Fred Tsui, a veteran Hong Kong sales executive and founder of Moebius Entertainment, has been appointed executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Association, the organization announced on Friday.
Tsui will officially take over the role on September 23, succeeding Albert Lee, former CEO of Emperor Motion Pictures who has led the association since late 2018. Under the supervision of Chairman Wilfred Wong and the Board of Directors, Tsui will oversee the association’s various activities throughout the year: the flagship Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Hong Kong-Asian Film Finance Forum (HAF), the HAF Film Lab, the International Summer Film Festival, and the Cine Fan programme.
The appointment comes amid a busy few weeks for Cui in his day job. Mobius, the Hong Kong-based festival consultancy and sales agency he runs as founder and CEO, stepped into international sales this week on Michelle Chu’s feature film debut Big little thingswas just selected for the “Horizons” section at the Venice Film Festival, and recently selected Taiwanese director Fiona Ruan Feng-ai’s film Happily ever after Prior to its world premiere in a special presentation lineup in Toronto.
A respected veteran of the Hong Kong industry, Tsui spent more than two decades at Media Asia Film – the longtime local studio perhaps best known for its films. Infernal Affairs Franchise – He rose to the position of Managing Director and Head of International Sales and Co-Production, where he helped take the final phase of Hong Kong’s Golden Age cinema to the global market. Earlier in his career, he held senior management positions at PCCW Communications and Media Group and TV Asia. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Hong Kong Film Development Board, Tsui has served on juries for festivals from Sitges to Tallinn to Edinburgh, and has been on the boards of the US Independent Film and Television Alliance and the MIA Market in Rome.
“We are pleased to welcome Fred to HKIFFS,” Wong said. “Fred combines strategic leadership with an exceptional understanding of the international film landscape. Throughout his career, he has built bridges between Hong Kong cinema and the global market while gaining the trust and respect of filmmakers, festival directors and industry leaders around the world. Just as importantly, he approaches cinema from the perspectives of an executive, critic, festival jury member and lifelong cinephile.”
“It is a great honor to join HKIFS, an institution that has played a pivotal role in Hong Kong’s cultural life and in promoting Asian cinema internationally,” Cui said, pledging to work to “expand its international reach, nurture new talent, deepen audience engagement and ensure Hong Kong remains at the forefront of global film culture.”
Founded in 1977, the Hong Kong festival is among Asia’s longest-running film events, celebrating its 50th edition earlier this year. The first edition of Tsui will headline the event – the event’s 51st – next March.
