Hong Kong film industry shrinking amid rising of mainland China
By Janet Lin
The discussion of whether the Hong Kong film industry lost its lustre obtained much attention among mainland China’s movie fans. On a leading question-and-answer website in the mainland, Zhihu, the related question was viewed more than 555,000 times.
Shi Di, the founder of Film Planet, a WeChat public account that has more than 100,000 followers, said the influence of Hong Kong film was fading and he didn’t see the cultural pride in Hong Kong films anymore.
“The old Hong Kong movies were made with pride,” said Shi, “but now, the Hong Kong filmmakers are always paying homage to the old movies, imitating classics from the past, lacking the innovative spirit.”
Plus, Shi said the political undertones in Hong Kong films were more and denser, becoming a limitation for the industry to further develop in other directions.
Sandi Zhu, a Hong Kong movie buff, said there are not many 100% Hong Kong movie for now, because most of the movies are co-production. She added that what Jackie Chan said during Two Session in Beijing this year — there are not Hong Kong films but only Chinese films for now — was reasonable to some extent.
“The flame of Hong Kong film is very pale and low,” said Zhu.
Professor Cheuk Pak Tong, the founder and the former director of Hong Kong Baptist University Academy of Film, said Hong Kong film industry used to produce 200 to 300 films annually when it was at its peak time, while the number dropped to some 60 including co-productions recent years.
“When the industry is going weak, the influence of the industry is dwindling as well,” said Cheuk.
The shrink of the film industry was partly because the market shrinks. In the past, two-thirds of the movie market was in southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, etc., according to Cheuk. However, after the mid-1990s, the film industry in neighbouring countries such as South Korea developed rapidly, hence the needs for Hong Kong movies fell.
The market for Hong Kong films shrunk, but mainland China’s film market boomed. In 2016, mainland China produced 686 feature films in total, and it is estimated that the number will continuously reach 800 by 2020, according to consultancy firm Zhiyan Consulting Group.
“Lots of brilliant directors, action directors, and film photographers went north to mainland China since the market there was much bigger,” said Cheuk.
The lack of actors is another sore spot for Hong Kong films industry. SydneyCarton, a leading movie critic on Zhihu.com, said the left of original actors and the lack of an effective actor training system jointly led to the deficiency of actors.
“Hong Kong film industry has its glorious past, but now I am worried about whether the glory will last,” said Cheuk.
In 1999, Hong Kong government set up The Film Development Fund (FDF) to support projects which are conducive to the development of Hong Kong film industry. The government injected $300 million into supporting small-to-medium budget film productions in 2007 and further added HK$200 million to subsidise low-budget film production, according to Hong Kong Film Development Council.
However, Cheuk said the fund had little effect.
“Over the 11 years, the FDF funded some 30 films, three or four films per year,” said Cheuk, “the application of the fund needs a complete plan, if all the applications were granted, it should be 15 film productions per year.”
“If Hong Kong government’s fund can’t reinvigorate the Hong Kong film industry when it was at its lowest point, it would be the real crisis,” said Cheuk.
To sustain the prosperous of the Hong Kong film industry, Cheuk said the establishment of a new film academy in Guangdong was essential.
“Unlike the United States, China has only one film centre, Beijing, and all the filmmakers go there,” said the film professor, “China should have two film centres as well, and Guangdong will be a promising place combined with both side’s advantages.”
A netizen called “P” made a comment on a 2018 HKFA review, that Hong Kong films per se used to be the representative of Cantonese cultural community, exerting influence on mainlanders’ cultural life.
“Under the strike of politics and capitals, the community has shrunk because mainlanders cannot resonate with Hong Kong films anymore,” said P, “but even the influence of Hong Kong films becoming weaker and weaker, it is still one of the remaining platforms representing and reserving Cantonese culture.”
Hong Kong film production stumbling under tightened political environment
Followed by an unprecedented outburst of cheering and applause, film Ten Years became the biggest winner at the 35th Hong Kong Film Award in 2016.
Consisting of five short stories, the controversial film depicts Hong Kong as a dystopian society in 2025 under the tightening rule of the Chinese government, which was not only prohibited from releasing in mainland China but also caused the entire ceremony ban from broadcasting in the mainland for the first time.
When Derek Yee Tung Sing, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association was about to announce the result of “Best Picture” for the 35th Hong Kong Film Award in 2016, he cited the former United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s saying — The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.
In reaction to condemn towards mainland’s prohibition on broadcasting the Awards, Director Yee said in an HK01 interview conducted in April 2016, “Do you want One Country Two Systems or not? They do not forbid you from presenting the award.”
Besides Ten Years, as a country owns the second-biggest box office in the world, China has long been banning plentiful films from releasing and is notorious for its film censorship.
The State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SGAPPRFT) stipulate that every film need to be censored. For films shot in China, its plot is required to hand in; for those films from outside of the mainland, the entire screenplay must be surrendered to sensors for review before officially filming. When the screenplay is approved, it cannot be revised.
SGAPPRFT has another bizarre means of manipulation — cropping the frames, cutting the plot or even putting mosaic on what they think is taboo. The Chinese government is extremely sensitive about how the nation is portrayed in film and television play. Apart from the politically-sensitive motif, homosexual, eroticism, negative outlook on life and violence are definitely a no-no.
The Oscar winner of the best picture this year, The Shape of Water, has been patched and zoomed-in in some nudity scenes. Trivisa, the best picture of Hong Kong Film Award in 2017 is blocked in the mainland probably due in part to the fact that Au Man-kit, one of the directors of this film, also co-directed Ten Years.
Many Chinese filmmakers including directors, scriptwriters and film producers helplessly get the hang of working within the system. Feng Xiaogang, a famous Chinese director, who is long seen as a safe bet by authorities expressed his disappointment when the film “Youth” was once abruptly and indefinitely postponed before the 19th Communist Party congress last year.
“Inside Hong Kong’s moviedom, fear does exist,” Yee told HK01, “But I don’t feel afraid because I think this matter [Ten Years winning award] has been amplifying.”
Professor Cheuk Pak Tong, founder and former director of Hong Kong Baptist University Academy of Film said the reason why Ten Years obtained the award was closely related to the social environment at a time when local young people became increasingly fearful of communist control after Occupy Movement in late 2014 and Causeway Book Store Incident in late 2015.
If not for so much criticism Ten Years had received, venture capitalist Mark W. H. Siu, whose field of investment involves film industry would not have heard about it. Judging from the professional level, it is not a good film, he said.
However, Yee Yee said in the interview that it was not fair to say politics kidnapped art in this event, “some voters might aim to encourage young people and some others thought the movie [Ten Years] was really a creative production.”