Artificial intelligence and new technologies are reshaping Asia’s film and entertainment content sectors, prompting industry leaders to embrace innovation to stay ahead, a Hong Kong summit heard on Tuesday.
In his welcome remarks at the Asia Content Business Summit (ACBS) Working Group Meeting, Wilfred Wong Ying-wai, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, said that AI will “speed up development” and “unite Asia” by overcoming language barriers and making content more accessible to a broader audience, such as with the help of AI-based subtitling.
Fred Wang Cheung-yue, chairman of Hong Kong-based pan-Asia movie services group Salon Film, encouraged attendees to take away new ideas presented at the ACBS event, where speakers from Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines highlighted technological trends in their respective markets.
READ MORE: Hong Kong film festival to feature films from 69 countries, regions
Dato Kamil Othman, chairman of the National Film Development Corp in Malaysia, said Malaysia is successful in exporting films overseas, and has developed an emerging generation of movie professionals. He added that his agency prioritizes training film producers, particularly in legal issues such as copyright.
In Japan, digitalization has completely changed the content industry, according to Norihiko Saeki, director of the culture and creation industries division under Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
He said Japanese overseas content sales are set to achieve a market size of 20 trillion yen ($6.7 billion) by 2033, under the New Cool Japan Strategy adopted in 2024. The ministry set up 100 action plans this year in consultation with Japanese content industry leaders in order to hit that target, he added.
Novie Riyadi, chief operating officer at Indonesian animation and post-production company Mocca Studio, said the country’s game industry has grown rapidly and become “early adopters of AI”, driven by strong government support.
Indonesia had 156 animation companies in 2020, a number Riyadi said he expected to have since tripled.
In the Philippines, Liza Dino-Seguerra, executive director of the Quezon City Film Commission, said over 120 Filipino films were produced and released in 2023, marking a notable post-pandemic rebound.
“Streaming has become the dominant force shaping how content is produced, distributed and consumed,” said Dino-Seguerra, who is also former chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
Sirisak Koshpasharin, vice-chairman of Thailand’s National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Associations, highlighted the rising popularity of “movie tourism” in the country. Last year alone, 490 projects were shot in Thailand, generating 6.5 billion baht ($194 million), including Jurassic World 4, and Alien: Earth.
ALSO READ: HK actor Sean Lau wins Best Actor at 18th Asian Film Awards
Upgraded government film incentives introduced in December, increasing a cash rebate on movie production from 20 percent to 30 percent, had also encouraged the industry, he added.
Fred Chong, group CEO of WebTVAsia and award-winning Malaysian musician, said AI is capable of taking on real celebrities, and the digital human market is expected to reach $440 billion by 2031.
Later on Tuesday, a signing ceremony was held for the joint launch of Zheng He’s Voyages to the West by parties from Malaysia, the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia.
Luna Jin Jiayue contributed to this story.
