Actor Chow Yun-fat says making ‘Hong Kong-spirited’ films challenging due to curbs, trying to tap into mainland Chinese market

Superstar Chow Yun-fat has spoken about the challenges of creating “Hong Kong-spirited movies” while working under restrictions and trying to tap into the mainland Chinese market, a day after he was honoured at the Busan International Film Festival.

The film star on Thursday also praised the creative freedom enjoyed by South Korea’s entertainment industry, which he felt had the local government’s support, helping the sector to generate successful pictures that touched on a variety of difficult topics.

Chow was honoured at the 28th iteration of the country’s largest film festival on Wednesday, winning Asian Filmmaker of the Year.

Asked for his opinion on the state of Hong Kong’s own film industry a day later, he told reporters at a panel for the event that local filmmakers had to work around limitations and find ways to tap into the mainland market.

“We have a lot of restrictions now. It is very difficult for filmmakers. Honestly, we will try our best to produce our Hong Kong-spirited movies. This is our goal,” he said. “The mainland China market is so huge that we have to find a solution to work there.”

The Asian Filmmaker of the Year award is intended to recognise the work of individuals or organisations that have helped to develop the industry for the continent.

Chow rose to fame amid Hong Kong cinema’s golden era, which is typically considered to be between the 1980s and 1990s, going on to star in A Better Tomorrow (1986) and reaching international acclaim years later in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Both films were screened at the Busan festival for a special panorama.