Why fiction is the new reality for acclaimed director Cheung King-wai
Cheung King-wai will swap documentaries for a debut full-length feature. But the film's government funding has left him with questions to ponder
Cheung King-wai's filmmaking career is about to take a sharp turn from reality to fiction.
The award-winning documentary director will make his first drama feature thanks to HK$5 million in government funding won in a competition - the first handout of its kind to a filmmaker.
But when asked whether he thinks government-funded contests can help restore Hong Kong's film industry to its former glory, the 45-year-old responds with a question of his own.
"What does our city think about film? Is it an industry? Or do we keep it because it is an art form that makes the façade of the city?" asks Cheung.
Cheung came out on top in the inaugural First Feature Film Initiative, a pilot scheme run by the government's creative industries office CreateHK and announced by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying in his policy address last year.
Cheung's project OPUS 1, to be produced by award-winning filmmaker Derek Yee Tung-sing, was the winner in the professionals category and will receive HK$5 million sponsorship from the Film Development Fund. Two other projects will receive HK$2 million each after winning the higher education institutions category for students and recent graduates.
CreateHK said 24 projects applied to join the competition, of which 22 went forward to the competition: 14 in the professionals category; eight in the higher education group.