Editor's Note: Wilfred Wong, chair of HK International Film Festival Society and Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA), and also vice-chair of HK Film Development Council, shares his views on the future of Hong Kong fi lms and the AFAA's ambitious plans to promote Asian films internationally.

We are producing around 50 films a year in Hong Kong, about half of these as co-productions with the Chinese mainland. I do not think we are solely dependent on mainland film companies for funding and audiences. Mainland participation is important for Hong Kong productions in co-funding and audiences but Hong Kong films continue to be viable in the local market and also overseas. Directors like Ann Hui, Johnnie To, Pang Ho-cheung and Dante Lam make films in China but also for the local market. Films such asA Simple Life, Vulgariaand more recently Sandra Ng's comedies likeGolden Chickenhave done very well.

Co-production is important for us, because the Hong Kong market is small and we need to reach beyond it for bigger-budgeted productions. However we should continue to pay attention to "in-Hong Kong" funding and infrastructure - it is only in this way that we can continue to develop local, "home-grown" talents. The government, through the Film Development Council, is aware of this important need to develop and encourage local talent. The Film Development Council continues to invest in local films, and also recently introduced the First Feature Film Initiative to give grants to first-time filmmakers. The government is also dedicating some resources to audience development, funding, for example, some initiatives by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to reach out to young audiences through a low-priced student ticket scheme.

Kungfu films are to Chinese-language cinema what Westerns are to Hollywood. The continued interest in Bruce Lee and the recent popularity of Ip Man films show that there is still a lot of mileage in the kung fu film, so I do not think it has lost its currency. Similarly, the works of John Woo and Johnnie To in particular, have helped make the gangster genre one of the most enduring of Hong Kong movies and popular around the world. I think Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark has been at the forefront of innovation in kung fu films ever since he introduced special effects into the genre inZu: the Warriors from the Magic Mountain. His new filmThe Taking of Tiger Mountainhas been receiving good reviews and he again uses technology and special effects to serve his creative visions. I hope the genre can be developed with new angles in order to find new audiences and I am sure more can happen, maybe inspired by Tsui Hark's work!

I think a number of films from Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and Asia do resonate with global audiences. Ann Hui'sA Simple Lifedid well with audiences and won a major award at the Venice Film Festival. It is a local Hong Kong story with universal resonance. There are significant young filmmakers emerging in Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. Their stories are beginning to attract audiences through festival screenings in Europe and they are enjoying some distribution. As the delivery of films via online digital platforms increases and expands, I think there will be more appetite for different films from different cultures including Asia.

It is a mission of our Asian Film Awards Academy (established in 2013) to promote Asian cinema, its talents, films, and industry, internationally. We will do this by touring programs of Asian films around the region and the world; sending young Asian film professionals on study tours to broaden their horizons and network with industry experts and peers; and organize master classes to help promote major Asian talents to overseas audiences.

(HK Edition 03/24/2015 page8)