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The Hong Kong Film Panorama opened in Lisbon, Portugal on Wednesday (October 28, Lisbon time). It is an annual event initiated by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO) to show Hong Kong films in different European cities, and this is the first time a five-day Hong Kong film festival in Portugal has been included in the Panorama.
Speaking on the opening night of the Hong Kong Film Panorama in Lisbon, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Communities Miss Mary Chow said, "We hope very much that the Hong Kong Film Panorama will become an annual event in Lisbon, just as it is already firmly on the film calendar of a number of other European capitals."
This year's Panorama in Lisbon runs from October 28 to November 1, showing seven Hong Kong films. They include recent films by Johnnie To (Sparrow), Law Wing-cheong (Tactical Unit - Comrades in Arms), Heiward Mak (High Noon), and Herman Yau (True Women for Sale) as well as a tribute to iconic director Tsui Hark with his films Once Upon a Time in China (parts I, II and III).
Miss Chow said that Hong Kong's film industry had remained vigorous over the last decade, building a reputation for innovation, creativity and diversity. Traditional Hong Kong action movies thrive alongside films with more intricate plots and complex characterisation. Hong Kong's films have also gained increasing recognition from the international film industry and from Hollywood, which is interested in acquiring rights to remake Hong Kong movies.
"The Hong Kong Government has implemented a series of measures to help the continual development of our entertainment industry. We are investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilitating technological development, maintaining a good local business environment and a robust intellectual property system, helping to expand markets as well as nurturing new talent by providing financial support for small to medium-budget films. The local film industry also enjoys the benefits of free speech and expression, guaranteed to Hong Kong under the Basic Law, our constitutional document."
The Lisbon film festival is the second stop in the roving 2009-2010 Hong Kong Film Panorama, after its launch in Antwerp in May. It is co-organised with Zero em Comportamento. After Lisbon, the Panorama will continue in Brussels, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Madrid, Florence and Malta.
Ends/Thursday, October 29, 2009
Issued at HKT 09:45
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