2017年CRI Observer hails HK-Mainland film cooperation

 

A veteran film observer in Hong Kong is suggesting the mainland market has helped reinvigorated the city's film industry, which had found itself in a dramatic decline at the end of 20th Century.

Ma Fung-kwok is the chair of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, an advisory¹ body to the government on film-related policies and strategies.

Ma has also spent time as a senior executive of the Sil-Metropole Organization, a major film production company in Hong Kong.

He's also credited as an executive producer on several popular mainland movies, including "The Story of Qiu Ju," staring Gong Li, which helped launch her career after the film won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1992.

Despite its-once booming popularity and potential, Hong Kong's film industry went through a serious decline in the later 1990s, mainly due to rampant² piracy³, a by-product⁴ of the rise in digital technology.

Rising film production costs, as well as the Asia financial crisis, also aggravated⁵ the problem.

Ma says Hong Kong's revival⁶ in the film sector⁷ started in the early 21st century, thanks mostly to the mainland market.

"The recovery of the Hong Kong film industry is related to the change of the general situation. It's about the rise of mainland market. Back to 2006, the total box office on the mainland came in at just one billion yuan. Today, box office receipts are coming in at around 60 billion yuan per year. Hong Kong film professionals are closely involved in helping⁸ that happen."

Ma Fung-kwok says one of the biggest steps was in 2004 when mainland authorities brought in new policies on film-related cooperation with Hong Kong through the Closer Economic Partnership⁹ Arrangement.

The CEPA is a free trade deal between the two sides.

Through it, co-produced films between Hong Kong and the mainland are simply now classified as domestic films.

This means Hong Kong productions are no longer subject to the import quota¹⁰ for overseas films, and can be screened in the great number of mainland cinemas.

Mainland authorities have also given the green-light to Hong Kong investment in mainland cinemas, as well as allowing post-production of mainland films to be done in Hong Kong.

Ma Fung-kwok says it all adds up to a revival of the film sector.

"Before the mainland fully¹¹ opens its film market to Hong Kong, films produced here only had the potential to target the 7 million locals in Hong Kong and overseas Chinese speakers. But through the introduction of the preferential policies from the mainland, we can target a much-bigger market, and that stimulates¹² our film-making enthusiasm. Today it's not uncommon¹³ for a film in Hong Kong to have a production budget between 100 and 200 million yuan. That is something we couldn't imagine in the past in Hong Kong"

In 2016 alone, there were 54 films co-produced by Hong Kong film professionals and their mainland counterparts, accounting¹⁴ for over 60 percent of the total co-productions.

Among them, "Operation Mekong," "From Vegas to Macau 3," "Finding Mr. Right 2," and "Yip Man 3" ranked in the top-10 in terms of box office receipts on the mainland.

1 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

2 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

3 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

4 by-product   

n.副产品，附带产生的结果

参考例句：

• Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.自由是经济盈余的副产品。
• The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油时产生的一种副产品。

5 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

6 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

14 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。