How Hong Kong’s film industry can reinvent itself for a global audience

Filmmakers have the talent to recapture the imagination of viewers outside China, and the industry should look to collaborate with companies around the world
Local policy support is as important as good scripts, and funding schemes could be more flexible to allow better international engagement

Hiu Man Chan

Published: 9:45am, 10 Jan 2021

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Hong Kong’s film industry is far from dead, despite what some critics say. There is plenty of potential and new imagination to be explored.

Towards the end of 2020, two Hong Kong-mainland co-produced films gained a positive reception in mainland China, both in terms of box office receipts and critics’ response. Shock Wave 2 earned 630.7 million yuan (US$97.6 million) while Caught in Time took in 520 million yuan. The films ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, in the mainland’s national box office.

Shock Wave 2, in particular, received a round of applause among film critics. Mainland magazine Life Week called it “the best Hong Kong film in a long while”. Herman Yau and Andy Lau’s action drama broke the 100 million admission threshold within 14 hours of its release in December.

Shock Wave 2 is more than just a standard action epic; it is also a commentary on society, done in a diplomatic style that has been accepted by the censors and at the same time got mainland viewers thinking.

While some Hong Kong filmmakers are pessimistic about the co-production model and fearful of losing artistic freedom, such concerns are overblown. Hong Kong filmmakers have the ability, talent and skill to slowly introduce ideas like critical thinking to viewers on the mainland in creative ways.

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Co-production with mainland companies is only one of many possibilities. Hong Kong cinema’s legacy remains in the minds of many overseas audiences. From the 1970s, before mainland films gained international awareness among a niche audience through appearances at European film festivals, Hong Kong films were part of many people’s life. Their international popularity remained strong throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Even now, the classics still have loyal followers. For instance, Jackie Chan’s Winner and Sinners, My Lucky Stars and Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars will be released as a Blu-ray box set this March in the UK.

However, Hong Kong cinema cannot rely on these classics to sustain its reputation, given that the export of mainland Chinese films overseas has been growing in the past few years.

To revive its international reputation with new content that can connect a mass audience, like before, the Hong Kong film industry should consider collaborating with film companies around the world, not just on the mainland. The Hong Kong Fresh Wave has gained attention in the US, Britain and Europe, albeit through a niche audience with the content mainly shared in academic circles.

Filmmakers could consider focusing on themes that an international audience would enjoy and relate to. One reason Hong Kong films from the 1970s to the 1990s gained wide support was simply because they were entertaining.

Entertainment and social commentary are not mutually exclusive, but skill and creativity are required for the combination to convey messages. This is not impossible, as demonstrated by the local success of the Golden Chicken series.

Scripts with an international audience in mind are important, but so too is local policy support. Current funding schemes could be more flexible in terms of international engagement.

When all funding schemes are solely for companies incorporated in Hong Kong and filmmakers who are permanent residents, it restricts potential international collaboration to some extent.

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The Hong Kong Film Development Council could consider two approaches. First, enable foreign film distributors to apply for funding support if they are distributing Hong Kong films overseas. France’s National Centre of Cinematography and the Moving Image has embraced this strategy with good results. This way, more Hong Kong films could be distributed outside the region. It would also help them be more competitive.

With regard to the Scriptwriting Incubation Programme, the council could consider extending eligibility to overseas screenwriters if they are working on a project with a Hong Kong screenwriter. This would encourage more international writers to work with the Hong Kong film industry and could attract new ideas.

Certainly, the festival circuit remains an important platform to launch Hong Kong films internationally. While Hong Kong’s film talent is capable of attracting mass audiences in mainland China, I am confident they can also do so overseas once again.

Dr Hiu Man Chan is founder and director of the UK-China Film Collab, a non-profit organisation, and lecturer in creative and cultural industries at De Montfort University, UK