The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) has appointed Fred Tsui as its executive director, succeeding Albert Lee.
Reporting directly to society chairman Wilfred Wong and the board of directors, Tsui will formally assume his duties on September 23.
As executive director, he will oversee HKIFFS’s year-round activities, including the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the HAF Film Lab, the Summer International Film Festival, and the HKIFF Cine Fan programme.
Tsui is an industry veteran with more than three decades of leadership across nearly every sector of the film industry, including international film sales, co-production, financing, distribution, exhibition, broadcasting and media management.
As founder and chief executive officer of Moebius Entertainment, Tsui has established the company as an international sales agency representing acclaimed Asian films. Recent pickups include Feng-i Fiona Roan’s Happily Ever After, which is set to premiere at Toronto, and Michelle Zhou’s Big Little Things, which has been selected for Venice.
Tsui previously spent more than 20 years at Media Asia Film, where he served as general manager and head of international sales and co-production. Earlier in his career, the executive held senior management positions at PCCW and Asia Television.
Tsui is also film critic and cinephile who serves as a member of the Hong Kong Film Development Council and has been invited to serve on juries at leading international film festivals, including Hong Kong, Edinburgh, Jecheon, Tallinn, Seattle, Udine, Sitges, Sonoma, and Skip City in Japan.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, and has previously served on the board of directors of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) in the US, as well as on the board of the MIA International Audiovisual Market in Rome.
His contributions have been recognised with the Maria Honorifica Award from the Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.
Wong said of the appointment: “Throughout his career, [Tsui] has built bridges between Hong Kong cinema and the global marketplace while earning the trust and respect of filmmakers, festival directors and industry leaders worldwide. We believe he is uniquely qualified to lead HKIFFS into its next chapter, further strengthening its role as one of Asia’s most important cultural institutions and international film platforms.”
Tsui said: “Having worked with film festivals throughout my career—as a sales executive, producer, juror, critic and audience member—I have seen first-hand the unique role HKIFF plays in connecting filmmakers, the industry and audiences. I look forward to working with the board, our partners and the HKIFFS team to build on the Society’s remarkable legacy while broadening its international reach, nurturing new talent, deepening audience engagement.”
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