Film Industry

Hong Kong is a major film-producing centre. During the year, Hong Kong
produced 455 films and videos compared with 657 in 1996. Action films
and comedies continued to dominate the market.

Cinema-going is a popular leisure activity. Audiences are offered a good
variety of imported and local films. Attendances in 1997 totalled 28 million
at 173 cinemas, compared with 27 million and 172 cinemas in 1996. The
biggest box-office hits for the year included The Lost World - Jurassic
Park ($58 million), Mr Nice Guy ($45 million) and The God of Cookery
($40 million).

Hong Kong has a three-tier film classification system: Category I (suitable
for all ages); Category II, which is subdivided into Category IIA (not
suitable for children) and Category IIB (not suitable for young persons
and children); and Category III (for persons aged 18 and above). The
objective is to allow adults wide access to films while protecting persons
under the age of 18 from exposure to potentially harmful material.

Category IIA and IIB classifications are advisory (no age restriction is
imposed) and are intended to give more information to movie-goers,
particularly parents, in the selection of films for themselves or their
children. Age restriction is mandatory for Category III films.

During the year, 1 697 films were submitted for classification, compared
with 1 843 in 1996. Of these, 336 were classified Category I (one with
excisions), 296 Category IIA (none with excisions), 403 Category IIB (17
with excisions), and 662 Category III (307 with excisions). Film trailers,
instructional films and cultural films intended for public exhibition also
require censorship but do not need to be classified into any categories. In
1997, 1 697 such items were approved for exhibition.

Film classification standards are kept in line with society's standards by
regular surveys of community views and consultation with a statutory
panel of advisers, comprising about 300 members drawn from a wide
cross-section of the populace. Decisions on film classifications may be
reviewed by the Board of Review (Film Censorship), a statutory body
established under the Film Censorship Ordinance. The board comprises
nine non-official members and the Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture
and Sport as an ex officio member. There was no review of censors'
decisions in 1997.

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