Hong Kong films are reborn in nirvana, co-productions account for the mainstream, Chinese films usher in the best era

the Hong Kong film, known as "Oriental Hollywood", has been reborn after several ups and downs. In the current context of the times, the Hong Kong film industry has not only an open field of vision and market space, but also the return of spirit and value. [Hong Kong 20 years] "Oriental Hollywood" Nirvana Rebirth Chinese Film ushered in the Best era

Editor's Note: talking about Hong Kong films, it is not only the memories of the post-70s and post-80s, but also the" glory days "missed by the post-90s in their spare time. It should be said that Hong Kong films used to accompany generations through the green years. As an important part of Chinese films, Hong Kong films, known as "Oriental Hollywood", have been reborn after several ups and downs in the 20 years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland. In the current context of the times, the Hong Kong film industry has not only an open field of vision and market space, but also the return of spirit and value.

< strong > henceforth Hong Kong films are no longer subject to the quota restrictions on imported films < / strong >

in 2003, the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao SAR governments respectively signed the closer Economic Partnership arrangement (hereinafter referred to as "CEPA"), and the 2004 agreement came into force. Since then, Hong Kong films will no longer be restricted by the introduction of 20 blockbusters, while co-produced films from Hong Kong and the mainland will also be promoted and shown as mainland films, and the share of production will be increased to about 35%.

and this has also become an important milestone in economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. When CEPA was signed, Tong Gang, then director of the Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said that the significance of CEPA is to promote the common prosperity of the Hong Kong film market and the mainland film market, promote the common improvement of filmmakers of the two places, improve the overall level of Chinese films, and finally bring Chinese film brands to the world, resulting in greater cultural influence

2008, CEPA signed supplementary agreements on Hong Kong films one after another. Including allowing co-production of films in Hong Kong, Hong Kong businessmen can invest in cinemas in the mainland, and so on. The upsurge of co-production between the filmmakers of the two places has really begun, and the co-production ushered in the 2.0 era. Since then, a large number of mainland and Hong Kong co-productions began to emerge.

throughout the current film and television co-production market, co-production between the mainland and Hong Kong has always been the mainstream of co-production. This is not only an opportunity given to Hong Kong by the mainland, but also a new development opportunity brought by Hong Kong to the mainland by virtue of its own accumulation of the film industry for many years, which promotes the rise of mainland commercial films and promotes the development of the mainland film market and industry scale. It is worth remembering that in the year when CEPA signed, the total box office of mainland films was only 1.01 billion yuan, while that of Chinese films for the whole year of 2016 was 45.712 billion yuan. The total box office of the top 6 films of mainland and Hong Kong co-productions alone reached 7.933 billion yuan.

< strong > Outstanding Hong Kong filmmaker < / strong >

< strong > the mainland is becoming the main battlefield < / strong >

mainland film director Huang Jianxin said, "because of the investment from private companies, real cooperative investment has arisen. Under such circumstances, it is not Hong Kong that is coming, and a large number of mainland Chinese companies go to Hong Kong to find directors and screenwriters. When Hong Kong has a good theme to look for investment in the mainland, this kind of interaction begins. " Hong Kong films, which have the advantages of rapid response and commercial operation, are also undergoing a big wave-like test in the first few years when they went northward.

during this period, a large number of Hong Kong directors, including Johnnie to, Xu Anhua, Peter Chan, Tsui Hark, etc., went northward to seek a breakthrough, and these excellent filmmakers gradually fumbled to integrate into the mainland culture. so that the once declining Hong Kong films have found a new way of life and a new track. The mainland market and capital have gradually become the foundation for Hong Kong filmmakers to settle down. Tsui Hark began to cooperate deeply with Poly Boehner, Shanghai Film, China Film, Light and other institutions once again, and its career center also began to be completely transferred to the mainland. On the other hand, Jackie Chan, Wong Kar-wai, to Qifeng, Liu Weiqiang, Chen Musheng, Peter Chan, er Dongsheng, Li Rengang and others insist on maintaining the characteristics of Hong Kong films, so that Hong Kong-made gunfire films and literary films are still authentic. Have foundation and inheritance; on the other hand, actively adjust to the rules and requirements of the development of the mainland industry.

< strong > the temptation of "rich ore" that cannot be rejected < / strong >

< strong > Hong Kong-style co-productions have gradually become the mainstream < / strong >

because the mainland market is larger and wider than the Hong Kong market, and there are more themes to choose from, which objectively greatly enriches the choice of themes for co-production types. As a result, there have been a series of box office co-productions, such as "Mermaid", "Operation Mekong", "Macau", "Ip Man", "shiver", "the Grandmaster" and so on. On the stage of the Academy Awards, it is no longer just an one-man show of Hong Kong people's films as it used to be.

data show that between 2003 and 2012, with the opening up of CEPA for a decade, the total number of co-produced films between the mainland and Hong Kong reached 322, accounting for 68.5% of the number of co-produced films between the mainland and overseas. In 2013, a total of 55 co-productions were approved in China, of which 62% were co-productions between the mainland and Hong Kong. In 2015, a total of 48 mainland-Hong Kong co-productions were established, 38 films passed censorship and achieved high box office results. The number of projects established in 2016 reached 54. Among them, Monster Hunt set a box office record for 2015 Chinese films with 2.439 billion yuan, while the total box office of the co-production Mermaid was close to 3.4 billion yuan, making it the top box office in mainland film history in 2016. In the first half of 2017, co-productions such as "Kung Fu Yoga", "Journey to the West", "extraordinary Mission", "bomb disposal expert", "Chun Jiao Jiu Zhiming" and "like you" were also released one after another.

Miao Xiaotian, deputy general manager of China Film Cooperative products Co., Ltd., said that in the past 20 years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, it has been 20 years of co-production between the mainland and Hong Kong. In the year of reunification, there were only seven co-produced films between the two places, and the number of co-produced films between the two places reached 43 in 2016. There were six domestic films in the top 10 at the Chinese box office in 2016, and five of the six domestic films were co-produced, grossing more than 13 billion yuan at the box office. From this, it is not difficult to see that Hong Kong directors have become the "hot cake" of mainland film investment companies. As a tribute to the founding of the Chinese people's Liberation Army, "the Great cause of Building the Army", which will be released soon, was personally directed by Hong Kong director Liu Weiqiang.

Edit: mary