To mark the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Saturday night held a film festival "Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema 1997-2017" at the Ham Yard Hotel in central London.
The festival is organized by Create Hong Kong, in partnership with Koenig Film, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.
Priscilla To, Director-General of London ETO, said in the opening ceremony that this film festival in London is part of programmes to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.
"It demonstrates the success and creativity of Hong Kong's film industry which has continued to thrive over the past two decades. Apart from being a centre of trade and business, Hong Kong is also a key arts and cultural hub in Asia. With the unique creativity and vitality of the Hong Kong people, we have developed one of the largest and most dynamic film entertainment industries in the world. The festival will also show audiences the different faces of Hong Kong,"she said.
The screenings last over one weekend from November 17-19 2017. The nine film programme consists of three European/U.K. premieres -- the opening film, Paradox, directed by Wilson Yip, which is the latest installment of S.P.L. crime thriller series, with a host of talents -- legendary Sammo Hung as action choreographer, Hong Kong stars Louis Koo Tin-lok and Gordon Lam Ka Tung, and Thailand's superstar Tony Jaa.
The closing film, The Brink, is directed by Jonathan LI.
Award-winning Hong Kong star and producer Gordon Lam Ka-tung also attended the special weekend to give audiences an unforgettable viewing experience.
Lam said he was pleased to come to Britain to promote Hong Kong films. He hoped that more and more audiences would recognize the new generation of directors and actors in Hong Kong and give their support and encouragement to Hong Kong films.
"Over the years Hong Kong filmmakers have shown themselves to be versatile and able to adapt to different trends, technologies and markets," said Wellington Fung, Assistant Head of CreateHK and Secretary-General of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, "Today our filmmakers make films for the huge and growing mass market in China with great success, while works of auteur directors also cater for the Hong Kong and overseas markets. We celebrate the inventiveness and skills with which Hong Kong filmmakers have navigated changing local and overseas markets over the years."
"We are extremely excited to be collaborating with CreateHK and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to present "Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema 1997-2017", which offers UK audiences a fantastic selection of films from the past two decades." he said.
