Hong Kong 2006 - Communications, the Media and Information Technology

Hong Kong is one of the world's major film production centres. Fifty-one films were produced and released locally in 2006. The films were mainly of the action, romance and comedy kind. Their combined box-office receipts amounted to $282 million. By the end of 2006, Hong Kong had 48 cinemas, with 177 screens, compared with 56 cinemas, with 206 screens, in 2005. Hong Kong's film industry has been well-recognised regionally and internationally over the years. In 2006, a total of 24 awards at six major international film festivals and competitions were won by Hong Kong films or Hong Kong film talents.

The Government is committed to providing a favourable environment for the healthy long-term development of the film industry in Hong Kong. The industry-led Film Development Committee (FDC) was set up in November 2005 and is required to advise the Government on all matters relating to the development of the film industry in Hong Kong, and to promote Hong Kong films on the Mainland and overseas. The FDC is chaired by a non-official and its members include representatives of different sectors of the film industry.

In order to provide better support for the industry to scale new heights, the Chief Executive announced in his policy address in October 2006 that the Government would rationalise the institutional framework of government and public organisations in respect of film industry development and support. The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (SCIT) will be given the task of coordinating the relevant policy, planning and activities, including manpower training, Mainland and overseas promotion, and filming support. The Government would also set up a non-statutory Hong Kong Film Development Council, comprising mainly members of the film industry, to support the SCIT, which will replace the existing FDC. Preparatory work for these institutional changes is under way.

The Government set up a Film Services Office under the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority in April 1998 to provide support for the film industry by facilitating film production in Hong Kong and promoting Hong Kong films locally and abroad.

To facilitate location filming in Hong Kong, the office has obtained agreements from over 3 330 organisations, including government departments, on the use of their premises for location filming, and has published reference materials on locations for the industry. The office also provides a centralised service for assisting the film industry in matters of a more complicated nature such as location work that requires lane closures or special permits. In 2006, it dealt successfully with 675 such requests. The office acted as the coordinator in the vetting process for film industry parking applications, and processed 144 such applications during the year, all of which were approved. In 2006, the office also provided new coordination services to process applications to use pedestrian precincts and fish culture zones, and to hire police for intermittent traffic control for location filming.

To promote Hong Kong films in the international market, the office facilitated the organisation of Hong Kong Film Festivals in Washington DC and Singapore, and promoted Hong Kong as an ideal city for location filming at global expositions such as 'Locations 2006' and 'Busan International Film Commission and Industry Showcase' held in the US and South Korea respectively. In 2006, 160 overseas film crews, including the production teams of the French film, The Boarding Gate, and the Korean film, My Wife is Gangster 3, carried out location filming in Hong Kong.

The office is also responsible for licensing special effects operators and issuing permits for the discharge of special effects materials for the film and entertainment industry. In 2006, it processed 2 510 such applications.

The Government reactivated the Film Development Fund in 2005 to provide financial support for projects conducive to the long-term development of the local film industry. Since then, the fund has allocated about $15 million for sponsoring 13 projects in six major categories, namely, training courses, seminars, surveys and studies, data compilation, award schemes, and sponsorship for Hong Kong films nominated to participate in overseas film festivals.

A Film Guarantee Fund was also established in April 2003 to assist local companies to obtain loans from local lending institutions for film production. It also serves to develop a film-financing infrastructure in Hong Kong. So far, the guarantee fund has provided loan guarantees totalling $20.4 million for nine film projects.

Hong Kong adopts 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 people and children); and Category III (for people aged 18 or above only). The objective is to allow adults wide access to films while protecting young people under the age of 18 from exposure to potentially harmful materials. Category IIA and IIB classifications are advisory — not governed by statutory age restriction — and are intended to give more information to moviegoers, particularly parents, to help them select films for themselves or their children. The age restriction is mandatory for Category III films.

In 2006, some 1 186 films were submitted for classification, compared with 1 287 in 2005. Of these, 388 were classified Category I, 394 Category IIA, 321 Category IIB, and 83 Category III. Film trailers, instructional films and cultural films intended for public exhibition can be exempted from classification. During the year, 5 976 such films were examined and exempted from classification.

Film classification standards are kept in line with society's expectations by regular surveys of community views and consultation with a statutory panel of advisers, comprising about 250 members drawn from different levels of society.

The Board of Review (Film Censorship), a statutory body established under the Film Censorship Ordinance, is empowered to review the film censors' decisions on film classifications upon request. The board comprises nine non-official members appointed by the Chief Executive, plus the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology as an ex officio member.