The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin) has once again sponsored the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) in Switzerland. Having already become a good tradition, the dedicated "Window: Hong Kong" section is featuring a selection of four Hong Kong film productions for the 16th edition of the ZFF. The festival is running from September 24 to October 4 (Zurich time).
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the ZFF is rolling out many world premieres and has invited top-class guests from the film sector this year. Hong Kong is also presenting some of its latest cinematic highlights to the Swiss audience.
"Window: Hong Kong" features the award-winning film "Better Days" directed by Derek Tsang, "Fatal Visit" by Calvin Poon, "My Prince Edward" by Norris Wong and "Suk Suk" by Ray Yeung. This year's "Window: Hong Kong" touches on a wide range of subjects, with stories ranging from romantic crime and coming of age to an unpredictable thriller and further to drama with people searching for personal happiness. Each work is an excellent example of the uniqueness of Hong Kong films, and how they can powerfully immerse the viewer in their stories.
In his opening speech before the first screening of "Suk Suk" on September 24 (Zurich time), the Director of HKETO Berlin, Mr Bill Li, said that "apart from being an international financial and trading hub, Hong Kong is also aspiring to become an arts and cultural hub in Asia". Building upon the long history and tradition of its film industry, Hong Kong also offers ample opportunities for film production professionals from around the world to tap into the vastly growing Chinese market.
Mr Li explained, "Hong Kong has access to a huge Chinese market with an audience of 1.4 billion people, and the bright prospects of co-production with investors and talents from the Mainland. Hong Kong's film professionals also contribute significantly to film productions in other economies by exporting their services, for example on visual effects. We will promote further development of Hong Kong's film industry, and nurture more talents."
In pointing out that the opportunities are not limited to the film sector, he said, "We welcome creative talents from around the world including Switzerland to work in Hong Kong. The Talent List Hong Kong has been drawn up with a view to attracting high-quality talents globally in an effective and focused manner to support Hong Kong's development into a high-value-added and diversified economy. Currently the List comprises 11 professions, and among them 'creative industries professionals' includes not only film production professionals but also game developers and others."
About HKETO Berlin
HKETO Berlin is the official Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Switzerland as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
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