(25th Anniversary of Hong Kong's Return to China) Interview with Wong Ying-wai, Chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council: There are successors in the era of Hong Kong's film revolution

　　China News Agency, Hong Kong, June 25th: Interview with Wang Yingwei, Chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council: There are successors in the era of Hong Kong film reform

　　China News Agency reporter Han Xingtong

　　When a group of well-known directors brought Hong Kong elements to the north to embrace the trend of co-production films, the box office received a good harvest, but the seemingly quiet local market in Hong Kong has repeatedly appeared "abnormal soldiers" in the past few years, and new directors have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Wang Yingwei, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, has been thinking about how to name this new generation by referring to the previous "new wave".

The reporter proposed "New New Wave", Wang Yingwei said with a smile, this is good.

The data picture shows the Hong Kong Film Awards sculpture on the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Wei

　　"In the 25 years since our return, Hong Kong's film development is going through an era of change," said Wang Yingwei.

For a long time before the reunification, Hong Kong movies lingered in the dilemma of small cost, small market and low box office, and it was once unsustainable.

　　After the reunification, the opening of the Chinese mainland market has opened up the possibility of regrouping the Hong Kong film industry, which has fallen into a low ebb.

Hong Kong's master-level directors, such as Xu Anhua, Tsui Hark, and Chen Kexin, went north with industry standards in line with international standards and skilled professional skills. This trend of integration led to the signing of the "Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement" in 2003 ( CEPA) later became more violent.

"In the first few years, at least half of the highest-grossing films in the mainland were co-productions." Wang Yingwei believes that this is enough to prove that the mainland market has created an environment for these famous directors, allowing them to invest heavily in large-scale productions. Express your talents and ideas.

　　The uniqueness of Hong Kong directors is that "they have a very keen market sense".

When making a theme movie, they can also draw on the experience of shooting commercial films in the past, cut in from a unique angle, and add some entertainment elements to season it, so as to catch the audience's attention.

"Captain of China", "Firefighting Hero", "Winning the Championship" and "Changjin Lake" can all be seen in the shadow of the classic Hong Kong films of the past.

The data picture shows that the movie "Changjin Lake" was released in Hong Kong.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Zhihua

　　"They brought the flexibility and flexibility of Hong Kong people to film creation in the Mainland, where they learned national concepts, blockbuster patterns and production experience, and brought them back to Hong Kong to broaden the horizons of Hong Kong film production." The film trend is like a duck to water, and excellent works are frequently published. Wang Yingwei believes that it is time to "return" and pass on the experience to the younger generation.

　　At this moment, we turn our attention to the local market in Hong Kong. It turns out that the rising stars have already grown their wings. Most of them have emerged in the "Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival" hosted by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, and later won the "First Feature Film Project" of the Hong Kong Film Development Council. "The filming of the first film was funded, and along this path, there are Huang Jin, director of "Anonymous", and Chen Jianlang, director of "Rolling Cigarettes".

　　Wang Yingwei, who has always emphasized that the core of film development is talent, is most fortunate to see that "the new director has come out, and he has a certain competitiveness in the Chinese film circle." It also represented Hong Kong to compete for the best foreign language film at the 90th Academy Awards.

　　"As long as the industry has a change, it is time for some new wave directors to hand over the baton." Wang Yingwei said, and what the Hong Kong Film Development Council does is to continue to hone the people who take over the baton, so that they have enough level and Ability to inherit Hong Kong movies.

　　It is for this purpose that the Hong Kong SAR government set aside HK$260 million through the "Film Development Fund" last year to carry out five major measures, including the "Passing on the Fire Plan" and the implementation and optimization of the "First Feature Film Plan". The “Passing the Fire” plan invites directors with certain qualifications to serve as supervisors, and partner with one or two new directors to start making local films, so as to help younger generations and improve the quality of Hong Kong-produced films.

At present, directors who have accepted the invitation to participate in the first round of the plan include Er Dongsheng, Wong Kar Wai, and Chen Kexin.

The data picture shows the award ceremony of the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards on April 14, 2019.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Wei

　　Wang Yingwei revealed that the other direction of the future work of the Hong Kong Film Development Council is to expand the marketing activities hindered by the epidemic.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong-produced films dominated the Southeast Asian market, and their influence even radiated to Japan and South Korea. However, Wang Yingwei observed that there was a "time lag" in the understanding of Hong Kong-produced films among audiences in these areas. "Many people only know Andy Lau, It even stayed in the era of Leslie Cheung and Bruce Lee." Wang Yingwei hopes to bring more creative and high-level young directors into the overseas market, "slowly let more audiences know and accept them, and let Hong Kong movies go on like the new wave period. Revival Road."

　　For this prospect, Wang Yingwei is full of confidence.

"Senior directors have developed rapidly in the mainland by virtue of their recognition, while new directors have grown up slowly in Hong Kong, trying new themes and taking some new routes. The road to revival of Hong Kong films can be said to have successors." (End)