Set for April 3, the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA) is less than a week away. However, despite the fact that the awards are right around the corner, the reaction among movie fans has been cold so far, as the Internet has seen little in the way of discussion about the event. For example, the latest post on HKFA's Sina Weibo on Sunday was forwarded only three times and only had two replies.
While business for Hong Kong filmmakers has been booming on the Chinese mainland, recent years have seen many reports concerned that HKFA, which was once regarded as one of the most influential film awards in Asia, is losing its glamour.
A veteran Hong Kong actor and director who has been working in both Hong Kong and the mainland for years, 35th HKFA Chairman Derek Yee sat down with the Global Times to discuss the awards and his views on the Hong Kong and mainland film markets.
The aging film awards?
Once a bright gem in Asia, the decline in importance of HKFA has been the center of discussion in recent years.
"HKFA was once described as a 'big deal for the city' by Hong Kong media in its early years, but the term is obviously inappropriate today. From Hong Kong to the mainland, from film fans to the media, plenty of people do not have a good outlook on the awards or Hong Kong films," a 2015 report from entertainment website ent.qq.com said, before going on to describe the awards ceremony as "an already aging man at the age of 34."
Two years earlier, a 2013 sohu.com report described a bleak outlook for HKFA: "Compared with last year, this year's reception seems to be a lot colder.
"The enthusiasm of the Hong Kong media is decreasing. Many in the press have cut down on the space dedicated to reports on the awards and have even given up special coverage like award predictions and interviews with nominees."
While refuting the claim that the award ceremony is already past its prime, Yee admits that the number of Hong Kong produced films has grown smaller and that the cultivation of new talent is dropping. This has given many the impression that Hong Kong films are experiencing a downturn.
"The Hong Kong film market was hit harder by Hollywood than the mainland," Yee told the Global Times.
According to Yee, the popularity of Hollywood films in Southeast Asia, which had long been a gold mine for Hong Kong films due to the region's large Chinese population, has also negatively impacted the industry in Hong Kong.
Compared with the challenges facing the Hong Kong film industry, mainland productions, together with mainland stars and mainland stories, have been gaining increasing attention.
This was especially obvious after the winners of last year's 34th HKFA were announced - mainland actress Zhao Wei took home Best Actress, while The Golden Era, which stars a cast of mainland actors and takes place in the mainland, went home with the most awards. This led to some worring that HKFA was about to be taken over by mainland works and faces.
It wasn't until this year's nominees were released that audiences finally could hope for a revival for local works and the birth of "new talents."
"HKFA was set up to encourage the creation and development of quality Hong Kong films, and recognize filmmakers' efforts over the year," Yee explained.
"We have considered expanding its boundaries, making it not limited to Hong Kong films. However, considering that the mainland has the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, Taiwan has the Golden Horse Awards and the Hong Kong International Film Festival has the Asian Film Awards, everyone has a dedicated event, so we think it's better to not be too similar."
Speaking about the pressures that exist when it comes to making a choice between the awards' commercial success and its independence from outside influences, Yee mentioned that he finds it difficult to find the right balance between the two. However, he pointed out that when it comes to making changes to the awards, that is something beyond the control of just one man or the other 12 members of the directors of the board.
For instance, what films are eligible for nomination is something that was decided upon by the industry as a whole.
"This was the result of a vote involving more than a thousand film industry workers," Yee said.
Eyes on the north
Yee is one of the first group of Hong Kong filmmakers who headed north for a new market. He currently has been making films for the mainland market for a little more than a decade.
He admitted that the Hong Kong film industry is shifting toward the north and that a majority of their audiences live in the mainland. The shrinking Hong Kong market and enlarging mainland market has led to coproductions between the two becoming the norm for both sides.
"I personally tend to not distinguish between Hong Kong, mainland or Taiwan films now," Yee said.
"This is because we are all Chinese. We have similar cultural backgrounds and opinions on values and aesthetics."
On the nominees list announced earlier this year, new names like Adrian Kwan and Lau Ho Leung have captured the attention of moviegoers who see them as an injection of fresh blood into local Hong Kong films.
"[Kwan and Lau] are not green recruits, but they represent hope for Hong Kong film. I hope these new directors can have long-term vision, which will help them to come up with more interesting themes.
"I also hope along with veteran directors moving north, this will create more space locally for new talents," Yee added.
