Hong Kong Film Awards 2021 postponed for a year because of coronavirus pandemic

Cinemas have been closed off and on for months amid the coronavirus pandemic, and film releases repeatedly delayed as a result

Without a one-year postponement, only a small number of movies would have been in contention for the next Hong Kong Film Awards

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The last time a physical awards ceremony for the Hong Kong Film Awards was held was in April 2019, when Anthony Wong and Chloe Maayan won the awards for best actor and best actress. After a virtual ceremony this year, the next awards have been postponed until early 2022. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 5:42pm, 28 Sep 2020Updated: 6:00pm, 28 Sep 2020

The 40th edition of the Hong Kong Film Awards, originally scheduled for early 2021, has been postponed for a year to 2022 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers announced on Monday.

The Hong Kong Film Awards Association said in a special circular that the postponement was a consequence of Hong Kong cinemas not “operating normally” this year, with the result that film releases have been repeatedly put on hold.

As part of the Hong Kong government’s measures to contain the coronavirus, cinemas have been intermittently forced to stop operations for weeks on end since March this year. Some of the films that were nominated for the top prizes in the 2020 awards – handed out months ago – received belated theatrical releases only recently; both I’m Livin’ It and Fatal Visit hit cinemas in the past two weeks.

“In this connection and after judicious review of the overall situation,” the circular reads, “the Hong Kong Film Awards Association (HKFAA) has resolved to postpone The 40th Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation Ceremony to 2022.”

A cloud hangs over Hong Kong’s annual celebration of film, which has been put back a year until 2022. Photo: Sam Tsang

In the modified edition in 2022, Hong Kong films released both in 2020 and 2021 “that satisfy qualifying requirements of the Hong Kong Film Awards” will be eligible for awards. Voting and the awards ceremony are currently scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2022.