We ventured into the unknown again. And took it upon ourselves to find another avenue for the independent films we’ve done so far. We felt the need to learn the ropes ourselves and count on our own experience. So the group headed for the Hong Kong Film and Television Market 2010 last March 22-25 in Hong Kong.
Quite different from the international film festivals we participated at in Manila, the Filmart was a very huge platform. Admittedly a bit of a shock for us when we got there because it was so vast. The amount of people from the world assembled there was something.
Mostly, we prepared ourselves by getting onto the Visitors Intranet. Before flying there we had to arm ourselves somewhat to be able to navigate the Filmart landscape.
The weather was far from expected, I mean spring in Hong Kong is colder than our coldest month in Manila which is December. But the meetings we attended there were mostly warm. Though strangers all, we even felt that the people there were infused with the bustling energy of the events surrounding Filmart. For there were quite a few, though not directly under the Filmart’s auspices, there was the HK Film Festival, HK Film Awards night, the HAF and then of course the Philippine Booth, mounted with the Philippine delegation that so generously took us Philippine independent film producers under their wings, which we shared with the Philippine Animators.
We spoke briefly with Raymond Red who spoke about his screening of “Himpapawid” at the Filmart temporarily derailed that afternoon by technical trouble. He was also screening another of his films at the Hong Kong International Film Festival at another venue.
We went with the general flow of the Filmart, the biz side of it was always being brought up in meetings. And we had a great time partaking too of the experiences of our new acquaintances during the festival. As well as offering our toasts to the Philippines’ very own Adolf Alix at the W, the night he was named one of the Asia’s Next notables by no less than the Hollywood Reporter. 
We weren’t able to actually see the HAF ceremony, but we were aware that Sherad Sanchez was also awarded with 150, 000 HK dollars as additional funding for a work in progress by the HAF. We saw Brilliante Mendoza, at the Philippine Booth and many movers of the Philippine film scene during the Philippines’ High Tea function at the Filmart.
Hobnobbing at the FIlmart wasn’t our only duty as we were taken to the French party by CCP’s Ed Cabagnot after Filmart hours. More introductions ensued at the event, we recognized Mr. Jeremy Segay whom we were first introduced to at the Cinemalaya Film Festival 2008 in Manila, when we were in competition with nine other films. So it’s no surprise some of us were worn out by the time we hit the sack and were unable to jot down the notes for the day.
A bit of relax time was spent trying out the local cuisine, and going on a short tour up the Peak in a tram. Or riding into town in the old yet very reliable trams. And shopping. But not so much. After all it wasn’t meant to be a holiday trip. We were truly immersed at the Filmart, an investment we made to look deeper into the inroads our creative output could lead us to. We also put our brand out there with the intent of producing other films and interstitials and finding a place out there for the stories.
Though Macau is nearby and it is famous for gambling and casinos, we never gamble our creative inputs away. It is impractical to do so, perhaps that is why we had to be in Hong Kong. To earn perspective, which cannot come from merely reading on these events. Participation is the key.
-ONNAH VALERA Executive Producer Dirty Kitchen Prod.
