The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, as well as Asia's film market, can take a leaf from the Hollywood style of movie production while maintaining their unique cultures and values, the first World Business Forum Hong Kong heard on Tuesday.

At a session co-branded by China Daily, prominent Asian film personality Wilfred Wong Ying-wai shared his insights with the theme "Managing Asia: A Case Study of Asia's Film Industry Development".

"Unless China also collaborates with the world, it's not going to be able to elevate the standards of its movies, and the appreciation or the tastes of its audience," he said.

Wong chairs the Asian Film Awards Academy and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, and is also vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Film Development Council.

He said that across the Asian film industry, its unique cultures and languages, as well as its lack of sophisticated distribution channels, have made it difficult to promote its filming fruits to the world, but emerging markets like South Korea and Hong Kong are already making their appearance internationally.

One successful example is Snowpiercer - a 2013 South Korean science fiction film co-produced by South Korean and Hollywood filmmakers, with an international cast and English-language dialogue.

But in order to attract a wider audience base, Asian movies need to embrace the Hollywood system, which is very mature and sophisticated in the recognition of talents, understanding of the market, and the administration of distribution channels, Wong said.

"None of these exists in China or in Asia today," he argued.

The Chinese mainland, as a young emerging market but already the second-largest box office in the world, is still limited by its experience and a dominating director-oriented mindset.

In order to confront all the challenges, the annual Asian Film Awards was inaugurated in 2007 to celebrate excellence in Asian cinema. Its award academy, established in late 2013, gathers members of the three major international film festivals in Asia - Busan, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

A series of activities will also be initiated by the academy this year, such as organizing a tour of Asia's emerging markets to showcase the award-winning films, sending college students to intern at the Busan International Film festival, and encouraging Asian talents to patronize the world's renowned film academies.

In an exclusive interview with China Daily, Wong pointed out some of the unique traits in Asian films that can motivate them to excel in the global market.

"Values presented in Asian films can stand out themselves, especially those that narrate common and universal values in their scripts. These movies will have a wider appeal," he said.

For example, 3 Idiots from India, A Separation from Iran and Little House from Japan all illustrate values and concepts that can resonate with viewers all over the world.

However, no matter how Asian filmmakers choose to march into the world, whether through co-production with Hollywood gurus or screening their films at international film festivals, market and quality should always be their top priorities.

At the same time, the changed pattern of film investment in Asia is prompting an upgrade of film making, as many investors are not working for the film industry and would demand a more sophisticated system for stable returns.

"In Hollywood style, the producer is the center of everything, and he gets to examine and decide every procedure, such as a very strict budget to careful casting," Wong said.

But, in Asia, where the director gets the final call and can change the script whenever he wants and over the budget, this will not assure investors, he added.

Within the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, a clear understanding of the film's target market is crucial to its survival in that particular market - whether catering to the mainland's taste or to Hong Kong's, or both, or the globe's.

Wong does not consider Hong Kong filmmakers' co-production with the mainland as a distraction from the city's own film spirits.

"For most movies, whether they can touch the hearts of the audience is vital, so the original scripts matter," he said. "For co-productions, we can gather talents of different regions while taking care of different cultures in the movies as well."

Wong summarized three directions for Hong Kong filmmakers - local production, co-production with the mainland, or marching into Hollywood.

agnes@chinadailyhk.com

Wilfred Wong Ying-wai (right), who chairs the Asian Film Awards Academy and the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, told the World Business Forum on Tuesday that Hong Kong filmmakers' co-production with the mainland will serve as a platform to gather talents and take care of different cultures rather than a distraction from the city's own film spirits. Parker Zheng / China Daily

(HK Edition 06/03/2015 page10)