Hong Kong culture minister rejects call to impose funding restrictions on films that tell ‘negative’ stories
- Lawmaker Joephy Chan questions whether government-run Film Development Fund should be managed differently to back movies that tell ‘good’ Hong Kong stories
- But minister Kevin Yeung says people have different perspectives when it came to content and some films may start out with negative themes but end on different note
Hong Kong’s culture minister has dismissed suggestions from a lawmaker to impose tough restrictions on funding for local filmmakers, stressing more room should be given to producers even though some movies carried negative messages about the city.
Lawmaker Joephy Chan Wing-yan took aim at the government-run Film Development Fund at a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting on Thursday, questioning the absence of criteria or a system that awarded “bonus points” to movies with positive elements.
“If [filmmakers] want to make movies that criticise Hong Kong, it’s fine if they use their own money, but please don’t let them use public funds.”
Her comments came after she filed written queries to authorities to express concerns on whether the government had scrutinised the potential content of the films before approving funding applications.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the establishment of the fund to promote the industry’s development itself was already telling good stories about the city and the country, adding people had different perspectives when it came to content.