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation. We have specially invited Tian Qinxin, president of the National Theatre of China and a national first-class director, to serve as the screenwriter and director of the film.”

Tian Qinxin has previously taken the National Theatre’s play “Spring Dawn at Su Causeway” back to Su Shi’s hometown in Sichuan for performances, and all five shows were fully booked. The humorous and relaxed Sichuan people hold Su Shi in high esteem, highlighting his status as a “spiritual idol.”

After the drama’s popularity faded, “The Sky to the North” explores new paths for “pre-heating” film and tourism

The key project “The Sky to the North” also made its appearance at this year’s Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, representing not only a breakthrough in film and television creation but also a model of “intelligent manufacturing” powered by Sichuan’s hardcore technology.

“The BeiDou satellite navigation system is China’s largest, most widely covered, highest performance requirement, longest implementation time, and most participants among giant aerospace systems,” said Ha Zhe, the screenwriter of “The Sky to the North.” “Our project focuses on the grand and dramatic struggle of the BeiDou satellite navigation system, narrated through the experiences of three young engineers.”

Tan Jing, chairman of Chengdu Dongfang Wuyue Cultural Media Co., Ltd. and producer of “The Sky to the North,” introduced that the drama is directed by renowned director Yang Lei, known for “The Three-Body Problem” and “The Peaceful Years,” and is planned to officially start filming in the first half of this year. “This not only requires mobilizing the latest technological means to help the audience understand complex aerospace principles but also aims to showcase the unique charm of the scientists and engineers within the drama. Our goal is clear: to produce a work that ‘lives up to the contributions of all BeiDou people, one that not only entertains the audience but also makes them proud of BeiDou.’”

It is worth mentioning that the entire process of developing and constructing the BeiDou satellite navigation system has deep roots in Sichuan. Zhao Bin, producer of “The Sky to the North” and chairman and general manager of Tianfu Kuanzhai Company, explained that looking back at BeiDou and the aerospace industry, Sichuan has always played a crucial supporting role as a national strategic rear. The Xichang Satellite Launch Center undertakes the main launch tasks of BeiDou satellites, while institutions like the Seventh Academy of Aerospace in Chengdu and the Tenth Institute of Electronics serve as the “smart management team” for BeiDou’s successful networking. “The debut of ‘The Sky to the North’ at the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market represents a strong alliance between ‘China’s BeiDou’ and ‘Sichuan’s intelligent manufacturing,’ as well as a key step for Sichuan’s film and culture to go global. We not only want to tell great Sichuan stories but also let the spiritual core of ‘Made in China’ reach the world through film and television language.”

In fact, “The Sky to the North” is not just a film and television work, but an early-stage IP (intellectual property with commercial value) ecosystem of “film and tourism integration.” From the project’s inception, a simultaneous development strategy of “novel + film and television + tourism” was established. The reporter noticed in the Sichuan exhibition hall that the ten characteristic tourism routes planned for the drama have officially debuted, with core filming locations such as the Xichang Satellite Launch Base already included in the preliminary planning of tourism products.

The ten tourism routes for film and tourism integration in the Sichuan exhibition hall have attracted considerable attention. Image source: Event organizer

Furthermore, the accompanying research products and service scenarios for “The Sky to the North” are also being designed simultaneously. This “pre-heating before broadcasting, service-first” model fundamentally changes the previous lagging model of “passively receiving traffic after a drama’s popularity,” effectively avoiding the awkward situation of “overwhelming traffic that cannot be handled” after the previous film and television dramas became popular. This composite communication system also allows the BeiDou story to reach global audiences in more diverse forms.