The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (Toronto ETO) supported the screening of seven Hong Kong films at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival held from July 14 to August 3 in Montreal. In particular, the Festival honoured Hong Kong director Mr John Woo with the "Career Achievement Award" at the screening of his film "Hard Boiled" on July 15 (Montreal time).

     Speaking before the screening of "Hard Boiled", Director of the Toronto ETO, Ms Emily Mo, congratulated Mr Woo on receiving the prestigious award. "I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to director Woo, and express my appreciation for his continuous achievements in creating groundbreaking films that have inspired many people in Hong Kong as well as audiences outside Hong Kong," Ms Mo said.

     Noting Hong Kong has a vibrant film industry, Ms Mo added that the city is a cosmopolitan city full of creativity. "Hong Kong has been making movies for more than a century and is a leading film-making centre in Asia. Hong Kong films are ambassadors which connect Hong Kong with the world and over the past decade, Hong Kong films and talents have won over 300 international awards," she said.

     Ms Mo added that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been very supportive of the development of Hong Kong film industry. "We finance the production of small-to-medium budget films, provide funding support for the industry to attend film festivals overseas, and subsidise training programmes to help nurture young directors and scriptwriting talents for the industry," she added.

     Noting that people in Hong Kong and Canada share a love for movies, she remarked that the Toronto ETO would continue to support Hong Kong films to participate in various international film festivals held in Canada, including Fantasia.  

     Before closing, Ms Mo invited the audiences to join the celebration events organised by the Toronto ETO in the coming months which included a photo exhibition to be held at Complexe Desjardins in Montreal in October.

     Director of the film Mr Woo also attended the screening to introduce the film before the screening and participated in a question-and-answer session at the end of the screening.

     The other Hong Kong films at the Festival included "The Heroic Trio", "Mercenaries from Hong Kong", "Detective vs. Sleuths", "The Kid with the Golden Arm", "Chilli Laugh Story" and "Legendary in Action".

Ends/Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Issued at HKT 1:48

NNNN