CineAsia, the trade show and distribution industry conference usually held somewhere in Asia-Pacific each fall, will return for a personal edition for the first time in four years. Organizers said on Friday that CineAsia will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from December 5-8, 2022. The event will be held in the cinemas and convention space of the True Icon Hall complex, part of a luxury development that opened on Bangkok’s riverfront. in 2019.
CineAsia 2022 will be the first edition of the flagship exhibition event since 2018. The event was set to be held in Hong Kong’s old base in late 2019, but the violent police crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the city forced organizers to pull out. CineAsia then planned to move locations to Bangkok in 2020, but those plans were beset by the first waves of the pandemic. Omicron outbreaks subsequently sank the 2021 edition.
As cross-border business travel resumes in most of Asia-Pacific except China, CineAsia is positioning itself to resume its former place on the global entertainment calendar for regional exhibitors and Hollywood studio execs.
Andrew Sunshine, president of Film Expo Group that manages the convention, said Friday of the new Thailand venue: “The support from the local exhibition is extraordinary. The theaters are among the best designed and technically enhanced theaters in the world.”
Vicha Poolvaraluk, CEO of Major Cineplex Group, which operates the theaters at True Icon Hall, added: “Our team at Major Cineplex looks forward to welcoming the industry back to CineAsia 2022 at our new state-of-the-art Icon Cineconic cinema location in real Icon Hall. We believe there is no better facility in the region to house such a group of industry leaders from around the world. Likewise, all participants in CineAsia 2022 will no doubt look forward to visiting one of the most friendly and welcoming cities in the world right here in Bangkok.”
The only International convention dedicated to the Asian cinema exhibition and distribution industry, CineAsia is known for its preview screenings of completed and upcoming Hollywood tent poles, product presentations of films in production, educational seminars led by industry leaders, and a trade show featuring equipment and concessions suppliers to movie theaters . The event also awards awards to APAC distribution and exhibition managers.
The Film Expo Group says guest registration for CineAsia 2022 will begin sometime in the next week.