Hong Kong Cinema opens in San Francisco (with photos)

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     The sixth edition of Hong Kong Cinema opened in San Francisco today (September 23, San Francisco time) with a reception honouring two film directors from Hong Kong, Stanley Kwan and Steve Chan. This year's festival is also a tribute to award-winning director Kwan. His movie "Center Stage", presented as a 25th anniversary screening, opened the festival. Kwan’s another classic, "Rouge", is among the nine Hong Kong movies featured in this year’s festival.

     Hong Kong Cinema, presented by the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) in partnership with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, runs from today to September 25. Kwan's classics are being featured alongside new films from Johnnie To, Fruit Chan, Derek Yee, Andy Lo, David Lee, Sylvia Chang and Steve Chan.

     The newly appointed Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang, welcomed the opportunity to open the festival as his first official event. Prior to this appointment, Mr Chang was closely involved in promoting the development of the creative industries in Hong Kong. He applauded the SFFS for inviting Kwan to the festival so that the San Francisco Bay Area audience could revisit his two great movies and learn more about his filmmaking experience.

     Mr Chang also commended the SFFS for the festival's lineup, which includes a production by new director Steve Chan. His movie, "Weeds on Fire", is a production made under the First Feature Film Initiative.

     "This initiative was launched by the Hong Kong Government on a pilot basis in 2013 to identify new talents through a competition on screenplay and production proposals. It has since become a regular scheme awarding winners of the Higher Education Institution Group and the Professional Group with funding to make their first feature films. "Weeds on Fire", a movie inspired by the true story of Hong Kong’s first local youth league baseball team, won first place in the Higher Education Institution category," Mr Chang said.

     Funding of the Initiative was made possible by the Film Development Fund, which was set up to provide funding for small to medium-budget films and film-related projects. "The Fund has so far supported 34 Hong Kong productions. Eighteen new directors and 20 new producers were involved in these productions. We hope to continue to nurture new film talents in Hong Kong," he added.

     Other movies to be screened in the festival are "Happiness" by Andy Lo, "I Am Somebody" by Derek Yee, "Insanity" by David Lee, "Kill Time" by Fruit Chan, "Murmur of the Hearts" by Sylvia Chang and "Three" by Johnnie To.

Ends/Saturday, September 24, 2016
Issued at HKT 10:11

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Photo

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang (second right); the Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society, Mr Noah Cowan (first left); and Hong Kong film directors Stanley Kwan (first right) and Steve Chan (second left) attend the Hong Kong Cinema Opening Night Reception in San Francisco today (September 23, San Francisco time).

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang, speaks at the Hong Kong Cinema Opening Night Reception in San Francisco today (September 23, San Francisco time).