Creators of 3-D sex movie aim high

Revealing costumes and giggling filled the HK$5 million set as the serious business of filming the first wholly Hong Kong-made 3-D movie got under way in a secluded Yuen Long studio yesterday.

It may be a category III sex movie, but the making of 3-D Sex and Zen is no laughing matter for its creators, who are aiming high as they put together the city's first full 3-D production - and what they hope will be the world's first 3-D erotic film release. In the process, they aim to revive a genre that was highly popular in the city's film industry two decades ago.

Although shooting of the HK$25 million movie began yesterday at Clarence Film Studio in Yuen Long, its producer, Stephen Shiu Jnr, said it had already generated interest at film markets, including Cannes in France.

The film is unlikely to get past mainland censors, but Shiu said the absence of that market would not harm the film's success.

'We are almost closing deals with some markets including Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and some pay-TV channels in Hong Kong,' Shiu said, adding there was also European and US interest. 'It is rare for a film with no major international stars to garner so much business interest at such an early stage.'

The film will be shot in 60 days and is due for release in May next year. In Hong Kong, Shiu said the number of cinemas showing the film would not be decided until it was completed. But he was confident the film would be shown at a number of 3-D-equipped cinemas.