HK cinema has "renewal" issues, says HK film awards chairman Gordon Chan

HONG KONG: Veteran Hong Kong director Gordon Chan, the chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association, which organises the prestigious Hong Kong Film Awards, said Sunday that Hong Kong cinema's greatest challenge is "renewal", reported Hong Kong media.

Speaking to the media hours before the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards on Sunday which is widely regarded as the Hong Kong film industry's Oscars, Chan, who has served as chairman for five years now, said there is "a gap between old talents and the new" in the industry today.

Chan pointed out that this year's Best Director nominees were all familiar faces at the awards, and so were the Best Actor nominees like Hong Kong actors Andy Lau, Lau Ching Wan as well as China's Jiang Wen, with few fresh faces to be seen.

He attributed this to film investors' aversion to risk and the lack of perseverance among younger filmmakers and artistes.

"This gap in the Hong Kong film industry is very obvious both in front of [the camera] and behind the scenes.

"The reason for this is that our generation of talents is very enduring. Older talents have market value. The bosses don't want to change their talents and grooming new ones is both risky and costly," said Chan, who had been directing films since the late 80s, and was responsible for hits like "Fight Back to School 2" along with "Painted Skin".

He added that today's talents "aren't as willing to put up with hardship like the previous generation", which serves to compound the problem.

Chan went on to caution that even as the Hong Kong film industry celebrates its achievements in the past year, there is a need to examine its problems.

"Whether it is the unique 'Let the Bullets Fly', fiercely Hong Kong-styled 'Life Without Principle' or the art film 'A Simple Life', these films all have a special flavour.

"But this past year's Mandarin films, save for those few, weren't very good," Chan commented.

"There was a complicated time in Hong Kong cinema when everyone just shot the types of films that made money."

"We need to find new types of films, new directions and break away from conventions for Hong Kong cinema to have a future."