 The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang (right); actress Dada Chan of “The Moment” (second right); film director Cheuk Cheung of “My Next Step” (left); and the Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media, Mr Stephen Gong (second left), at the Hong Kong reception before the screening of “The Moment” in San Francisco as part of CAAMFest.
|
CAAMFest, recognized as the largest showcase for new Asian American and Asian films in the US, selected three Hong Kong movies for its 2017 festival, which ran from March 9 to 19. CAAMFest presents about 130 works in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and San Jose annually.
The Festival has also invited film talents from Hong Kong to represent each selected movie. Actress Dada Chan of “The Moment”, film director Cheuk Cheung of “My Next Step” and director Ruby Yang of “In Search of Perfect Consonance” attended.
Chan and Cheuk also joined the reception organized by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in San Francisco before the screening of “The Moment” on March 12. The Director of the HKETO in San Francisco, Mr. Ivanhoe Chang, thanked CAAMFest for showcasing Hong Kong film productions and inviting Hong Kong film talents to the festival.
“This year, CAAMFest has chosen three very different Hong Kong movies – a feature film and two documentaries, one long and one short,” Mr. Chang said. “The Moment”, the first feature film directed by Wong Kwok-fai, is partly financed under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s Film Development Fund Scheme for Financing Film Production (the Fund Scheme).
“The film has engaged many up-and-coming filmmakers, which is in line with the objective of the Fund Scheme to nurture film talents. Since its launch in 2007, the Fund Scheme has approved 30 films of different genres, including comedy, animation, action, musical, romance, inspirational, ethics, suspense, horror films and more. These films have engaged 17 directors and 17 producers who made commercial films for the first time,” he said.
Filmmaking is a very important and widely supported industry in Hong Kong. The Film Development Fund not only helps finance film productions, but also supports the First Feature Film Initiative, set up in 2013 to identify new talents through a competition on screenplay and production proposals by providing funding to the winning new directors to make their feature films. Some of the winning projects have been screened at film festivals in the United States.
“This year is a special year as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In addition to bringing you more Hong Kong movies through different film festivals, our office has organized and planned many activities – from the Young Entrepreneur Competition for undergraduate students and a business conference for professionals to a concert for the general public,” Mr. Chang said. He expressed the hope that many could join the events throughout the year.
The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang, speaks at the Hong Kong reception before the screening of “The Moment” in San Francisco as part of CAAMFest.
|
|
The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Mr Ivanhoe Chang (left), speaks at a movie theatre event honoring Hong Kong filmmakers before the screening of “The Moment” in San Francisco as part of CAAMFest.
|
|
