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A Chicago audience took part in an enthusiastic discussion with Hong Kong film director Mr Kenneth Bi and producer Ms Rosa Li about his film "The Drummer" and Hong Kong films in general at the Gene Siskel Film Center yesterday evening (May 9, Chicago time).
Mr Bi was in Chicago to take part in the "Hong Kong Cinema: The Next Generation" film series being held at the Gene Siskel Film Center throughout the month of May.
Paying tribute to Hong Kong film directors, the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York, Ms Monica Chen, said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government was committed to the long-term development of the Hong Kong film industry and to the territory's new generation of film directors.
The Government has injected HK$300 million into the Film Development Fund to help expand the scope of financing film productions. It also aims to encourage more commercial investment in film productions, nurture home-grown Hong Kong talent and to create more employment opportunities for local film makers.
Ms Chen added that "Hong Kong is also committed to supporting and developing other sectors of its creative industries, including design, animation, digital media technology, advertising and architecture.
"To this end, we will shortly be establishing a new office - 'Create Hong Kong' - a one-stop shop service dedicated to promoting the development of creative industries."
Aside from "The Drummer", the other seven films featured in the film series are "A Decade of Love", "Golden Chicken", "The Pye Dog", "Mob Sister", "Fatal Contact", "Mr. Cinema" and "Eye in the Sky".
These eight films represent the new faces of Hong Kong cinema with new takes on film genres that run the gamut from love story to gangster film to martial arts film to crime thriller.
"Hong Kong Cinema: The Next Generation" is a core programme of the "Hong Kong Comes to Chicago 2009" festival, held in conjunction with Chicago's month-long celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.
Other events in the festival include the "This is Hong Kong" photo-exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center; another multi-media exhibition showcasing Hong Kong through the eyes of five students from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, and gallery talks about Hong Kong and Chinese art.
"Hong Kong Comes to Chicago 2009", which showcases Hong Kong's creativity, entrepreneurship, and cultural and economic vitality, offers the Chicago community an opportunity to learn about the evolving "modern heritage" of this continuously vibrant and transformative city. The festival is hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York, and supported in part by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
Ends/Monday, May 11, 2009
Issued at HKT 11:23
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