Q Does the film industry need an official body to promote it?
Yes, it does. A long time ago, Hong Kong movies became well known and respected in the Asian and even international market. Our movie industry had cultivated a lot of international movie stars and directors. We all felt proud of them when they won prizes at the glamorous movie festivals.
But the situation has changed. The movie industry faces a lot of new challenges internally and externally. The government can play a crucial role in assisting the industry. Audiences in Hong Kong have become more professional. We want to see high-quality movies. All the directors know about it. But they also realise that the Hong Kong market is not substantial enough the produce this kind of big-budget movies. In order to satisfy the need of the audiences, they choose to co-operate with film industries outside Hong Kong, such as that on the mainland.
They face a lot of new challenges and problems. They are not just co-operating with a movie company alone, they have to cope with a different cultural, political, legal environment. The resource of the local movie industry is so limited that they are not capable of dealing with these new challenges individually. An official body can help our industry meet these challenges.
Our government should do something practical and visible to realise its promise to promote the creativity industry in Hong Kong.
Mike Lam, Tai Kok Tsui