|
8 March 2007: The
administration of Hong Kong, in a
never-before move, has decided to
invest directly in movie productions
to revive the territory’s ailing film
industry.
Officials hope that direct investment
from the HK$ 300-million film
development fund announced by
Financial Secretary Henry Tang
Ying-yen in his budget speech in early
March 2007 will help revive the film
industry.
In 2006, the Hong Kong territory
produced only 51 movies, compared with
over 100 films a year during its peak
a decade ago.
However, some recent productions such
as Infernal Affairs, made in 2002,
have won international acclaim.
The latest boost to the movie industry
came earlier this week when the Hong
Kong film Isabella, produced by the
Media Asia Group, won the 2007 Best
Film Award at the Orient Express
Competitive Section of Oporto
International Film Festival in
Portugal.
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and
Technology Joseph Wong Wing-ping said
the film industry was very important
and its revival will have “a lot of
spill-over effects – not only in terms
of the film industry but also in other
activities such as entertainment and
employment.”
The government said its direct
investment would be limited to small
and medium local productions and
capped at 30% of the production cost.
If the films prove popular with the
paying public, the government can look
forward to receiving dividends.
Though there have been examples of
government maintaining a level of
investment in public utilities, it is
perhaps the first time the government
has decided to invest directly in a
venture considered nothing but
commercial.
The move is consistent with statements
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen
made in September 2006 that the
territory had long abandoned the
policy of “positive non-intervention.”
That statement has been a matter of
controversy ever since. Wong defended
the move, saying he would not
categorise the support as a subsidy
for commerce.
Wong said he hoped that, with
government investment, more movies
would be produced locally which, in
turn, would help train new blood vital
to the industry’s long-term
development.
He said investment was only one of the
many forms of support the development
fund will take up. It will also
finance programmes for training local
scriptwriters and promoting Hong Kong
movies abroad.
Pang Ho-cheung, director of the
award-winning movie Isabella, welcomed
the government’s announcement, saying
it was right to cap direct government
investment at no more than 30%.
In the end, he said, movie production
should be left to the creative minds
in the industry.
The last time the Hong Kong government
stepped in to rescue the industry was
in 2003 when HK$50 million was
allocated to provide financial
guarantees to local institutions
lending to filmmakers.
|
