China’s Alibaba Commits $640 Million to Hong Kong Film, TV Development

The transfer was introduced on the primary day of FilMart, the annual rights marketplace for the Asian industries, at an occasion attended by Fan Luyuan, chairman and CEO of Alibaba’s digital media and leisure unit, and Kevin Yeung, the Hong Kong authorities’s secretary for tradition, sports activities and tourism.

Alibaba’s Hong Kong Cultural and Artwork Business Revitalization Program “will deal with movie manufacturing and distribution, rights acquisitions, TV collection manufacturing, investments in live shows, collaboration with efficiency venues and expertise improvement, and many others. It’s going to additionally work with main native movie and TV corporations to co-produce movies for cinemas, TV dramas and dramas for streaming platforms,” Yeung mentioned.

He additionally expects Alibaba’s digital media unit to make Hong Kong its second headquarters. Alibaba Footage, a subsidiary that features a few of Alibaba’s media belongings, however excludes the Youku streaming platform, is already listed on the Hong Kong inventory market.

It’s anticipated that Alibaba will announce a mixture of offers with a handful of Hong Kong corporations throughout the course of FilMart. The plan is alleged to be the brainchild of Alibaba’s digital media and leisure unit and Hong Kong corporations together with Edko Movies, BenXiaoHai Media, Mandarin Movement Footage, Huanxi Media Group, Media Asia Group, Universe Leisure and Tradition Group, Meiya Leisure, One Cool Group, TVB, Shaw Brothers Footage and Emperor Movement Footage.

Alibaba may also fund scholarships for 20 filmmakers learning on the Hong Kong Baptist College’s Academy of Movie.

A few of Alibaba’s HK$5 billion has already been earmarked for tasks. Youku mentioned it’s backing TV dramas, together with “Forensic Heroes VI: Redemption,” “The Inheritor to the Throne,” “Darkish Aspect of the Moon,” “Prism Breaker,” “Fearless,” “Darkish Chase,” “Behind the Queen of Yarn” and “Golden Period.”

Hong Kong characteristic movie tasks that may embody Alibaba Footage finance are “The Trier of Reality,” “The Final Dance,” each from One Cool Movie, “Customs Frontline,” “Within the Gentle of Darkish,” “Behind the Scene,” “Invincible Swordsman,” “With out Regret,” “Countless Battle 2,” “The Gray Males 2” and “My Date With a Vampire.”

Alibaba was beforehand an investor in Jack Ng’s 2023’s courtroom drama movie “A Responsible Conscience,” which grew to become Hong Kong’s highest-grossing Chinese language-language film of all time.

“Filmmakers who’re rooted within the metropolis’s tradition, possess a mix of Jap aesthetics and worldwide perspective would be the key to sustaining our distinctive competitiveness within the world movement image market,” mentioned Alibaba Footage’ president Jie Li.

“We are going to assist a brand new technology of Hong Kong actors, permitting extra artistic skills from Hong Kong to thrive in Mainland China and supply better alternatives for younger expertise, whereas on the identical time, preserving and persevering with Hong Kong’s distinctive popular culture,” Ying Xie, Youku’s VP, mentioned on the commerce present.