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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO, Berlin) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG) welcomed a film delegation and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra visiting Berlin, Germany today (February 11, Berlin time).
On the first day of their five days' visit from February 11 to 15, 12 eminent and up-and-coming young film makers as well as representatives from the HKSARG, headed by Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, Mr Wellington Fung, visited the film studio Studio Babelsberg and met with the local film promotion and funding organisation Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB). In the next few days, the delegation will attend, amongst others, a reception organised by the MBB, visit the European Film Market, business matching meetings, the Generation reception organised by the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) 2011 and other Berlinale activities.
On February 15, HKETO, Berlin will sponsor a luncheon for the Capital Regions for Cinema (CRC) event to promote Hong Kong as a creative hub in Asia. This regular event is organised by CRC which is a network of European film commissions in Berlin, Paris, Rome and Madrid. Every year, the film commissions agree on a focus region and invite film production companies from this focus region to a networking event at the Berlinale.
As the representative office of the HKSARG in central and eastern Europe, HKETO, Berlin has been promoting the creative industry in this region. The film delegation's visit is, in particular, built on the success of the movie Echoes of the Rainbow, which won the Crystal Bear for the Best Feature Film in the Generation Section of the Berlinale 2010.
Director of HKETO, Berlin, Mr Stephen Wong, hosted a welcome dinner for the delegates and invited them to the Grand Chinese New Year Concert performed by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra at the renowned opera house Komische Oper on their first day in Berlin to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit.
Berlin is one of the key stops after Bremen for the touring of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in Europe. The performance was very well-received by HKETO, Berlin's key contacts including Chinese Ambassador to Germany, Wu Hongbo, other senior diplomats, government officials, business community, academia and the media in Berlin.
Ends/Saturday, February 12, 2011
Issued at HKT 06:08
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