Hong Kong: Launching Manufacturing Assist Schemes

Hong Kong is launching two new movie and streaming help schemes, one for cross-border productions, the opposite for improvement of streaming content material. The utmost complete worth of the 2 schemes is $15 million.

The measures, each beneath the purview of the town’s Movie Improvement Fund, are meant to shore up an trade that the native Movie Producers’ Affiliation mentioned earlier this yr was in disaster. Whereas streaming has flourished in East Asia and elsewhere, the Hong Kong trade has did not develop a specialised streaming manufacturing sector.

The Hong Kong-Asian Movie Collaboration Funding Scheme will subsidize movie tasks co-produced by filmmakers between Hong Kong and Asian international locations. A most of eight movies will probably be backed in two phases. Every eligible movie challenge will obtain a grant as much as HK$9 million ($1.53 million).

As a result of Hong Kong is just not a sovereign nation it can’t signal formal co-production treaties.

To qualify, a challenge will want no less than one among three key jobs (producer, director or screenwriter) be from Hong Kong and one different to be from an Asian territory. They must have beforehand obtained finest movie, director or screenwriter at a significant movie competition and see no less than 60% of an inventory of ten key jobs as Hong Kong everlasting residents. The grants additionally require a movie to spend 30% of its manufacturing finances in Hong Kong.

The opposite scheme, The Content material Improvement Scheme for Streaming Platforms, is structured as a contest through which groups are solicited to develop mini-series to be broadcast on streaming platforms.

Along with the script improvement payment, every profitable crew will probably be awarded a complete of as much as $5.7 million in complete. A most of eight profitable groups will probably be backed. Every profitable crew could prime up the funding by way of different finance offers that assist it full the challenge.

“We welcome the Authorities’s choice to launch two new measures beneath the Movie Improvement Fund. By encouraging co-productions by filmmakers between Hong Kong and Asian international locations, the Hong Kong Asian Movie Collaboration Funding Scheme will assist native filmmakers broaden their international visions and study from the artistic minds of different Asian international locations with a view to bringing new vitality to the native movie trade,” mentioned chairman of the Hong Kong Movie Improvement Council, Dr Wilfred Wong.

“With the large protection of streaming platforms, the Content material Improvement Scheme for Streaming Platforms will certainly assist enhance the exposures of Hong Kong productions internationally.”

Since 2005, the Hong Kong authorities has channeled HK$1.54 billion (4195 million) into the FDF to help quite a few movie manufacturing tasks and film-related tasks alongside 4 strategic instructions: nurturing expertise, enhancing native manufacturing, increasing markets; and constructing audiences.