hkskyline
January 19th, 2005, 11:42 PM
SAR injecting $4m into March entertainment expo
Cally Cheng and Mark Lee, Hong Kong Standard
January 20, 2005
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/images/tony0120.jpg
Actor Tony Leung has high hopes that the Hong Kong Entertainment Expo 2005 will boost the city's flagging film industry. REUTERS
In a move that will come as a welcome leg-up for the troubled local film industry, the government will invest HK$4 million in the upcoming Hong Kong Entertainment Expo 2005.
The large-scale event, which opens on March 22 throughout Hong Kong and Kowloon, will bring together eight film, television, music and digital entertainment events in a bid to boost the long-sagging film industry.
"I have always been confident of Hong Kong's film industry. There are peaks and low points in anything and I think the industry is just in a transitional period now," movie star and guest of honor Tony Leung said at the expo's inauguration ceremony on Wednesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, which will be one of the venues of the expo.
"I believe that cooperation with other Asian countries is the key to the local film industry's recovery," he added.
The expo's main aim is to help prop up the film and TV industry, which in the 1980s was the world's third-largest after Hollywood and India's Bollywood.
Movie piracy as well as poor quality films virtually crippled the industry, which was producing more than 300 films a year but now struggles to release 40.
The Trade Development Council, co-organizer of the event, believes the expo will attract international attention and raise awareness of the territory's role as one of Asia's leading sources of entertainment products and services.
The two-week event was tipped as a major initiative in Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's recent policy address that pledged to develop cultural and creative industries in Hong Kong.
It will combine several annual events such as the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony and the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum.
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang, who attended Wednesday's ceremony, said the expo will focus on Hong Kong as a film center. "In the past, we have staged these events separately. It makes sense to bring them together in one occasion."
Tsang said the expo will provide many opportunities to match the local entertainment industry with investors from Asia, America and Europe. "It would bring quite a bit of economic benefit to Hong Kong," he said. "We hope that it will become an annual event."
Asked whether he felt the government's support for the film industry is adequate, Tsang said 720 budding film workers will be trained in the next three years in a collaborative project with the Education and Manpower Bureau.
Tsang said the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa) will help the local film industry enter the mainland market. However, the convenor for the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum Crucindo Hung said the new Cepa II rules, effective this month, allow only joint productions of Chinese and Hong Kong film companies to be distributed in the mainland.
Cally Cheng and Mark Lee, Hong Kong Standard
January 20, 2005
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/images/tony0120.jpg
Actor Tony Leung has high hopes that the Hong Kong Entertainment Expo 2005 will boost the city's flagging film industry. REUTERS
In a move that will come as a welcome leg-up for the troubled local film industry, the government will invest HK$4 million in the upcoming Hong Kong Entertainment Expo 2005.
The large-scale event, which opens on March 22 throughout Hong Kong and Kowloon, will bring together eight film, television, music and digital entertainment events in a bid to boost the long-sagging film industry.
"I have always been confident of Hong Kong's film industry. There are peaks and low points in anything and I think the industry is just in a transitional period now," movie star and guest of honor Tony Leung said at the expo's inauguration ceremony on Wednesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, which will be one of the venues of the expo.
"I believe that cooperation with other Asian countries is the key to the local film industry's recovery," he added.
The expo's main aim is to help prop up the film and TV industry, which in the 1980s was the world's third-largest after Hollywood and India's Bollywood.
Movie piracy as well as poor quality films virtually crippled the industry, which was producing more than 300 films a year but now struggles to release 40.
The Trade Development Council, co-organizer of the event, believes the expo will attract international attention and raise awareness of the territory's role as one of Asia's leading sources of entertainment products and services.
The two-week event was tipped as a major initiative in Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's recent policy address that pledged to develop cultural and creative industries in Hong Kong.
It will combine several annual events such as the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Hong Kong International Film and TV Market, the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony and the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum.
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang, who attended Wednesday's ceremony, said the expo will focus on Hong Kong as a film center. "In the past, we have staged these events separately. It makes sense to bring them together in one occasion."
Tsang said the expo will provide many opportunities to match the local entertainment industry with investors from Asia, America and Europe. "It would bring quite a bit of economic benefit to Hong Kong," he said. "We hope that it will become an annual event."
Asked whether he felt the government's support for the film industry is adequate, Tsang said 720 budding film workers will be trained in the next three years in a collaborative project with the Education and Manpower Bureau.
Tsang said the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa) will help the local film industry enter the mainland market. However, the convenor for the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum Crucindo Hung said the new Cepa II rules, effective this month, allow only joint productions of Chinese and Hong Kong film companies to be distributed in the mainland.