The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO) is supporting the screening of six Hong Kong films at the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival, being held from July 20 to August 9 in Montreal. In particular, the movie “White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell” directed by Herman Yau had its Canadian premiere on the film festival’s opening night on July 20.
Speaking before the screening of “White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell”, the Director of HKETO, Ms Emily Mo, briefed the audience that Hong Kong has over a century of history in movie making. “Hong Kong is a city full of creativity,” Ms Mo said. “It is a leading film-making centre in Asia.”
Ms Mo remarked that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been very supportive of the development of Hong Kong film industry. “We finance the production of small-to-medium budget films, provide funding support for the industry to attend film festivals overseas, and subsidise training programmes to help nurture young directors and scriptwriting talent for the industry,” she said.
Ms Mo added that new initiatives have been introduced to promote Hong Kong-Asian film collaboration and content development for streaming platforms. Various government-funded films have made their way to international film festivals.
Noting that people in Hong Kong and Canada share a love for movies, Ms Mo explained that Hong Kong films are ambassadors connecting Hong Kong with the world. HKETO will continue to support Hong Kong films to participate in various international film festivals held in Canada, including Fantasia.
The other Hong Kong films at the Festival included “Mad Fate”, “The Sparring Partner”, “God of Cookery”, “My Heart Is That Eternal Rose” and “A Chinese Ghost Story”.
香港電影在Fantasia國際電影節放映
香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）支持六部香港電影於七月二十日至八月九日在滿地可舉行的2023 Fantasia國際電影節放映。電影節於七月二十日開幕，由邱禮濤執導的電影《掃毒3：人在天涯》在加拿大的首映特別在當晚舉行。
香港經貿處處長巫菀菁於《掃毒3：人在天涯》放映前致辭，向觀眾介紹香港電影的製片歷史已逾一個世紀，她說：「香港是充滿創意的城市，是亞洲首屈一指的電影製作中心。」
巫菀菁強調，香港特別行政區政府一直非常支持香港電影業發展，她表示：「我們資助中低成本的電影製作，贊助業界人士出席海外的電影節，並且資助訓練計劃，協助培育業界新進導演和編劇人才。」
巫菀菁補充說，香港推出了新計劃促進香港及亞洲電影合作和開發串流平台內容，多齣獲政府資助的電影亦得以參與國際電影節。
巫菀菁深感香港和加拿大的民眾均熱愛電影，她形容香港電影是聯繫香港與世界的橋樑。香港經貿處會繼續支持香港電影參與於加拿大舉行的各個國際電影節，包括Fantasia。
其他在今屆電影節放映的香港電影包括《命案》、《正義迴廊》、《食神》、《殺手蝴蝶夢》及《倩女幽魂》。
