HONG KONG MOVIES TO BE SHOWCASED IN SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Hong Kong movies will be given their own starring role in the Shanghai International Film Festival next month as part of an initiative designed to attract Mainland residents to visit Hong Kong. Co-organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the Shanghai International Film Festival Organising Committee, the Hong Kong Film Festival is aimed at showcasing the movies, scenic spots and attractions of Hong Kong.

Speaking at a briefing session today (26 May), HKTB’s Acting Deputy Executive Director Tony Tse noted that this was the first time Hong Kong had showcased its movies in an international film festival in Mainland China. “We hope it will help promote Hong Kong as a destination to Mainland people and increase their understanding of our city – an aim very much in line with that of our new, two-year tourism project City of Life: Hong Kong is it!”

The Shanghai International Film Festival is the only event of its kind in Mainland China, and one of 11 Grade A international festivals in the world. Inaugurated in 1993, it is being staged for the fifth time this year. More than 150 Chinese and foreign movies will be shown at nine major theatres in Shanghai between 9 and 17 June.

The Hong Kong Film Festival, running from 10 to 16 June, will feature a different Hong Kong movie on each of the seven days. A number of actors, actresses and crew members of the participating movies have been invited to attend the opening ceremony on 10 June to give their support (attendance list to be issued).

“The Hong Kong Film Festival is one of the new highlights of the Shanghai International Film Festival. It will certainly help develop exchanges between the film industries of Hong Kong and Shanghai,” commented the Executive Vice Secretary - General of the Shanghai International Film Festival Organising Committee, Chen Xiaomeng. “Also, through these movies, Shanghai people will be able to know more about the attractiveness, diversity and lifestyle of Hong Kong – the Hollywood of the East.”

Guests attending today’s briefing included Hong Kong Film Festival Honorary Consultant Ng See Yuen, popular local artistes Cecilia Ip and Josie Ho, and directors/producers Man Chun, Yip Wai Man and Raymond To.

A launch ceremony for the Hong Kong Film Festival will be held on 30 May in Shanghai and Hong Kong Tourism Ambassador Jackie Chan has been invited to help promote the event. Jackie Chan will also open the City of Life: Hong Kong is it! exhibition, featuring Hong Kong’s participating movies and tourist attractions. The exhibition, which will continue at Shui On Plaza, Shanghai, until 17 June, will include a special feature on HKTB’s new community-wide tourism project, City of Life: Hong Kong is it!

Movies have proved to be one of the most effective means of promoting Hong Kong around the world. The featured attractions, plots and characters capture the minds of their audiences and leave them with powerful impressions of Hong Kong. As another means of promoting Hong Kong movies, the HKTB has helped various regional publishers produce movie maps in Chinese, English and Japanese versions. Pinpointing shooting locations in Hong Kong and related information, the maps help visitors enhance their enjoyment of a trip to Hong Kong by seeking out these familiar locations for themselves.

The Hong Kong Film Festival is co-organised by the HKTB and the Shanghai International Film Festival Organising Committee, with support from the Office of the Hong Kong SAR Government in Beijing.



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The Hong Kong Tourism Board was formerly known as the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA). The change took effect from 1 April 2001 and reflects a change to the tourism body’s constitutional structure. Its primary responsibilities for marketing and promoting Hong Kong as a destination worldwide, and for providing visitors with assistance when they arrive, remain unchanged.