In the past few years, the Hong Kong film industry has plumbed depths it never thought possible. From the major Hollywood charge led by Jurassic Park in 1993 to the end of the millennium, when a low-budget cheesy Japanese horror movie - The Ring - managed to top the annual box-office charts, local films have been fast losing ground.
It has been a vicious circle: low box-office receipts meant less revenue, fewer investors and lower production standards, which all led to a further decline at the box office.
While some blame video pirates or Hollywood blockbusters, others realise that much of the blame lies with the 'anything goes' system by which nothing matters as long as the films are completed.
During the peak of local film-making in the late 1980s and early 90s, money was no object. A director could get funds for a pet project through a 10-minute speech detailing the storyline and proposed cast. No script was necessary. If the idea appealed, the director was given the millions requested, and left alone to get on with it. Some directors still achieve this.
In contrast, first-time directors in Hollywood form long queues at funding forums where they are given three minutes to make their pitch to a panel of potential investors. If their opening sentence does not appeal to one panel member, the disaffected listener can press a buzzer and the director must leave. If money is given, there is tight monitoring of how it is spent.
Nobody is suggesting Hong Kong should go to these lengths. However, many in the industry believe that in order to compete with Hollywood, they must begin adopting more professional and international standards, and look beyond Hong Kong's borders for financing and distribution.
