Local premiere of First Feature Film Initiative-funded project "Gamer Girls"
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Film Development Council:
The local premiere of a winning film project in the Higher Education Institution Group of the 6th First Feature Film Initiative (FFFI) funded by the Government, "Gamer Girls", will be held tomorrow evening (February 25).
The poster of "Gamer Girls",
"Gamer Girls" is produced by Jacqueline Liu and co-directed by Veronica Bassetto and Sophie Yang, with a screenplay written by Bassetto. The film stars Angela Yuen, Alma Kwok, Sabrina Cheung, Ng Wing-sze, Jeannie Ng (Kayan9896) and Chase Chan (CY). It tells the story of five girls fighting passionately together in the gaming world and breaking real-world social stereotypes through winning games as well as overcoming the challenges they face. It will be theatrically released in Hong Kong on March 12.
Veronica Bassetto (Leftmost) at International Film Festival Rotterdam, Photo source: FB of Gamer Girls
The film was selected for the Bright Future session of feature-length debuts (international) at the 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the Gala Presentations at the 22nd Hong Kong Asian Film Festival.
The Chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, Dr Wilfred Wong, said "'Gamer Girls' is an inspiring story filled with positive energy, reflecting the perseverance and enterprising spirit of Hong Kong people." He added that the eight editions of the FFFI launched so far has funded a total of 30 winning teams to make their films, and has incubated 32 new directors. He said he is pleased to see the continuous efforts of the Government in supporting the FFFI through the Film Development Fund (FDF) with a view to nurturing more film talent with the FFFI as a brand, thereby fostering the vibrant development of the Hong Kong film industry.
The FFFI is one of the Government's initiatives to support the film industry. It takes the form of a competition in two groups, namely the Higher Education Institution Group and the Professional Group. The director of each participating team shall not have previously directed any commercial film of 80 minutes or longer. The winning teams are funded by the FDF to produce their first commercial feature films based on the winning filming proposals. The winning teams are required to complete the entire film production and distribution in order to master the practical knowledge and skills in making a feature film.
Leasing arrangements announced for public market stalls in August
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (July 31) that open auctions for a total of 501 stalls in 44 public markets will be held in August. Market stalls not taken at open auctions will be available to the public for renting at their upset prices on August 21 on a first-come, first-served basis.
(1) Open auctions
The types of stalls to be auctioned this time cover cooked food, frozen meat, fresh meat, fresh fish, frozen (chilled) poultry, fruits, vegetables, food-related dry goods and wet goods, non-food-related dry goods and wet goods, tradesman/service trades, siu mei and lo mei, newspaper, etc. The tenancy agreement is a three-year fixed term from September 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. The upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls vary depending on the sizes, locations and vacancy periods of the individual stalls. The upset prices for the stalls in an open auction will be initially fixed at 80 per cent of the open market rent (OMR) if the stalls have been vacant for over six months, and at 60 per cent of the OMR if the vacant period has been over eight months. The open auctions will be held from August 10 to 13. Details of the open auctions and the public market stalls concerned are available on the FEHD website.
The open auctions will be held at Room 410, 4/F, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot, 87 Yen Chow Street West, Kowloon. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The admission tickets will be issued 30 minutes prior to the commencement of each auction. Persons who want to attend the auctions must wait at the waiting area of the auction venue and produce their Hong Kong identity card or passport for registration. The registered person will then be provided with an admission ticket for the auctions. In addition, eligible bidders after verification will be issued with a bidding paddle for the auction. The FEHD has also invited representatives of the Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption to monitor the auctions at the auction venue in order to ensure that the open auctions are conducted in an orderly and fair manner.
(2) Renting at upset prices on first-come, first-served basis
The tenancy agreement for market stalls renting on a first-come, first-served basis is a three-year fixed term from October 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. The upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls vary depending on their sizes, locations, vacancy periods and the reduced upset prices from the last open auction of the individual stalls.
In addition, the FEHD Sunlight Market will be available to the public for renting on a first-come, first-served basis. The licence agreement for market stalls in the Sunlight Market is a 24-month fixed term starting from October 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the licence agreement. The licence fee of the stalls varies depending on their sizes.
Members of the public who are interested in renting a market stall at its upset price should approach the designated FEHD offices to apply in person from 9.30am to 12.30pm or 2.30pm to 4.30pm on August 21 (Friday). Relevant information and the office addresses will be available on the FEHD website after the open auction.
A spokesman for the FEHD said, "Bidders or applicants for the market stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. To allow more people to bid for or select the stalls and increase customer choices by enhancing the diversity in terms of the variety of stalls, there will be a restriction on the number of stalls to be rented in the same market by a single tenant. Any person who is currently a stall tenant is not allowed to bid in the first round of auction for any stall in the same market, and will only be allowed to bid for one stall in the second round of auction or to select one stall in the same market on a first-come, first-served basis. The existing tenants under the new three-year fixed-term tenancy scheme (i.e. those persons who became stall tenants through the market open auctions after August 2022) are allowed to bid for a stall in the auction or select a stall on a first-come, first-served basis in the same market, but shall vacate the current stall and return it to the FEHD before the effective date of commencement of the new tenancy agreement."
Details of the open auctions and the public market stalls concerned (including stalls for open auction at reduced upset prices) have been uploaded to the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/open_auction_coming.html). Details on renting public market stalls on a first-come, first-served basis will be uploaded to the FEHD website after open auctions (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/FCFS/index.html). Interested bidders or applicants may visit the department website or contact the respective District Environmental Hygiene Office.
Source: AI-found images
