Press Release

Creative Visions: made in , screened in Berlin

Hong Kong Economic and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin (HKETO Berlin), Trade Office, Berlin

Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) and Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Address: Art (Arsenal) are jointly presenting Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema Jaegerstrasse 33, 10117 Berlin

1997-2017, a 3-week film programme at the Arsenal Cinema in Berlin Telephone: +49 (0) 30 22 66 77 242 featuring ten specially curated Hong Kong films produced in the past 20 Fax: years. +49 (0) 30 22 66 77 288

E-mail: th [email protected] The programme is launched on the occasion of the 20 anniversary Website: of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and is running www.hketoberlin.gov.hk from July 14 to August 3. Young director Steve Chan kicked off the programme by introducing his critically-acclaimed debut, Weeds on Fire. The film zooms into a subject rare in Hong Kong cinema – baseball – and is adapted from a true story of the first victory in a pan-Asian tournament by a local Hong Kong team in the 1980s.

In her speech at the opening of Creative Visions on July 14, Ms Betty Ho, Director of HKETO Berlin highlighted that “Hong Kong has one of the largest and most dynamic film entertainment industries in the world.” Apart from its film industry, the city itself has demonstrated remarkable performance in the past 20 years, from completion of new infrastructure projects to achievements in economic performance, academic and cultural pursuits. “These were all made possible under ‘one country, two systems’, which enables Hong Kong to fully utilise our strengths to progress further. We stay together; we have made progress; and we are ready for new opportunities”, Ms Ho said.

Internationally renowned director will close the film series with his powerful and emotional work Hold You Tight. The programme also includes brilliant works of some of the acclaimed players in Hong Kong’s film industry, such as , Ann Hui and . The ten selected films to be shown at Creative Visions depict the diversity, versatility and dynamism of Hong Kong and local film productions in the past two decades. Each of them chooses a distinctive angle, subject or genre ranging from triad gangs to melodramatics, and together they show why the city is a gem in the international film entertainment industry.

To promote the achievements of our film industry in the last 20 years, HKETO Berlin is joining hands with Munich International Film Festival in Germany, CineFest Miskolc in Hungary, Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland, Vienna International Film Festival in Austria as well as Five Flavours Film Festival in Warsaw of Poland to bring to screen a series of

distinguished Hong Kong movies. Another edition of Creative Visions will be staged in Prague, Czech Republic, from September 14 to 17.

For more information on Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema 1997-2017 in Berlin, please visit www.arsenal-berlin.de.

About HKETO Berlin

HKETO Berlin is the official HKSAR Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Germany as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.

Photo caption

1. Opening of Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema 1997-2017 on July 14 in Berlin. From left: Ms Milena Gregor, Artistic Director at Arsenal; Ms Betty Ho, Director, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office; Steve Chan, Director of Weeds on Fire; Mr Shing Yu Cheng, Programme Officer of the Hong Kong International Film Festival

2. Film still of Hold you Tight to be screened at Creative Visions

Contact

Kilian Becker Head of Public Relations Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin Tel: +49 (0) 30 22 66 77 24 2 Fax: +49 (0)30 22 66 77 28 8 E-mail: [email protected]

HKETO Berlin 17 July 2017

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