Story of Hong Kong films' integration into national development

Ma believes that agreeing with the mainland values, while giving full play to the advantages of the Hong Kong film industry, is the key to Hong Kong filmmakers' success in the mainland market.

In November 2021, "The Battle at Lake Changjin", a movie set in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953), landed in Hong Kong theaters. On the first day of its release, 149 screenings were scheduled in nearly 40 theaters, with tickets of some screenings hard to get.

Tin believes that the popularity of this movie in Hong Kong reflects the rising sense of national identity among Hong Kong residents, who are eager to learn about the country's development from the movie.

"As a content product, the film can further promote emotional integration between Hong Kong and mainland compatriots in the future and help Hong Kong residents better understand the country," Tin said.

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE

China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) supports Hong Kong in developing into a hub for arts and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world, which is undoubtedly a strong impetus to the integration of Hong Kong's film industry into the mainland film and television industries, Ma said.

"This is the country's positive response to the current needs of Hong Kong's cultural development," Ma said, adding that it will help Hong Kong give full play to the unique advantages of "one country, two systems" and continue to promote cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland.

Close in terms of language, culture and customs, the cities in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area enjoy the regional advantage of integration and development of the film industry.

With the continuous development of the area, culture has been regarded as one of the keys to promoting its overall development.

Hence, the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area proposes to fully leverage the strengths and expertise of Hong Kong talents in the film and television industries, promote cooperation among the film and television industries in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, strengthen film investment and cooperation and exchanges among talents, and support Hong Kong in its development into an exposition hub for television and film.

For the first time this year, the performers' training class of Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts Limited, which has trained many famous actors and actresses, is open to applicants from both Hong Kong and the mainland.

As a former student of the training class, Yam thinks that the training of film talents is also essential for promoting the healthy development of China's film industry.

"I believe that with increasing exchanges and cooperation between film and television talents from Hong Kong and the mainland, more exquisite artworks will emerge and Chinese films will be able to better compete in the international market," Yam said.