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Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York (HKETONY) hosted a reception on August 10 (New York time) to celebrate the New York premiere of the wuxia epic "The Grandmaster" and to welcome the film director - Mr Wong Kar-wai in New York.
Speaking at a pre-screening reception at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), the Director of HKETONY, Miss Anita Chan, said the audience was all thrilled and honoured to have the distinguished film director at the reception as well as a post-screening discussion at the museum theatre.
She said the film director was one of the most influential filmmakers in Hong Kong, was internationally renowned for his unique visual style and delicate depiction of emotions, and had won many of the coveted film awards in the international and Hong Kong film festivals.
Besides highlighting the important place of Hong Kong films in the world cinema, which had garnered over 300 international awards in the past decade, Miss Chan said there had been a growing trend of Hong Kong-Mainland co-productions in the film industry in Hong Kong since the signing of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) in 2003.
The number of Hong Kong-Mainland co-productions has grown rapidly to an average of 30 titles a year, with big success at the box office. She said "The Grandmaster" was an exemplary co-production. She called on the US film companies to leverage on the wealth and experience of creative talents in Hong Kong, and capitalise on the preferential treatment offered by CEPA to make the most of the new opportunities in the Mainland.
The New York premiere of "The Grandmaster" on August 10 is the centrepiece of a comprehensive retrospective of Mr Wong at MoMI from July 12 to August 24. The retrospective includes nine other of the director's award winning films. They are "As Tears Go By", "Ashes of Time Redux", "Chungking Express", "Days of Being Wild", "Fallen Angels", "Happy Together", "In the Mood for Love", "My Blueberry Nights", and "2046". Details can be found on the museum website (www.movingimage.us/films/2013/07/12/detail/wong-kar-wai-2).
In a related development, the HKETONY is also collaborating with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and is one of the supporters for its retrospective of Mr Wong's films from August 1 to 25. It will screen all of the director's 10 films listed above, with the exception of "Ashes of Time Redux" which will be replaced by "Ashes of Time". The wuxia epic "The Grandmaster" will have its Boston premiere on August 15. More information is available on the museum website (www.mfa.org/programs/series/films-wong-kar-wai).
Ends/Sunday, August 11, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:30
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