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The Hong Kong Film Panorama opened in Brussels on Monday (December 7, Brussels time) at Cinematek, Belgium's National Film Archive and Museum, where it will run until December 15.
An annual event initiated by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO) to show Hong Kong films in different European cities, this year's Panorama includes recent productions by Johnnie To (Sparrow), Derek Kwok (The Moss), Law Wing-cheong (Tactical Unit - Comrades in Arms), Heiward Mak (High Noon), Lawrence Lau (City without Baseball), Angie Chen (This Darling Life) 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), The Legend of Zu, Seven Swords and Shanghai Blues.
Speaking at the opening reception before a screening of The Legend of Zu, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Communities Miss Mary Chow, said that Hong Kong's film industry had remained vigorous over the last decade, building a reputation for innovation, creativity and diversity.
"Everyone knows that competition in the international film industry is extremely keen," Miss Chow said. "The Hong Kong Government is highly conscious of this and has implemented a series of measures to help the continual development of our film industry. For instance, 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 talents 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."
Miss Chow said that Hong Kong had now embarked on a particularly ambitious project to convert a 40-hectare harbourfront site in West Kowloon into a cultural district to further develop artistic and cultural life in the city. This new cultural district would provide a platform to show the world the best in Chinese culture and to bring the best cultural and arts programmes and exhibitions from all over the world to Hong Kong.
The Brussels film festival is taking place within the framework of Europalia, an important cultural festival in Europe during which China is the guest country this year. It is the third stop in the roving 2009-2010 Hong Kong Film Panorama after Antwerp in May and Lisbon, Portugal, for the first time at the end of October. After Brussels, the Panorama will continue its European tour, stopping in Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Madrid, Florence and Malta.
Apart from the film festival, other Hong Kong programmes in Europalia include four concerts in Belgium and Luxembourg by an ensemble from the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and a performance in Antwerp by Zuni Icosahedron: Hua-Yen Sutra - Mind as a skilful painter. An exhibition, Tea through the Ages - an Art of Living, presenting 61 precious pieces from the K S Lo collection at the Flagstaff Museum of Tea Ware, is also taking place at the Museum of Mariemont until February 17.
Ends/Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:19
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