Making Waves: Hong Kong Film Festival Tours Australia with New and Restored Classics

2024-12-06 16:45 Last Updated At：16:58

"Making Waves - Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema" film festival being held in Australia

"Making Waves - Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema", a touring Hong Kong film programme, is being held in Australia, showcasing six new and restored Hong Kong films to film lovers in Australia. The film festival, presented by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (Sydney ETO) and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Film Festival in Australia, is financially supported by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

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"Making Waves - Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema" film festival being held in Australia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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"Making Waves - Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema" film festival being held in Australia Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Sydney ETO hosted receptions before the screening of "The Last Dance" in Sydney on November 28 and "Love Lies" in Melbourne on December 5. More than 170 guests across the filming, cultural, government, business and media sectors attended the receptions in the two cities to exchange ideas with relevant actors, directors and producers and learn about the vibrant and innovative film productions of Hong Kong.

Speaking at the opening ceremonies, the Acting Director of the Sydney ETO, Mr Timothy Chau, said that the Government is committed to further nurturing Hong Kong's arts and culture sector, including the film industry.Torealise the positioning of Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange under theNational14thFive‑Year Plan, the Government hasbeen supporting the development of the Hong Kong film industry through the Film Development Fund.

"We havealsobeen organising and subsidising screenings of Hong Kong films in international film festivalsin different overseas and Mainlandcities, so that audiences from around the world canenjoygreatHong Kong films and knowmoreabout the unique charm of Hong Kong through theseexciting movies," Mr Chau added.

Six Hong Kong movies, namely "The Last Dance", "Love Lies", "Stuntman", "The Unwavering Brotherhood", "Peg O' My Heart" and the restored classic "Happy Together", were showcased in Sydney from November 28 to 30 and are being screened in Melbourne from December 5 to 7. Director Anselm Chan and actress Michelle Wai of "The Last Dance", director Ho Miu-ki and producer Chan Hing-kai of "Love Lies", directors Albert Leung, Herbert Leung and actor Philip Ng of "Stuntman", as well as director Terry Ng and actor Mark Cheng of "The Unwavering Brotherhood", participated in the sharing sessions with audience members after the screenings of the respective films.

Secretary Sun Confident in Smooth Launch of $2 Flat Rate Transport Discount for Elderly

Remarks by SLW at media session (with photos/video)

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, met the media today (April 3), after observing the implementation of the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount" on the first day at Tiu Keng Leng Station Public Transport Interchange. Following are Mr Sun's remarks at the media session:

Reporter: How do you evaluate the first-day roll-out of the scheme, and how do you address the fact that some elderly are not comprehensively understanding the whole implementation?

Secretary for Labour and Welfare: Today, 3rd of April, is the date when the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount" is officially launched. For minibuses and for buses, the launch time was midnight today. For the MTR, it started from its first train which departed the terminal at 5.30am this morning.

So far, based on our territory-wide promotion, and also my own personal contact with the elderly through my visit to Wong Tai Sin including a public market and a restaurant, most of them are familiar with the operation of the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount". They know the operation is very straightforward, for any fare that is at $10 or below, they still just need to pay $2. For fare that is over $10, the elderly just bare 20 per cent of the cost, and the rest of the fare will be borne by the Government. I gave them an example, for a bus fare that charges an adult for $15, the elderly people with JoyYou card would only have to pay $3, i.e. 20 per cent of the fare.

So, apart from today, we are also going to step up our promotion through television, radio and posters which have been posted all around Hong Kong. Also, as you can see, in 75 spots in Hong Kong, we are stationing the ambassadors for a total of three weeks. They are in the spots to help answer questions about the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount". Apart from that, we have had the support of district councillors, Care Team members, and also staff of our welfare NGOs (non-governmental organisations). They are using their own ways to explain the operation of the "$2 flat rate or 80 per cent discount". We are pretty confident that the scheme is now being launched smoothly, and for those who will be using the new arrangement, they know about the operation.

Thank you very much.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Making Waves: Hong Kong Film Festival Tours Australia with New and Restored Classics

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