********************************************************
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, observed shooting of the film "Mad World" today (January 22).
"Mad World" is one of the films supported by Create Hong Kong's First Feature Film Initiative (FFFI) in the Higher Education Institutions Group. It depicts the story of how a father and son face their past while burdened with an enormous sense of guilt.
During the visit, Mr So met with the director, Wong Chun, and the film's leading actors. He was told how the film project had benefited from the FFFI, as well as the difficulties and challenges encountered during the planning and filming process.
Mr So said, "The Government is committed to promoting the long-term development of the film industry. The Chief Executive has announced in his 2015 Policy Address various measures to support the industry, including a plan to inject $200 million into the Film Development Fund (FDF) to provide financial support to encourage more local film production, nurture production talent, promote film appreciation among students and young people to build up audiences, and showcase and promote the brand of 'Hong Kong Films'."
He pointed out that nurturing prospective film production talent was crucial to the sustainable development of the local film industry.
This year Create Hong Kong will continue to take the FFFI forward. The FDF will also introduce a new subsidy scheme for small-budget films, providing financial support to commercial films with a production cost of not more than $10 million.
Mr So said he hoped that the enhanced measures would give talented young people a chance to show their flair, and inject new blood into the film industry.
The FFFI is one of the Government's measures to support the film industry. Among the 22 production teams that participated in the competition, one winner was chosen in the Professionals Group and two in the Higher Education Institutions Group at the end of 2013. The FDF provides funding to cover the full production costs of the winning teams, subject to a cap of $2 million per film for the winning teams in the Higher Education Institutions Group and a cap of $5 million for the winning team in the Professionals Group. The cap on production costs will be raised for this year's FFFI.
The other two films receiving funding support under the FFFI are "Opus 1" in the Professionals Group and "Weeds on Fire" in the Higher Education Institutions Group.
Ends/Thursday, January 22, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:28
NNNN
