Last year, Perry Lam wrote a book titled . In it he explains why the Hong Kong film industry is in decline.
Many of the city's film directors, such as Wong Kar-wai, Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Johnnie To Kei-fung, have turned towards the mainland in order to reach a larger audience. These directors played a pivotal role during the golden age of the Hong Kong film industry. Its achievements were internationally recognised with stars such as Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat and Stephen Chow Sing-chi.
In his book Lam points out that film companies are so money-oriented that they do not want to make a movie that cannot yield a profit. So they decline to make art-house productions because they do not think they will be a success at the box office. Therefore, many directors are forced to take on projects that will make money.
However, despite the industry's decline here there is still hope. Last year , starring Deanie Ip Tak-han and Andy Lau Tak-wah, competed in the Venice Film Festival and won Ip a best actress award.
I hope the success of this film will persuade the government to allocate more resources to Hong Kong's film industry. This could help film-makers produce more art-house and low-budget movies, and re-establish the local industry's reputation on the world stage. The government has never done anything for the film industry, except when it implemented laws introducing a foreign film quota.
Reviving the industry's fortunes will take more than laws. The administration should, for example, help raise standards for screenwriters.
