Is Ten Years the Occupy Central movement of Hong Kong cinema?
Vivienne Chow says the brouhaha over the Best Film award for the independent production signals a revolt in local cinema that reflects the political mood
Ten Years can be tedious but its theme about Hong Kong’s paranoia is not far off the mark
Nearly 20 years after the British handed the sovereignty of Hong Kong back to China, many citizens have become increasingly worried about their future as Beijing’s influence grows. Questions of whether our freedoms and the rule of law – the cornerstones of the city’s success – are still intact make news headlines every day. The use of traditional Chinese characters and Cantonese language are said to be under threat as Putonghua and simplified characters are introduced in schools and mainstream television. Small shops have been forced out and replaced by pharmacies and retail chains selling gold and cosmetics to mainland tourists.
Hong Kong cinema, a cultural heritage that put the city on the world map and made the city proud, has a fate that mirrors that of its city.
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The Closer Economic Partnership Agreement between the city and the mainland might have opened up opportunities for local filmmakers and investors in a market of 1.3 billion. But at the same time, it has dragged audiences away from Hong Kong cinema. To get into the mainland market, Hong Kong filmmakers have to play by mainland rules under the co-production agreements. They have to surrender their creative freedom in order to get the nod from mainland censors and win cash from mainland investors. Half of the cast have to be mainland faces.
A decade later, the city suddenly realised that its cinema heritage is in danger of extinction: people have been distancing themselves from these so-called Hong Kong films, as seen in the poor box office performances of co-productions. The city is running out of talent before and behind the camera – the average age of the stars competing for this year’s Best Actor award was around 50 or above.
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Hongkongers fear losing their cultural heritage and identity. These sentiments soon turned into political action. The city has in recent years seen large-scale protests that drew tens of thousands. There was the protest against the introduction of national education in schools in 2012, outside the government headquarters in Admiralty. A year later in the same spot, the public rallied against the Executive Council’s decision to reject Hong Kong Television Network’s free-to-air licence application. In Sheung Shui, a series of protests against parallel traders has been staged since 2012.
