The Hong Kong Film Development Council has given the green light
for two small-to-medium film projects to be funded out of
government budget, the government branch and industry development
council said Wednesday.
Finance from the Film Development Fund (FDF) of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region Government would cover a third of the
production costs of animation film "McDull Wudang", which has a
budget of 12 million HK dollars (1.54 million U.S. dollars), and
feature film "Claustrophobia," which has a budget of 5.4 million HK
dollars (0.69 million U.S. dollars), according to a government
press release.
Wilfred Wong, convenor of the council's fund vetting committee,
said the two film projects receiving government funding were of
different types.
"It clearly demonstrates that the FDF Scheme covers different
film categories and production scales to meet various needs of the
local film market," he said.
Wong said the council was processing other applications it had
received.
Hong Kong has been one of the film producing centers beyond
Hollywood over the past decades but is facing growing competition
from neighboring film centers.
The Hong Kong Film Development Council, a branch of the HKSAR
government, has been promoting the Film Development Fund scheme in
an effort to vitalize the local film industry.
"We look forward to receiving and approving more film projects
of different types, and to assisting in revitalizing and developing
the Hong Kong film industry," Wong said.
Applications for film production funding are routinely assessed
by the council's fund vetting committee with help from experts
drawn from a panel of examiners.
The examiners would assess the feasibility and marketability of
the film projects, and provide their assessments for consideration
by the committee, Wong said.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2008)