Although Hong Kong’s presence was not felt in Karlovy-Vary, Hong Kong still seems to have clout in other venues. As film festival expert Ma Ran points out:
…though the screened films at those film festivals are quite limited, at the film market or film pitching…, Hong Kong filmmakers are quite active. Edmond Pang Ho-cheung is participating pitching projects at Shanghai, Locarno and Pusan in recent years. (1)
How much of Hong Kong cinema’s continuation as a major force within global film culture depends on its ability to attract the attention of European film programmers may be open to debate, but the fact that its fortunes have changed is beyond dispute. Whether co-productions, independent films, and the perennial popularity of Hong Kong action can sustain the industry within the global marketplace as well as festival circuit, then, remains to be seen.
Update 16/09/2010: Several
Hong Kong films and co-productions were screened at the Venice Film
Festival in September 2010. Only one film was in competition. John Woo pocketed a
Lifetime Achievement Golden Lion.
List of Hong Kong films in the
different categories:
-International competition
DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF PHANTOM FLAME by Tsui Hark
-Orizzonti
RED EARTH by Clara Law
-Out of Competition
SHOWTIME by Stanley Kwan
LEGEND OF THE FIST: THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN by Andrew Lau
THE CHILD'S EYE 3D by Oxide and Danny Pang
REIGN OF ASSASSINS by Su Chao-pin and John Woo
For more info, see Patrick Frater's
article "Asia left in the cold by Venice prizes" from
Film Business Asia.
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Photo courtesy of Society.hkiff.org
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