This year is set to be the year of local talent, with the government promising to allocate HKD20 million to the Film Development Fund as well as HKD500 million to the development of the city’s fashion industry. In addition, an Art Development Matching Grants Pilot Scheme will be launched in order to nurture local art groups.
The Film Development Fund will help locally produced Cantonese films enter the extensive mainland market, where, as Financial Secretary John Tsang pointed out in his latest budget speech, the Cantonese-speaking Guangdong province had box office earnings of up to RMB4 billion (HKD4.75 billion) in 2014 alone.
Previously, the subsidy for the distribution and publicity of local films in mainland China was HKD250,000, but with the new funds the subsidy will be doubled to HKD500,000.
However, the director of Hong Kong’s dystopian indie box office hit, Ten Years, said to RTHK yesterday that subjecting Hong Kong films to mainland Chinese screening standards would make them less unique.
The injection of HKD500 million to stimulate the fashion industry‘s development will aid in promoting local designers and emerging fashion brands, as well as setting up a new resource center for providing designers with technical training and support.
This financial year will see 90 design start-ups admitted into the Design Incubation Programme, which will help them strengthen their business connections as well as promote their company and products. Local fashion designers will also be helped to join some of the most prestigious fashion events, including Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week.
The launch of the Art Development Matching Grants Pilot Scheme will help established art groups to raise funds from private donors.
The initiatives taken by the government pave the road for locally brewed talent to be seen on the international stage, which we could not be happier about! #HKrepresent
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