Hong Kong Film Awards

[GeneChing]

Hong Kong and Taiwan film awards won't be broadcast live in the mainland this year, because politics



Yet more drama has arisen between the mainland and Hong Kong with China announcing a media boycott of the Hong Kong Film Awards being held on April 3rd, but won't be shown on either CCTV or Tencent. The sudden decision apparently comes as a response to the dystopian HK film Ten Years getting nominated for "Best Film."



Set 10 years in the future, the film depicts a dystopian Hong Kong under Communist Party rule, where shops are attacked by soldiers for selling banned materials and activists self-immolate as a statement for independence. SCMP has called the film "a reminder of the power of independent, intelligent filmmaking as a vehicle for social and political critique."



Despite limited showings, Ten Years has grossed HK$6 million -- a decent profit considering its modest HK$600,000 budget. The film has struck a chord with Hong Kong audiences, who "left packed screenings in tears."
But needless to say, Beijing was not entertained, the Global Times lambasted the film as a "virus of the mind" and even blamed it for the Mong Kok riots earlier this month.
On Friday, CCTV and Tencent notified the Hong Kong Film Awards Association of their cancellations, the latter even in spite of already paying HK$4 million for webcast rights. Chairman Derek Yee Tung-Sing expects a loss of at least HK$4 million, reports Mingpao.
"It is very strange. What are they afraid of?" remarked Ng Ka-leung, one of the film's five directors, on China's about-face. "It is a small independent film and now with all this attention, it makes people even more curious."



But apparently the mainland isn't stopping at just Hong Kong -- according to China Digital Times, word is that Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Awards in November will also be snubbed from broadcasting in China, in the Tsai Ing-wen's rise to presidency. Here's the announcement from the CCP's publicity department and SAPPRFT:

Due to social changes in Hong Kong and Taiwan this year, and to prevent the negative influence of speech, film, and television which do not conform to the national condition, all major websites and mobile apps must suspend live and relay broadcasts of the Hong Kong Film Awards in April and of Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards at the end of the year. Major media may continue to report on the Hong Kong and Taiwan awards. (February 21, 2016)

For the last 3 years the event was live-casted in China through Sina, but a spokesman from the awards show admits plans for this year are indeed up in the air, although they are "in the process of negotiation with other mainland portals."
Even more ominously, screenings of Ten Years in Hong Kong have now mysteriously ceased -- but fortunately for its directors the film's international rights have now been bought by Golden Scene, so it should escape being stifled altogether.
Check out the trailer here:


[Images via Wikicommons/screencaps // Video via YouTube]

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Feb 23, 2016 4:00 PM

Now I want to see Ten Years.

[GeneChing]

Hong Kong Film Industry Weakens, While China’s Strengthens
Hong Kong Film Industry Weakens, While China’s Strengthens
Vittorio Hernandez | Mar 31, 2016 10:19 AM EDT


2013 Hong Kong Film Awards - Awards Room (Photo : Getty Images)

There is less interest in the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA), and it has nothing to do with China Central Television and Tencent not broadcasting the awards night on April 3.
Even within the special administrative region (SAR), enthusiasm of Hong Kong media for the awards night is waning. Proof of this are the lesser space that the press has given to report on the forthcoming event, reported Global Times.
There are no predictions on who would be the winners and no interview either with nominees. As it is, reception to the film festival was already cold in 2015, but it just turned colder this year. In contrast, while not only the award’s night but Hong Kong’s movie industry is weakening, the opposite is true in mainland where movies like “The Mermaid” are breaking box office records.
Even Hollywood movies, such as “The Revenant” and “Zootopia” are also doing well in the mainland, while the popularity of American films in Southeast Asia, once a dollar earner for Hong Kong film producers, negatively affected the movie industry in the SAR.
Derek Yee, chairman of the 35th HKFA, admitted that the Hong Kong movie industry appears to be “an already aging man at the age of 34.” Yee said that to boost the film festival, the organizers thought of expanding by allowing non-Hong Kong films to participate, but there is too much competition with similar film festivals.
Yee cited the mainland’s Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong’s International Film Festival’s Asian Film Awards as examples.
The 34th HKFA in 2015 was actually a foretaste of the growing strength of mainland films when actress Zhao Wei won the Best Actress Award, while “The Golden Era” got most of the awards.
The reason behind CCTV and Tencent’s decision not to broadcast the 35th HKFA is "Ten Years," a movie about life in the mainland by 2025 under tight control of the Communist Party of China, is a nominee for the Best Picture, reported Reuters.

Not sure what's nominated this year. I should look that up. Or maybe I'll just wait until next week, for the results.

[GeneChing]

Hong Kong film awards: Ten Years wins top prize amid China anger
Micro-budget film about growing anxiety that Beijing is eroding the city’s freedoms wins best film after proving popular with the local audience


Executive producer Andrew Choi speaks in front of directors and cast members of movie Ten Years after winning best film at the Hong Kong film awards. Photograph: Reuters
Agence France-Presse
Sunday 3 April 2016 20.11 EDT

A controversial movie about the future of Hong Kong won the top prize at the city’s film awards on Sunday, after being a local box office hit but antagonising Beijing over its portrayal of the semi-autonomous territory in 2025.

Ten Years scooped the best film prize at the Hong Kong film awards, following a short cinema release that was widely believed to have been curtailed for political reasons.

The film is made up of a series of five vignettes that tap residents’ worst fears for the future of the southern Chinese city as Beijing’s grip tightens.

The film had only a short general release, while some cinemas refused to screen it altogether, and it raised hackles on the mainland with China’s state-run Global Times newspaper describing it as “totally absurd” and a “virus of the mind”.

The film’s producer Andrew Choi said after the awards ceremony: “The meaning of this prize is that it shows Hong Kong still has hope. It reminds us that we could have courage to be creative. I would like to thank everyone who has watched it.”

Major China-based TV channels pulled out from broadcasting the awards on the mainland, with the nomination of Ten Years widely believed to be the reason.

But one of the film’s directors, Ng Ka-leung, said he was not concerned by Beijing’s opinion, only by what his fellow Hong Kongers thought of the film.

“If you ask me what Beijing might feel towards us, I would say it doesn’t really matter. The movie was made for Hong Kong people. We are open-minded to anyone who likes it or not. We just hope that Hong Kong people can share our feelings. We would like people to think about the future of Hong Kong,” he said.

The chairman of the Hong Kong film awards, Derek Yee, acknowledged the controversy that had arisen from the film’s nomination.

“President Roosevelt said one thing: ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself’,” Yee said before announcing the winner of the best film category.


People watch Ten Years next to the Quarry Bay wet markets in Hong Kong. Photograph: Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images

Since its release at the end of December, the movie, made for just HK$500,000 ($64,000), has earned an unexpected HK$6m, but its run stopped despite still playing to packed theatres.

On Friday thousands flocked to watch the film at various community screenings across the city, as the buzz around the movie continued long after its cinema release ended.

The five-part film, each directed by different people, examines different elements of a future Hong Kong, where there is growing anxiety that Beijing is eroding the freedoms enshrined in the 1997 handover deal between Britain and China.

In one, young children in military uniforms prowl the street looking for subversive behaviour, another shows the erosion of the local language Cantonese.

In the final short, a protester self-immolates outside the British consulate – a scene that moved many viewers to tears.

Hong Kong police thriller Port of Call also won big at the awards, scooping seven prizes including best actor for singer Aaron Kwok and best actress for newcomer Jessie Li.

Full list of winners
Best Film: Ten Years

Best Actor: Aaron Kwok (Port Of Call)

Advertisement

Best Actress: Jessie Li (Port Of Call)

Best Director: Tsui Hark (The Taking Of Tiger Mountain)

Best Screenplay: Philip Yung Tsz Kwong (Port Of Call)

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Ning (Port Of Call)

Best Supporting Actress: Elaine Jin (Port Of Call)

Best New Performer: Michael Ning (Port Of Call)

Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle (Port Of Call)

Best Film Editing: Cheung Ka Fai (Ip Man 3)

Best Art Direction: William Chang Suk Ping, Yau Wai Ming (Office)

Best Costume and Make Up Design: Yee Chung Man (Monster Hunt)

Best Action Choreography: Li Chung Chi (SPL 2: A Time For Consequences)

Best Sound Design: Kinson Tsang, George Lee Yiu Keung, Yiu Chun Hin (The Taking Of Tiger Mountain)

Best Visual Effects: Jason Snell, Ellen Poon, Tang Bingbing (Monster Hunt)

Best New Director: Raman Hui (Monster Hunt)

Best Original Film Score: Dayu Lo, Chan Fai Young (Office)

Best Original Film Song: We Almost Fly (She Remembers, He Forgets)

Best Film From the Mainland and Taiwan: The Assassin

The Assassin
Monster Hunt
Ip Man 3
The Taking Of Tiger Mountain

But wait! There's more...

[GeneChing]

This made me lol for realz. You gotta imagine some PRC fan pirating this because it was banned and then going 'WTH?'

Channing Tatum romcom boosted by Chinese download blunder


Film fans got the wrong 10 Years: Channing Tatum's rom-com and not Hong Kong thriller
Martin Chilton, culture editor
8 APRIL 2016 • 1:08PM

Oh dear. Thousands of Chinese film fans wanting to watch a controversial Hong Kong Dystopian movie have been mistakenly ordering a Channing Tatum comedy.

Unfortunately, the film about the bleak future of Hong Kong and Tatum's school reunion rom-com share the same name: 10 Years. The new 10 Years ( 十年) is set in 2025, a future in which Hong Kong is patrolled by children dressed in military uniforms and where self-immolation is a standard mode of protest against Chinese rule. The film won the city's "best movie" prize at the weekend, sparking interest on the mainland.

But as people in China rushed to get the film from popular Chinese download site zimuzu.tv, they instead mistakenly ordered the one about cheerleader romances being reignited as High School pals re-unite after a decade. The Channing Tatum film then shot to No1 on the zimuzu.tv charts.


Channing Tatum CREDIT: REX FEATURES

China has had a media blackout of the Hong Kong film's success and directors have said they believe political pressure was behind the difficulty in getting it shown in Hong Kong cinemas, where it received a short run despite full houses.

Let's hope people enjoyed the Tatum one (although it has only a 60% rating on rotten tomatoes) and take comfort from the fact that there is a long history of films sharing the same name. As an Alfred Htch**** fan you might want to be careful when ordering Notorious, just in case you find that what turns up is not the Cary Grant classic but the Biggie Smalls biopic of the same name about the late rapper.


Five films with the same name but different plots

The Kid (1921 and 2000) The iconic Charlie Chaplin comedy about a tramp should not be confused with Bruce Willis hanging out with his younger self.

Notorious (1946 and 2009) An Alfred Hitch**** masterpiece or a Biggie Smalls biopic. You pays your money...



Crash (1996 and 2005) A David Cronenberg film about sexual weirdness and car-crash fetishes v Paul Haggis's clever film about race relations in Los Angeles.

Deep Blue Sea (1999) and The Deep Blue Sea (2012) Killer sharks and an OTT Samuel L Jackson or Rachel Weisz having hanky panky with pilot Tom Hiddleston. Either way there are a lot of white teeth on show.

Twilight (1998 and 2008) What a difference a decade can make. Paul Newman as an ageing private detective or the teen vampire romance movie.

[GeneChing]

...Trivisa

Hong Kong Film Awards: Crime Thriller 'Trivisa' Bags 5 Wins
11:05 PM PDT 4/9/2017 by Karen Chu


'Trivisa'

This year's awards marked the emergence of a new generation of local filmmakers.
Crime thriller Trivisa led the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards with five wins.

The Johnnie To and Yau Nai-hoi-produced film swept the best film, best director, best screenplay and best film editing categories, and leading man Gordon Lam — who played the King of Thieves in '90s Hong Kong — took home his first best actor award. This was the feature debut for two of the film's directors, Frank Hui and Vicky Wong, while the third, Jevons Au, helmed a part of last year's controversial omnibus best film winner, Ten Years. This is the second consecutive year newcomer Au has contributed to the direction of the best film winner.

This year's awards mark the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers, as not only did Trivisa win with its three new helmers, but also Mad World and Weeds on Fire, which were the directorial debuts of Wong Chun and Steve Chan, respectively. Both films were made for US$257,000 as winners of the First Film Initiative, sponsored by Hong Kong government department CreateHK. Mad World nabbed three awards while Weeds on Fire took two.

Director Wong Chun of Mad World was named best new director, and the film's best-supporting actor and actress, Eric Tsang and Elaine Jin, won in their respective categories. Tsang noted that it has been 25 years since the first time he went on stage to take home the best actor statuette for director Peter Chan's Alan & Eric: Between Hello and Goodbye, and he additionally won best supporting actor in 1997 for Comrades: Almost a Love Story, also by Chan. Whereas Jin, who has been nominated 10 times at the Hong Kong Film Awards, won for the fourth time with her portrayal of a temperamental ailing mother taken care of by her bipolar son.

Best Actress winner Kara Wai, for drama Happiness, was also a repeat victor. Wai was named best actress at the first ever Hong Kong Film Awards 36 years ago for her role in My Young Auntie, and subsequently won best actress again for the 2009 film At the End of Daybreak, and took a best-supporting actress award for the 2014 horror pic Rigor Mortis. Wai tearfully revealed in her acceptance speech that she paid tribute in her role as a cognitive disorder patient in Happiness to her late mother, who suffered from Alzheimer disease.

List of Winners at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards

Best Film - Trivisa

Best Director - Frank Hui, Jevons Au, Vicky Wong, Trivisa

Best Screenplay - Trivisa

Best Actor - Gordon Lam, Trivisa

Best Actress - Kara Wai, Happiness

Best Supporting Actor - Eric Tsang, Mad World

Best Supporting Actress - Elaine Jin, Mad World

Best New Performer - Tony Wu, Weeds on Fire

Best Cinematography - See You Tomorrow

Best Film Editing - Trivisa

Best Art Direction - See You Tomorrow

Best Costume and Makeup Design - The Monkey King 2

Best Action Choreography - Operation Mekong

Best Original Film Score - Soul Mate

Best Original Film Song - Weeds on Fire

Best Sound Design - Cold War 2

Best Visual Effects - The Monkey King 2

Best New Director -Wong Chun, Mad World

Best Film From Mainland and Taiwan -Godspeed

I think the only winning film we've discussed here is The Monkey King 2. I thought about starting a thread on Operation Mekong and Cold War 2, but never got around to either.

[GeneChing]

Our Time Will Come wins five awards, including best film, at star-studded Hong Kong Film Awards
Wartime drama had 11 nominations going into city’s equivalent of the Oscars
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 15 April, 2018, 7:52pm
UPDATED : Monday, 16 April, 2018, 1:07am
Raymond Yeung



Ann Hui On-wah’s wartime epic Our Time Will Come was the big winner at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday evening, bagging five awards out of 11 nominations, including best film and best director.

Meanwhile, three of the four recipients of best actor and actress awards – whether in a leading or supporting role – were maiden winners, including Teresa Mo Sun-kwan, who finally got the nod in her third nomination for best actress.


Jackie Chan (left) and actress Zhou Wei (right) on the red carpet. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Paradox , which earned Louis Koo Tin-lok his first best actor trophy, took home three prizes, while Chasing the Dragon and Tomorrow is Another Day snatched two each.

Hundreds of local and overseas fans swarmed the entrance to the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on Sunday, the biggest night in the city’s film industry calendar, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars on the red carpet.

Organisers of Hong Kong’s equivalent of the Oscars were hoping to see less political tension this year, after their live broadcasts of the past two events were partially censored in mainland China over films deemed sensitive.


Zhou Xun (left) in Our Time Will Come. Photo: Handout

The patriotic undertones of Our Time Will Come, based on the heroics of a resistance group fighting Japanese occupation in wartime Hong Kong, were not expected to stir controversy however.

Already named best picture of 2017 by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, the espionage thriller also helped Hui, who turns 71 in May, get the best director nod for the sixth time.

Fellow director Sylvia Chang Ai-chia was left disappointed after the film she directed and starred in, relationship drama Love Education , went home with only best screenplay after securing nine nominations.

But it was all smiles for Koo, who was presented the best actor trophy by Indian superstar Aamir Khan for his performance in Paradox.

“I have been thinking how we can all make Hong Kong film thrive,” Koo said in a heartfelt speech. “Hongkongers must be united … the industry needs your support.”

Also a first-time winner, Mo shed tears as she walked onto the stage to receive the top actress award for the first time.


Director Ann Hui On-wah (third from left) and actress Deanie Ip (fourth from left) on the red carpet. Photo: Edward Wong

The 57-year-old, who has starred in numerous comedies, played the mother of an autistic and mentally handicapped teenager in Tomorrow is Another Day.

The awards this year were broadcast live – with simultaneous English translation – to audiences in 30 territories around the world, including a number of South American countries.


Song Ning (left) and Lang Yueting star in Love Education. Photo: Handout

Once again, coverage by mainland Chinese media will be a focal point. The best film at the 35th edition of the awards, Ten Years , touched a raw nerve with Beijing authorities for its dystopian portrayal of Hong Kong’s future sociopolitical development under the Chinese Communist Party. The segment during which the result was announced was completely taken off the air.


Indian actor Aamir Khan arrives at the awards. Photo: AP

Trivisa , winner the following year, was also censored during the ceremony, believed to be due in part to the fact co-director Jevons Au Man-kit had also directed one of five short films which made up Ten Years.

THREADS:
Paradox
Hong Kong Film Awards

[GeneChing]

Our Time Will Come wins big at Hong Kong Film Awards, director Ann Hui says her 'heart can't bear it'


Hong Kong director Ann Hui (left) and actress Deanie Ip posing with their Best Director and Best Supporting Actress awards.PHOTO: REUTERS
PUBLISHED APR 16, 2018, 2:26 PM SGT UPDATED 6 HOURS AGO

HONG KONG - Our Time Will Come, Ann Hui's wartime drama, won Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday night, and Hui was honoured as Best Director for the sixth time.

The movie, about the little-known resistance movement of leftist guerillas in Hong Kong during the Second Sino-Japanese War, collected five prizes in total, including Best Art Direction, Best Score and a third Best Supporting Actress award for Deanie Ip.

And Sunday proved third time lucky for Louis Koo and Teresa Mo, who finally won Best Actor and Best Actress in their third attempts, said Ming Pao Daily News.

Koo's win, for his portrayal of a police negotiator looking for his missing daughter in Thailand in Paradox, was expected. So was Mo's, for her portrayal of a housewife taking care of an autistic son in Tomorrow Is Another Day.

On stage, Koo clenched his fists, sighed, and produced a note from his pocket, said Ming Pao. He said he had been reflecting on "how Hong Kong people are to make Hong Kong movies", especially when veteran director, writer and actor Chor Yuen was honoured with a lifetime achievement award earlier in the evening.

He remembered Chor giving him a piece of advice on the set of a TVB show, which "I have been learning from till today": "Remember to never give up on any scene, and any line of dialogue. Go over it once and again and yet again because you can't give up making a good movie."

Thanking his family, Koo, 47, also said: "I'm a full-grown adult who still lives with my family. Every morning my mother wakes me up. I can't not live with my family because a person needs his family's support, just as Hong Kong cinema needs everyone's support to do better."



Mo said she did not prepare a speech because she was afraid she would be disappointed again. She thanked her bosses; "everyone who voted for me"; close friends including actresses Ada Choi, Candice Yu and Margie Tsang; her two daughters; and her husband, director Tony Au.

Mo, 58, said of Au, 64: "He helped me a lot with this movie and gave me a lot of opinions. I know you're not satisfied, but I want to tell you, 'I got it,' and I promise to do better in future."

Hui, surprised to win Best Director again, said: "I don't want to be nominated again, my heart can't bear it."

The 70-year-old thanked her cast and crew, "especially guest actor Ray Lui, for supporting me in my wish to film Hong Kong history".

Besides Our Time Will Come, Wilson Yip's action thriller Paradox and Sylvia Chang's generational drama Love Education had come to the ceremony as strong contenders. In addition to Best Actor, Paradox won Best Action Choreography for Sammo Hung and Best Sound Design. Love Education won Best Screenplay for Chang.

The crime drama Chasing The Dragon went home with cinematography and editing awards.

Philip Keung was named Best Supporting Actor for the bomb disposal thriller Shock Wave. Theatre actor Ling Man Lung won Best New Performer for his role as the autistic son in Tomorrow Is Another Day and theatre actress Kearen Pang, Best New Director for an adaptation of her one-woman play 29+1.

In an emotional acceptance speech, Keung, 51, said: "It's really me. I've never had good luck. But in recent years, I've met many good people, prosperous people, so many that I was scared I would die."

He thanked a list of people, including his co-star Andy Lau, director Herman Yau, and his boss Louis Koo.

Chor, 83, made a rare public appearance on Sunday, accompanied by his wife, actress Nan Hong, and their young granddaughter, said Ming Pao. Despite rumours that he was suffering from a degenerative brain disease, he gave quite a speech.

"In being given this prize, I'm being forced to say, 'I am not worthy,'" said the director of Shaw movies such as Killer Clans (1976) and Death Duel (1977).

Recalling his ups and downs, he said: "I once broke the Hong Kong box office record. The company signed a new contract with me, increased my pay by 10 times, and made me the luckiest director.

"Ten years later, after shooting a few poorer films, I wanted to shoot Demi-Gods And Semi-Devils. On the opening day of the shoot, Mona Fong came to tear up the notice and tell me not to shoot. She said, 'Who let you shoot? Will you pay for the loss? Chor Yuen doesn't understand the art of film at all.' I then became the most embarassing director of Shaw Brothers Studio."

Life is made of cheers and tears, and he believes in constantly looking ahead, he said. "I'm so old that I'm no longer working. This time I've got my senior citizen card, and it should be okay to 'pay no mind to thousands of things in the world, but laugh quietly twice or thrice in an idle moment'."

THREADS:
Paradox
Hong Kong Film Awards
Chasing the Dragon

[GeneChing]

THREADS:
Paradox
Hong Kong Film Awards
Sammo Hung

[GeneChing]

Um...speaking of Trivisa

A Crackdown on Film Props Angers Hong Kong’s Cinephiles


The cast and crew of “Trivisa” at the Hong Kong Film Awards last year. On Thursday, two people involved in the film’s production were given suspended sentences for possession of counterfeit money — bills the defendants said were merely props.Credit Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By Mike Ives and Tiffany May
June 1, 2018

HONG KONG — Counterfeit money is hidden. Police uncover the stash. Justice is served.

It may sound like a film noir plot, but the fake bills had been used as props in an award-winning crime thriller filmed in Hong Kong. And the two suspects — who received suspended four-month sentences on Thursday — were not hardened criminal counterfeiters but members of a film production crew.

The question, local cinephiles say why the police even bothered to seek charges.

They say the case illustrates how onerous rules are needlessly hampering a local industry whose golden age of Bruce Lee kung fu films and Wong Kar-wai dramas seems long past, and which is now struggling to compete against rising competition from studios in South Korea and mainland China.

“It’s hypocritical,” Kevin Ma, the founder of Asia in Cinema, a news site for the regional industry, said of the convictions. Even as Hong Kong officials talk of supporting local filmmakers, he said, “they have these really weird, arcane laws that prevent the industry from putting in serious production values.”

In a statement, the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers called the sentence “unprecedented in the history of film industries around the world.” And the Hong Kong Film Arts Association said it was concerned because local laws governing the industry were hopelessly outdated and full of “gray areas that make it exceedingly easy for people in the industry to become accidentally entrapped.”

The two men convicted on Thursday, Cheung Wai-chuen and Law Yun-lam, are veterans of Hong Kong’s film industry who were charged in late 2015 with having more than 230,000 counterfeit notes in Hong Kong dollars and other currencies, according to local news reports. The police had found the bills in a vehicle and an office associated with the production crew. The fake currency lacked the proper permits for storage and transportation, authorizations that the film’s producers were responsible for securing.

The money was used on the set of “Trivisa,” a thriller about three criminals in the lead-up to the former British colony’s 1997 handover to China. “Trivisa” won five awards at the 2017 Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film, but it was later banned on the Chinese mainland — perhaps, observers said, because of scenes that show the criminals bribing Chinese officials.

“You could just go to it as a crime movie, but I’m sure it echoes what a lot of people feel about the handover and how the new boss is China, and not the U.K.,” said Ross Chen, founder of the website Love HK Film and a member of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.

Hong Kong’s Film Services Office regulates and promotes the city’s film industry. In a statement Friday, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, which oversees the film services office, said that it received occasional enquiries on the use of prop money, and that it tried to “provide assistance” and “help resolve any problems.”

For many in the local film industry, the case is emblematic of how Hong Kong, a semiautonomous city of about seven million, is struggling to maintain its cultural influence at a time when Beijing’s soft power is increasingly dominant.

The film industry is perhaps best known for 1970s-era kung fu movies starring Bruce Lee and acclaimed ’90s-era dramas by the director Wong Kar-wai. But after reaching box-office highs in 1992, revenue plummeted about 80 percent over the next 15 years, to around $28 million in 2007, according to government figures. A rebound in 2015, reached about 30 percent of the 1992 peak.

Mr. Chen, of the film critics society, said that the idea that the counterfeiting charges were motivated by mainland politics seemed far-fetched to him, but he thought the film had plenty of critics in the mainland, especially because of its portrayals of some Chinese officials as corrupt.

He added that he did not consider the sentences on Thursday as “punishment” for the film’s politically sensitive elements, though he did find them severe. “At worst, you’d think the prop makers should just get a warning, if not a small fine,” he said.

On Thursday, one of the defendants questioned the timing of the sentence.

“You’ve watched movies for years, and those of you who are enforcing the law have seen the issue but you didn’t say anything,” Mr. Cheung said to reporters outside the courthouse. “Why are you only speaking up now?”

Film industries around the world have tight rules governing the creation and use of fake currency in movies, and this is not the first legal case to arise from trying to use fake money that looks as realistic as possible. Anyone who prints fake money in Hong Kong must apply for permission. They must also make bills with “easily identifiable elements” to show that they are not real, Hong Kong’s acting secretary for financial services and the treasury, Joseph Chan, said in January.

Cheung Kit-yee, the judge in the “Trivisa” counterfeiting case, said that while the bills on the set were marked with the word “props,” it was clear only upon careful inspection, local news outlets reported. She said there was a risk that the bills could be used illegally.

But Mr. Ma, the film journalist, said that the case was just the latest example of local filmmakers cutting corners because they were unable to navigate the local bureaucracy. He said a few had even filmed car chases on local roads after failing to secure official permission to have them closed.

There is more than a hint of irony in the case, Mr. Ma said. One of the best-known moments in Hong Kong cinema is a scene in the 1986 film “A Better Tomorrow,” where the gangster Brother Mark, played by Chow Yun-fat, lights his cigarette with a counterfeit $100 bill.

(this story is just so odd, it needed to be posted somewhere).

[GeneChing]

‘Project Gutenberg’ Sweeps Hong Kong Film Awards With 7 Wins
7:42 PM PDT 4/14/2019 by Karen Chu


Courtesy Panasia Films Limited

The action drama about counterfeiting U.S. banknotes by writer-director Felix Chong and starring Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok received 17 nominations.

Banknote forgery drama Project Gutenberg swept the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards, taking home seven statuettes including for best film, cinematography, art direction, costume and makeup design, film editing and director and screenplay for writer-helmer Felix Chong.

Chong, who won the best new director award for Once a Gangster in 2011, is famed for his scriptwriting work with long-time collaborator Alan Mak on Infernal Affairs and he has been nominated nine times in the best screenplay category. Project Gutenberg, which took 13 years to make it to the big screen, marked his third win as screenwriter and the first time he was awarded as the sole writer.


Starring Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok, Project Gutenberg received 17 nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards and grossed $187 million in China last year.

Besides Project Gutenberg, this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards recognized the talents of emerging directors. All the acting category award winners, bar best actress, won for performances in films by first-time directors.

Anthony Wong, who has previously been named best actor for his work in films, on television, and on the stage, was crowned best actor for his portrayal of a wheelchair-bound man who needed around-the-clock care in Still Human, the directorial debut of Oliver Chan, who also won best new director at the awards. It was the fifth time Wong has been honored with a Hong Kong Film Award, as he has garnered the best actor accolade for The Untold Story in 1994 and Beast Cops in 1999, and best-supporting actor award for Infernal Affairs in 2003 and Initial D in 2006. Filipino actress-singer Crisel Consunji, who played the domestic worker who looked after Wong’s character in the film, received the best new performer award.

Likewise, the best supporting actor and actress winners shone in a film by a first time director. Acting veterans Kara Wai and Ben Yuen were named best supporting actress and supporting actors, respectively, for their work in transgender drama Tracey by helmer Jun Li. Kara Wai has been presented with five Hong Kong Film Awards before, including the first ever best actress award at the inaugural edition in 1982 for My Young Auntie.

Meanwhile, Chinese actress Chloe Maayan was named best actress for her first starring role, in director Fruit Chan’s Three Husbands, the concluding chapter of his “prostitute trilogy”.

2018 was a difficult year for the Hong Kong film industry, with only 54 homegrown films released. But the bright side was that a third of the films were by new directors.

Both Kara Wai and Anthony Wong spoke about giving fledgling filmmakers a hand in their acceptance speeches. Wai urged her filmmaking colleagues to support new directors for the ongoing survival of the local film industry, while Wong talked about forgoing his paycheck to star in Still Human, which was made with a HK$3.25 million ($418,000) budget under the government-sponsored First Film Initiative.

List of 38th Hong Kong Film Awards Winners

Best Film

Project Gutenberg

Best Director

Felix Chong, Project Gutenberg

Best Actor

Anthony Wong, Still Human

Best Actress

Chloe Maayan, Three Husbands

Best Supporting Actor

Ben Yuen, Tracey

Best Supporting Actress

Kara Wai, Tracey

Best New Performer

Crisel Consunji, Still Human

Best New Director

Oliver Chan, Still Human

Best Screenplay

Project Gutenberg

Best Cinematography

Project Gutenberg

Best Art Direction

Project Gutenberg

Best Costume & Makeup Design

Project Gutenberg

Best Film Editing

Project Gutenberg

Best Visual Effects

Operation Red Sea

Best Sound Design

Operation Red Sea

Best Action Choreography

Operation Red Sea

Best Original Film Song

Men On The Dragon

Best Original Film Score

Men On The Dragon

Best Film From Mainland And Taiwan

Dying To Survive

I think the only winner that we dedicated a thread to here was Operation Red Sea.

[GeneChing]

I actually had the down-low on this last week. I got together with Daniel Wu just prior to him leaving for Hong Kong for this. He tipped me off that it was going to happen and even gave me the short version of what the plot will entail. I gotta watch Gen-X Cops again now.

Benny Chan’s GEN-X COPS Cast Announces Third Installment To The Franchise
by Lee B. Golden III April 17, 2019 in News


Media Asia Films/IMDB
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 1999 cop actioner, Gen-X Cops, a new installment was confirmed with actors Daniel Wu, Stephen Fung, Nicholas Tse and Sam Lee on hand at Sunday’s Hong Kong Film Awards Ceremony.

According to Isaac Chambers over at Far East Films, Benny Chan is plotting to reprise once more as director as he did for the 1999 original which featured the quartet with actors Eric Tsang and Toru Nakmura about an underdog veteran inspector who recruits next-generation rookie cops to tackle the city’s youthful criminal underbelly in search of a vengeful terrorist.

Chan followed suit in 2000 with Gen-Y Cops (a.k.a. Metal Mayhem) which returned Lee and Fung and also starred actress Maggie Q and pre-Marvel actor Paul Rudd with actor Edison Chen then leading the cast. Given the events of the first film and lack of current details, it’s not yet clear as to what kind of sequel this will become, while the actors from Gen-X Cops have all but kept up their careers in film and TV pretty well.

Fung has up to six solo feature film directing credits to his name and serves among other executive producers on upcoming Netflix series, Wu Assassins, and also on Daniel Wu’s out-going three-season lead actor run on AMC’s Into The Badlands; The two have also shared sets on Fung’s Devil Face/Angel Heart, as well as Enter The Phoenix and family action spy comedy, House Of Fury, both exec produced by action legend Jackie Chan.

stephenfung_official
•
Hong Kong Cultural Centre




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要看特警3嗎?
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#genxcops #特警新人類 #StephenFung #NicHolasTse #DanielWu #Samlee
#香港電影金像獎

Fung also co-starred in Wong Jing’s My Schoolmate – The Barbarian and in Wilson Yip’s 2002 with Nicholas Tse who has since ended his recent stint as a TV chef and will be joining action star Donnie Yen for Benny Chan’s Raging Fire, now in production.

Fung’s 2007 cop actionwr with Chan on Invisble Target also shares credit with Sam Lee whose credits also include Xu Zheng’s record-breaking Lost In Hong Kong, and directing duo Kwok Ka Hei and Ambrose Kwok’s upcoming martial arts drama, Unleashed.

You have to click the link to Fung's gram to see the pic. I couldn't figure out how to extract it.

THREADS
Gen X Cops 3
Hong Kong Film Awards

[GeneChing]

May 6, 2020 2:31am PT
‘Better Days’ Dominant at Closed Door Edition of Hong Kong Film Awards
By Vivienne Chow


Goodfellas Pictures, Fat Kids Production

Chinese romantic crime drama “Better Days” directed by Hong Kong’s Derek Tsang, scooped eight awards at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film, best director, best screenplay and best actress. Critically acclaimed elderly gay drama “Suk Suk” took the best actor and best supporting actress awards, organizers announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Winners, however, were unable to give acceptance speeches on stage as the awards ceremony was cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic. The results were announced instead via a 25-minute live streaming event hosted by awards chairman Derek Yee.

Dressed in black tie, Yee appeared to be sitting in a dimly lit VIP cinema among the awards statuettes, yet to be presented to the recipients. He said despite the cancellation of the star-studded awards ceremony, organizers kept the polling going and received 1,675 votes from industry practitioners, about 57% of registered voters.

“Better Days” was yanked by mainland authorities from the Berlinale last year, but later became a box office sensation. It also earned awards for acting star Zhou Dongyu and China pop sensation Jackson Yee, and for best original film song for “Fly,” written by Ellen Joyce Loo, the Hong Kong singer-songwriter who died of suicide in 2018, age 32.

Action drama “Ip Man 4: The Finale” emerged as the biggest winner of craft awards, with prizes for film editing, sound design and Yuen Wo-ping’s action choreography.

2020 Hong Kong Film Awards Winners
Best Film
“Better Days” Produced by: Jojo Yuet-chun Hui

Best Director
Derek Kwok-cheung Tsang (“Better Days”)

Best Actor
Tai Bo (“Suk Suk”)

Best Actress
Zhou Dongyu (“Better Days”)

Best Screenplay
Lam Wing Sum, Li Yuan, Xu Yimeng (“Better Days”)

Best New Performer
Jackson Yee (“Better Days”)

Best New Director
Norris Wong Yee Lam (“My Prince Edward”)

Best Costume & Makeup Design
Dora Ng (“Better Days”)

Best Art Direction
Cheung Siu Hong (“***ara”)

Best Film Editing
Cheung Ka Fai (“Ip Man 4: The Finale”)

Best Cinematography
Yu Jing Pin (“Better Days”)

Best Supporting Actor
Cheung Tat Ming (“i’m livin’ it”)

Best Supporting Actress
Patra Au Ga Man (“Suk Suk”)

Best Action Choreography
Yuen Wo Ping (“Ip Man 4: The Finale”)

Best Visual Effects
Yee Kwok Leung, Ma Siu Fu, Leung Wai Man, Ho Man Lok (“The White Storm 2: Drug Lords”)

Best Sound Design
Lee Yiu Keung George, Yiu Chun Hin (“Ip Man 4: The Finale”)

Best Original Film Song
“Fly” (from “Better Days”). Composer: Ellen Joyce Loo. Lyrics: Ellen Joyce Loo, Wu Qing Feng. Vocal artist: Yoyo Sham.

Best Original Film Score
Eman Lam (“My Prince Edward”)

Best Asian Chinese-Language Film
“An Elephant Sitting Still”

THREADS
HKFA
covid
Ip Man 4

[GeneChing]

See All The Winners At The 2023 Hong Kong Film Awards
The best of the industry
by KAITLYN LAI

16 APR 2023


Best Film

WINNER: To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self

The Sparring Partner

Warriors of the Future

Detective VS. Sleuths

The Narrow Road

Best Director

WINNER: Wai Ka Fai, Detective VS. Sleuths

Ho Cheuk Tin, The Sparring Partner

Lam Sum, The Narrow Road

Mabel Cheung, William Kwok, To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self

Sunny Chan, Table For Six

Best Screenplay

WINNER: Wai Ka Fai, Ryker Chan, Mak Tin Shu, Detective VS. Sleuths

Frankie Tam Kwong Yuen, Oliver Yip, Thomas Leung, The Sparring Partner

Lau Kok Rui, The Sunny Side Of The Street

Fean Chung Chu Fung, The Narrow Road

Sunny Chan, Table For Six

Best Actor

WINNER: Sean Lau, Detective VS. Sleuths

Mak Pui Tung, The Sparring Partner

Yeung Wai Lun, The Sparring Partner

Anthony Wong, The Sunny Side Of The Street

Louis Cheung Kai Chung, The Narrow Road

Best Actress

WINNER: Sammi Cheng, Lost Love

Louisa So, The Sparring Partner

Teresa Mo, Mama’s Affair

Angela Yuen, The Narrow Road

Sylvia Chang, A Light Never Goes Out

Best Supporting Actor

WINNER: Michael Hui, Where the Wind Blows

Jan Lamb, The Sparring Partner

Law Wing Cheong, Mama’s Affair

Louis Cheung Kai Chung, Table For Six

Peter Chan Charm Man, Table For Six

Best Supporting Actress

WINNER: Ivana Wong, Table For Six

Harriet Yeung, The Sparring Partner

Patra Au, The Narrow Road

Lin Min Chen, Table For Six

Jennifer Yu, Far Far Away

Best New Performer

WINNER: Sahal Zaman, The Sunny Side Of The Street

Jer Lau, Mama’s Affair

Edan Lui, Hong Kong Family

Henick Chou, A Light Never Goes Out

Edan Lui, Chilli Laugh Story

Best Cinematography

WINNER: Cheng Siu Keung, Detective VS. Sleuths

Leung Yau Cheong, The Sparring Partner

Ng King Ming, Warriors Of Future

Chin Ting Chang, Meng Qing, Tsui Siu King, Where The Wind Blows

Meteor Cheung Yu Hon, The Narrow Road

Best Film Editing

WINNER: J.Him Lee, Zhang Zhao, Jojo Shek, The Sparring Partner

Wong Hoi, Kenny Luk, Warriors Of Future

Bill Lui, Andrew Wong, Where The Wind Blows

Jean Tsoi, Detective VS. Sleuths

Irving Cheung, Leung Tsz Yin, Table For Six

Best Costume And Makeup Design

WINNER: Dora Ng, Where The Wind Blows

Cheung Siu Hong, Warriors Of Future

Man Lim Chung, Kwok In Wai Vann, Lost Love

Stanley Cheung, Pat Tang, Detective VS. Sleuths

Bonnie Ho, The Narrow Road

Best Art Direction

WINNER: Bill Lui, Andrew Wong, Where The Wind Blows

Ida Mak, The Sparring Partner

Wong Hoi, Kenny Luk, Warriors Of Future

Jean Tsoi, Detective VS. Sleuths

Irving Cheung, Leung Tsz Yin, Table For Six

Best Action Choreography

WINNER: Jack Wong Wai Leung, Warriors Of Future

Sammo Hung, Jimmy Hung, Yuen Wo Ping, Septet: The Story Of Hong Kong

Lin Feng, Stephen Tung Wai, The Battle At Lake Changjin II

Wong Chi Man, Where The Wind Blows

Wong Wai Leung, Detective VS. Sleuths

Best Original Film Score

WINNER: Wong Hin Yan, The Narrow Road

Sara Fung Chi Han, The Sparring Partner

Chan Kwong Wing, Warriors Of Future

Ding Ke, Sara Fung Chi Han, Where The Wind Blows

Alan Wong Ngai Lun, Janet Yung Wai Yung, Table For Six

Best Original Film Song

WINNER: “Live A Life”, Lost Love
Composer: Hans Wing; Lyricist: Lin Ruo Ning; Vocal Artist: Sammi Cheng

“Twisted Fate”, The Sparring Partner
Composer: Sara Fung Chi Han, Kenny Wong; Lyricist： Morgan Cheung; Vocal Artist： Hung Ka Ho

“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow”, Warriors Of Future
Composer: Chan Kwong Wing; Lyricist: Oscar; Vocal Artist: Ansonbean, Winka@Collar

“Forever”, Mama’s Affair
Composer: Alan Wong Ngai Lun, Janet Yung Wai Ying; Lyricist: Chan Wing Him; Vocal Artist: Keung To

“狠愛狠愛你”, Table for Six
Composer & Vocal Artist: Ivana Wong; Lyricist: Sunny Chan

Best Sound Design

WINNER: Nopawat Likitwong, Stan Yau Kwok Leung, Sarunyu Nurnsai, Dhanarat Dhitirojana, Warriors Of Future

Tu Duu Cnih, Chiang Yi Chen, The Sparring Partner

Steve Burgess, Wang Danrong, Yin Jie, The Battle At Lake Changjin II

Tuu Duu Cnih, Wu Shu Yao, Where The Wind Blows

Thomas Cheng, Vincent Tam, Chill Yang, Detective VS. Sleuths

Best Visual Effects

WINNER: Chas Chau Chi Shing, Leung Wai Kit, Kwok Tai, Law May, Warriors Of Future

Shigeharu Tomotoshi, The Sparring Partner

Tsui Hark, Dennis Yeung, Wang Lei, The Battle At Lake Changjin II

Shigeharu Tomotoshi, Where The Wind Blows

Don Ma, Chan Wah, Specta Wong, Jacky Chung, Detective VS. Sleuths

Best New Director

WINNER: Ho Cheuk Tin, The Sparring Partner

Lau Kok Rui, The Sunny Side Of the Street

Ng Yuen Fai, Warriors Of Future

Lam Sum, The Narrow Road

Sunny Chan, Table for Six

Best Asian Chinese Language Film

WINNER: In Search Of Lost Time

God****ed Asura

Moon Man

Professional Achievement Award

WINNER: Law Kar, Sek Kei

Lifetime Achievement Award

WINNER: Bowie Wu

Was Warriors-of-Future the only Hong-Kong-Film-Awards winner that we've covered on the forum?