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The Hong Kong Film Panorama opened in Athens, Greece, on February 9(Tuesday, Central European Time). The annual event, initiated by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO) in 2004 to show Hong Kong films in European cities, is casting its net wider for the 2009-2010 edition, adding new cities to its itinerary. After Lisbon where it was held for the first time last October, it is the first time a seven-day Hong Kong film festival in Greece is included in the Panorama's European tour.
Speaking on the opening night of the Hong Kong Film Panorama at the new premises of the Greek Film Archive in Athens, Miss Mary Chow, Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, said, "We hope very much that the Hong Kong Film Panorama will become a regular event in Athens, just as it is already firmly on the annual film calendar of a number of other European capitals."
This year's Panorama in Athens runs from February 9 to 15 inclusive, showing 12 Hong Kong films, selected with the assistance of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Ltd as well as from the Greek Film Archive's own collections. They include four films by Wong Kar-wai, four by Tsui Hark and four recent productions. The programme shows the colourful diversity of Hong Kong cinema ranging from the classic kung fu and martial arts masterpieces such as Once Upon A Time in China and Seven Swords, to socio-dramas like My Blueberry Nights, In the Mood for Love and 2046, and to new releases including Sparrow, City Without Baseball and High Noon.
Miss Chow said that Hong Kong's film industry has remained vigorous over the last decade, building a reputation for innovation, creativity and diversity, thanks to the benefits of free speech and expression guaranteed to Hong Kong under its constitutional document - the Basic Law. 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 Government has implemented a series of measures to sustain and enhance the standards of Hong Kong film productions. We are investing in state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilitating technological development, maintaining a robust intellectual property protection regime, helping the film industry to expand its markets and providing financial support for small to medium-budget films to nurture new talent."
The 2009-2010 edition of the Hong Kong Film Panorama, launched in Antwerp, Belgium, in May 2009, has so far been shown in Lisbon, Brussels and Amsterdam. After Athens it will continue its European tour, stopping in Barcelona, Madrid, Florence and Malta.
Ends/Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:00
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