The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Film Development Council:
The Chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council (FDC), Dr Wilfred Wong, welcomed the proposed establishment of a Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau in "The Chief Executive's 2021 Policy Address" delivered today (October 6).
Dr Wong said he fully supported the Chief Executive for her proposal in the Policy Address to set up a Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to oversee the policies regarding the creative industries and tourism portfolio, which will spearhead the development of Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. The FDC will continue to proactively support the long-term development of the local film industry.
Responding to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Hong Kong's film industry, the Government announced in mid-July last year that around $260 million was earmarked under the Film Development Fund to implement five major measures, namely the Directors' Succession Scheme, relaxation of the Film Production Financing Scheme, the Scriptwriting Incubation Programme, sponsoring free short-term advanced professional training courses, and enhancement to the First Feature Film Initiative with a view to increasing the number of local film productions, nurturing young film talents, and enhancing professional training to inject impetus into the Hong Kong film industry.
"These measures have benefitted numerous film practitioners in the past year and achieved notable results in promoting the recovery of the film sector. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Chief Executive for her support to the film development and talent nurturing, as well as the enhanced efforts to promote cultural industries," said Dr Wong.
Wednesday, October 6, 2021