Speech by Mr Fong Ngai Director of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Hong Kong Film Festival 2012 in Malaysia Gala Premiere at GSC Pavilion KL on 9 March 2012 Datuk Ghaffar, Mr Naguib, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, • It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Gala Premiere of the fourth Hong Kong Film Festival in Malaysia. • In the past three years, we organised the Hong Kong Film Festival to introduce quality Hong Kong movies which were less often seen in Malaysian cinemas. This year, we continue to organise the Hong Kong Film Festival which will feature eight Hong Kong movies which have not been screened in Malaysia for the fans of Hong Kong movies here. • Among them, we are proud to present A Simple Life which is our opening movie tonight. The leading actress, Deanie Ip, won the Best Actress in the Venice International Film Festival. Director Ann Hui won the Best Director in Taipei’s Golden Horse Awards. A Simple Life has also been nominated for the Asian Film Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards and garnered other prominent Hong Kong and international Film awards. • We are glad to have the Director Ann Hui and Deanie Ip with us tonight, who will come on stage later on to greet the audience. 2 • The outstanding performance of the movie has reflected the status of Hong Kong as one of the major film production centres in the world. In addition to first-rate artistes, Hong Kong also has state-of-the-art facilities and high quality services for film production. From shooting to post-production, Hong Kong offers everything needed to make a world-class full-length feature film. • Talent is the key to the development of our film industry. In November 2011, the Hong Kong Government and the Hong Kong Film Development Council (FDC) launched a large-scale project, “Hong Kong Film New Action: Film and Multi-media Cross-Platform Collaboration”, to promote collaboration between film and multi-media industries. The project also promotes new generation producers to help groom film production talent in Hong Kong. • In the past few years, the FDC delegation, comprising Hong Kong film directors of the new generation, paid visits to various places and countries including Malaysia to promote co-operation and exchanges. These visits have facilitated the development of local new generation directors by establishing platforms for them to interact with filmmakers, investors and distributors from abroad. • The implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) between Mainland China and Hong Kong in 2003 has broadened 3 the horizon for Hong Kong’s film industry. To gain full benefits from CEPA, overseas companies, including those in Malaysia, can partner with, invest in or acquire a CEPA-qualified firm in Hong Kong in order to access the Mainland China market with the benefit of a nationality-neutral status. • This year, we will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region. In the past 15 years, the film industry has continued to spearhead the development of our creative economy with numerous award-winning film productions fascinating worldwide audiences. So long as we continue to groom creative talents, I am confident Hong Kong’s film industry will continue to flourish in the many years to come. • Last but not least, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for our event partners 988 Radio Station Malaysia and Golden Screen Cinemas. With their continued support, we have been able to make this annual event a success. We are also grateful to the Malaysian Government for their support in the past four years. • I hope you will enjoy the opening movie A Simple Life and other movies of the film festival. Thank you. .