Chapter 19: Film Industry

Hong Kong is a major film production centre. During the year, it produced and released 126 films. Action films, romance and comedies were the main genres.

Going to the cinema is a popular leisure activity, with patrons able to choose from a good variety of foreign and local films. In 2001, there were 62 cinemas (with 186 screens) compared with 63 cinemas (with 178 screens) in 2000. The box-office hits of the year included Shaolin Soccer ($60.7 million), Love on a Diet ($40.4 million) and The Mummy Returns ($40.3 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 only). 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 statutory age restriction is imposed) and are intended to give more information to movie-goers, parents in particular, to help them select films for themselves or their children. Age restriction is mandatory for Category III films.

During the year, 1 169 films were submitted for classification, compared with 1 068 films in 2000. Of these, 334 were classified Category I (one with excisions), 282 Category IIA (none with excisions), 388 Category IIB (15 with excisions), and 165 Category III (52 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 category. During the year, 2 880 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. A public opinion survey on the film classification system conducted in 2000 showed that the great majority of the public accepted the present system and the prevailing classification standards. 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 appointed by the Chief Executive, and the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting as an ex officio member. No review of the censor's decisions took place in 2001.

The Government is committed to providing a favourable environment conducive to the healthy and long-term development of the film industry in Hong Kong. The Film Services Advisory Committee was established in May 1998 to provide a conduit for dialogue between the film industry and the Government and to advise on the work of the Film Services Office, under the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, which facilitates film production in Hong Kong and promotes Hong Kong films locally and abroad. The committee is appointed by the Chief Executive and comprises the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting who is the chairman, two public officers and nine members who are non-officials.

Since its establishment in April 1998, the Film Services Office has obtained the agreement of over 530 government departments and public organisations to let their premises for location filming and has published reference materials in this regard for the industry. To facilitate film production in Hong Kong, the Film Services Office provides one-stop service to the film industry on location filming requests of a more complicated nature. During the year, it dealt with 281 such requests, with a 99 per cent success rate. To assist the film industry in applying for lane closures for location filming purposes, the Film Services Office, in consultation with the Police Force, Transport Department and Highways Department, formulated a new application mechanism to co-ordinate the processing of such applications; 35 applications have been successfully dealt with since the mechanism was instituted in March. The Film Services Office also launched the 'Support Filming in Your Community' publicity campaign in July to enhance the public's understanding and to garner their support for location filming in Hong Kong.

To promote Hong Kong films, the Film Services Office facilitated the organisation of Hong Kong Film Festivals in Brussels, Belgium; in Washington DC and Los Angeles in the United States; in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in Australia; and in Berlin, Germany. The Film Services Office also promoted Hong Kong as a choice for location filming at the international trade show 'Locations 2001' held in Los Angeles in February. The Film Services Office's production guide and directory were awarded the Honourable Mention prize in the Marketing Excellence Awards.

In December, a symposium was co-organised with the local film industry to explore the development of the film financing system in Hong Kong. Overseas bankers and executives of completion bond companies were invited to share their experience with local bankers and film-makers.

With the commencement of the Entertainment Special Effects Ordinance (Cap. 560) and its subsidiary legislation on March 16, a streamlined regulatory system is now in place to facilitate the use of pyrotechnic materials for producing special effects for films, television and theatrical productions. Under the new legislation, the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing is the authority responsible for licensing special effects operators; issuing discharge permits; registering and regulating the supply, conveyance and storage of pyrotechnic special effects materials. The authority has issued 202 discharge permits for films and television productions and 235 permits for theatrical performances since the legislation came into effect, in comparison with only 158 permits issued the previous year. This indicates that the new regulatory measure has been well received by the industry.

The $100 million Film Development Fund, which was established in 1999, provides financial support to a wide variety of projects that can enhance the professional and technological capabilities of the film industry so as to strengthen its competitiveness. By the end of the year, a total of $30 million had been approved for 35 projects to promote the development of the local film industry. They included training courses, workshops, seminars, consultancy studies, surveys, film awards presentation ceremonies, overseas promotional projects as well as sponsorship for Hong Kong films' participation in overseas film festivals. In May, a large-scale promotional project sponsored by the fund and jointly organised by the Film Services Office, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Tourism Board was launched during the Cannes International Film Festival, and boosted the popularity of Hong Kong films in overseas markets. In August, the results of a survey sponsored by the fund on the movie-going habits of local people were released.

To encourage infrastructural investment in film production and to sustain Hong Kong's growth as a major film production centre, a site in Tseung Kwan O, designated for film production facilities, was put out for tender in March 2000 and the tender was awarded in August that year. This followed the award of another site designated for film production use in August 1998.