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Montreal¡¦s Fantasia International Film Festival today (July 16, Montreal time) presented the¡§100 Years of Hong Kong Films¡¨celebration to pay tribute to Hong Kong¡¦s film industry.
The celebration, organised jointly with the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, included a pre-show reception hosted by HKETO Director Ms Maureen Siu and the Fantasia Festival¡¦s president Mr Pierre Corbeil for people from Montreal¡¦s film industry, as well as guests from the Canadian cultural city¡¦s business and cultural community. A display of ¡§vintage¡¨ posters of Hong Kong films was held at the reception.
The highlight of the celebration was the Canadian premiere of ¡§The Warlords¡¨ at the Hall Theatre of the Concordia University. The award-winning film was attended by a capacity crowd of over 700 people. Some old trailers from a selection of Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest films have also been screened since the opening of the three-week-long Festival on July 9.
¡§The Warlords¡¨, directed by Peter Chan, with Andy Lau, Jet Li, and Takeshi Kaneshiro playing the leading role, is one of the Hong Kong films shown at this year¡¦s 13th Fantasia Film Festival. ¡§The Warlords¡¨ won the best film at the 2008 Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards. Other Hong Kong films that take centre stage at the festival include the opening film ¡§Yip Man¡¨, ¡§Tactical Unit ¡V Comrades in Arms¡¨, ¡§Coweb¡¨, and ¡§Legendary Assassin¡¨, etc.
Speaking at the ¡§100 Years of Hong Kong Films¡¨ reception, Director of the HKETO in Canada Ms Maureen Siu described the Fantasia Festival as a ¡§valuable platform to foster an appreciation of Asian films and culture in Montreal¡¨.
She said Hong Kong has a unique advantage in bridging the Chinese mainland with the Western audiences, and opening a window on the world for Chinese audiences. ¡§The Mainland-Hong Kong co-productions have enjoyed tremendous box office success. The Warlords, is one of the top 10 Chinese-language films co-produced by Hong Kong and Mainland China.¡¨
¡§Hong Kong is a hub for the Chinese film industry, and we offer a wide range of film production and post-production services and facilities to film makers around the world,¡¨ Ms Siu said. ¡§In fact, Hong Kong has signed a ¡¥Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement¡¦ with Mainland China. The agreement not only facilitates Hong Kong film industry's entry into the Mainland, but it also provides opportunities for overseas companies to collaborate with their counterparts in Hong Kong so as to expand into the vast China market.¡¨
¡§So it is no surprise that film industries from around the world are exploiting this Hong Kong advantage,¡¨ she said. Ms Siu cited the annual Hong Kong Filmart as one of the major Hong Kong events to bring together film industry people from around the world to explore collaboration and business opportunities.
The Hong Kong Filmart attracted over 500 exhibitors from 28 countries and regions when it was held this March. The next Hong Kong Filmart will be held in March 2010.
For a complete list of festival programming and film screenings, please visit (www.fantasiafest.com/pre2009/).
Ends/Friday, July 17, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:00
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