Cannes Film Festival: HK cinema seeks resurgence with fresh faces
CANNES, France 鈥 Hong Kong鈥檚 (HK) once world-famous movie industry wants to bring back the heydays of the 1970s to the 1990s by investing in a new generation of directors, the chairman of the city鈥檚 film development council told Reuters at the .
鈥淲e should not forget our identity. How the people all over the world would look at us when they recognize a Hong Kong movie,鈥 said Wilfred Wong, chairman of the council that is mainly responsible for government funding of the industry.
Hong Kong cinema exploded in the 1970s with s martial arts films. Following his death, that mantle was taken up by .
The industry expanded into other genres and became the darling of international film festivals with titles such as In the Mood for Love, Infernal Affairs, and Kung Fu Hustle. Stars like , , and Maggie Cheung, and directors such as John Woo and Johnnie To, were frequently seen walking on the festival鈥檚 red carpet.
Hong Kong鈥檚 star started to fade in the 1990s when the former British colony to China, due to a variety of factors, including overproduction, the , and talent leaving for Hollywood.
With a view to the shrinking industry, investors were unwilling to take a risk on young talent and would only approve productions with well-known stars and directors. Hong Kong鈥檚 Film Development Council is now looking to address that by financially supporting new directors鈥 first film initiative. The council has in recent years groomed 32 new directors, said Wong.
One of those new talents, director and actor Juno Mak, wrote and directed the Cannes out-of-competition film Sons of the Neon Nights, starring veteran actor .
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of happiness, joy, enjoyable and satisfaction. So we can again show to all the audience and all the people in the world what Hong Kong productions are going on now,鈥 Mr. Leung Ka-fai said.
The 67-year-old actor told Reuters that Hong Kong鈥檚 film industry was in need of new blood. 鈥淲e need new generations of directors, new generations of actors and actresses, new generations of script writers, new generations of every part that makes this dream,鈥 he said. 鈥 Reuters
