HONG KONG – Launched in 1997, just weeks before Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony, the FilMart movie market has finally hit its stride as a launch pad for Chinese commercial cinema -- though that currently looks to be an endangered species.

On the exhibition floor there was plenty of looking and feeling, but only trickles of buying and selling. Execs were puzzled as to whether bizzer numbers had grown or shrunk, and many suggested that the substantially enlarged floor space made trends harder to read.

However, the timing of the market -- in time to wrap Berlin deals and scout for Cannes titles from new footage and trailers – makes FilMart a must-attend diary date for many Asian film execs.

Tuesday alone witnessed four jumbo-sized junkets. With press convention sets reportedly costing in excess of $125,000, biggest was noisy press presentation of the $55 million "The Forbidden Kingdom" with Jackie Chan and Jet Li top-lining and co-stars Liu Yifei and Li Bingbing in attendance.

Also attending were helmer Rob Minkoff, cinematographer Peter Pau and producers Casey Silver, Raffaella Di Laurentiis and Wang Zhonglei. The beneficiaries of the largesse were mostly Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong scribes building coverage and awareness nearly a month ahead of the April 16 world preem in Beijing – some two days ahead of U.S. release.

Tuesday also saw big bash for Danny and Oxide Pang's "Storm Riders 2" a CGI effects-heavy sequel for which Charlene Choi, Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng were present, and an event for "Painted Skin," an action vehicle built around Donnie Yen. Evening brought Sundream Motion Pictures' presentation of its new production slate and output deal with The Weinstein Co.

Festivities included speeches, singing and a curious period fashion show. "I've never been involved in anything like this. We should get some of the countries that are fighting to do something like this," said Harvey Weinstein after joining giant puzzle pieces on stage with Sundream topper Tsui Siuming.

Of these, only "Storm Riders 2" could genuinely be described as market debut of a new picture. The rest was marketing around news already widely covered. But halls were packed for each with lensers, journos and TV crew.

FilMart, with its ease of use, punchy media and thousands of bizzers in attendance, help make Hong Kong the preferred venue for such pan-Asian junketing ahead of the Shanghai Festival, Beijing Screenings or even the region's most significant fest South Korea's Pusan. Junket for "Red Cliff" will be held in Cannes, but with a budget of $80 million that behemoth needs to score a Hollywood studio deal and tackle a global audience, not merely corral regional attention.

Although Japanese buyers hung back, "Storm Riders 2" and JA Media's Tsui Hark-helmed romantic comedy "She Ain't Mean" were among the best sellers of the market, notching up deals across whole of Greater China and South East Asia.

Surprising, was how the high level of regional interest in the big Chinese pics contrasted with the gathering gloom among producers trying to set up or complete current co-productions with China. Dozens of these are stuck in a regulatory hell hole made massively more complicated by a backlash against decadence and political wrong-thinking. The Chinese and Hong Kong producers of "Lust, Caution" and "Lost in Beijing" are now expected to have to write formal letters of contrition and apologize for their political incorrectness.

In some cases, movies with previously approved scripts and cast have been called back for ministerial-level scrutiny. Film Bureau has taken to strictly applying rules on mainland Chinese cast numbers, instead of allowing grey areas. In at least one instance a film set up as a Hong Kong-China co-production was extensively re-cut to meet censor requirements, but has subsequently been told that it should reapply as an import instead.

Jeff Lau's "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon," only got final Film Bureau approval a week ago leaving no time to organize a FilMart jamboree.

Chinese sources say that unless the authorities loosen up soon there may be no more big pics green-lighted this year. That would have a terrible effect on 2009 box office for Chinese language films and damage FilMart just at a time when it has come into its own.

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