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Craig Addison
Craig Addison

Opinion | Why Hong Kong’s independent film industry will lose its identity under the national security law

  • Since 1997, the fortunes of Hong Kong’s filmmakers have been tied to the lucrative mainland Chinese market
  • There was always a thin line separating the films that could be made on either side of the border. The security law erases that line

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Craig Addison

The national security law’s impact on free speech in Hong Kong has been widely debated but the implications for one sector have received less attention: the city’s film industry.

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This is partly because Covid-19 has largely shuttered film production and cinemas (though theatres will reopen from Friday). However, the law’s impact on Hong Kong cinema will be felt long after the pandemic is gone.
Hong Kong is famous overseas for two genres: the kung fu flicks that made Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen household names, and crime dramas epitomised by the Infernal Affairs series, the first instalment of which was remade by Martin Scorsese as the Oscar-winning The Departed .

Since the handover in 1997, the fortunes of Hong Kong’s mainstream filmmakers have been tied to the lucrative mainland Chinese market. Scripts are routinely self-censored, and subjects sensitive to Beijing avoided, to ensure the finished films are not banned on the mainland. However, these co-productions have had limited box office success outside mainland China.

There was always a thin line separating the types of films that could be made on either side of the border. Hong Kong directors were free to tell stories that were political or showed the authorities in a bad light – both taboo subjects in mainland films. The only penalty was being banned from the mainland market. With the national security law, that line will be erased.

03:03

Hong Kong publishers resort to self-censorship under new security law

Hong Kong publishers resort to self-censorship under new security law
Four years ago, Ten Years surprised the industry when it won Best Film at the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards. The low-budget anthology tells five dystopian stories about life in a 2025 Hong Kong. Despite packing houses, the film had its limited theatrical release cut short following criticism in the Chinese state media. The producers and directors were unofficially blacklisted and not allowed to work on the mainland.
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