Money, manpower the top 2 worries of local film industry

By Jeanne Luk

The top two worries of the local film industry are funding and well-trained personnel.

There are three main types of investors in the industry, according to Sunny Cheng, chairperson of the Hong Kong Movie Production Executives Association.

The first type is large-scale local production companies like Media Asia Group. The other two are overseas production companies like Columbia Pictures, and independent film producers.

Some large scale local production companies acquire capital through issuing stock.
They have a stable source of income because they can also obtain capital from overseas.

On the other side of the picture, small-scale production companies and independent film producers, which constitute the majority of production parties in Hong Kong, often face the problem of capital shortage.

Cho King Man, vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Movie Production Executives Association, said, “There are no channels for them to get money. They don’t have much bargaining power, either.”

Even if these companies do manage to get funding, they may still run into problems.

Mr. Cho said, “There may be a sudden withdrawal of capital.

“Particularly when we approach businessmen in mainland China, they may refuse to pay the money as promised, because they are afraid of losing their money.”

Apart from commercial investors, film producers can turn to the government for financial support.

The Hong Kong government provides two funding projects, each with a commitment of $50 million.

One is the Film Development Fund, introduced in 1999, under which funding support is in the form of grants.

Another project is the Film Guarantee Fund Scheme, introduced in 2003.

Under the scheme, the government provides a 50 percent loan guarantee to players in the film industry.

However, people in the film business complain that the support is insufficient.

Mr. Cheng said, “These projects do not give direct help to the actual development of the film industry.

“Only half of the funds have been used, because many proposals have been turned down. The reasons given by the government were not very convincing, though.”

“For instance, a training program for cameramen was denied because the instructor was not famous.”

Mr. Cho said this might be because the government does not understand the needs of the industry.

Besides capital, manpower is also essential to the film industry.

According to Richard Woolley, dean of the School of Film and Television at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the academy is the only institution in Hong Kong that provides courses related exclusively to the film and television industry.

Mr. Woolley said that the School of Film and Television provides training in six specialist pathways related to film and television industry.

These include directing, camera, production management, editing, sound and screenwriting.

The academy mainly provides trainings on craft skills.

Mr. Woolley said graduates are ready for any post in the film industry. They do not need much extra training after graduation.

However, Mr. Cho of the Hong Kong Movie production Executives Association, said graduates from the academy are unable to catch up with the job quickly.

Mr. Cheng said every enterprise has its own system, and graduates have to work in the industry before they can learn about the different systems.

Mr. Cheng said, “But we still like to hire graduates from the academy. They have the sense of filmmaking.”

To help provide workforce for the film industry, the Federation of Hong Kong Film Workers and the Education and Manpower Bureau are planning joint training courses in directing, lighting and producing.

Held at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, these ourses allow students to take part in real film production.

They can learn how to produce a film and difficulties encountered during production.

Mr. Cho said these courses provide a channel for people interested in filmmaking to enter the industry.

Richard Woolley, dean
of the School of Film and
Television. (Jeanne Luk)

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