The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin) has once again sponsored the 17th edition of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) in Switzerland. The ZFF, which is running from September 23 to October 3 (Zurich time), is showing a selection of four Hong Kong film productions in the dedicated "Window: Hong Kong" section.
As Switzerland's largest autumn festival, the ZFF features this year's greatest discoveries and most anticipated films. In total, 164 films from 53 countries and regions, ranging from Hollywood to Hong Kong, are staged. They include the drama "Drifting"; the tragicomedy "Time"; "Raging Fire" – the very last film that Hong Kong icon Benny Chan directed before he sadly passed away, and "Septet: The Story of Hong Kong". The latter is composed of seven stories, each directed by the legendary filmmakers Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark. "Each of them presents a story that connects them to their hometown Hong Kong. This might be one of the best ways to take a cinematic trip through the city", the Deputy Director of HKETO Berlin, Ms Bonnie Ka, said in her opening speech at the "Window: Hong Kong" section on September 23 (Zurich time).
Being globally oriented just like Switzerland, Hong Kong as an international centre for business, trade and travel was impacted by the pandemic in many ways. However, the arts and creative sectors, including the film industry, did not stand still during that time, said Ms Ka.
"We are further developing hardware and software to reinforce our status as an international cultural hub. The M+ Museum will open its gates in November this year, and will be one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the whole world", Ms Ka said. The M+ Museum will become the home of the Sigg Collection, a comprehensive and world-renowned collection of contemporary Chinese art, donated by art collector and former Swiss Ambassador to China, Mr Uli Sigg.
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) continues to support the creative industries. In the 2021-22 Budget, an additional injection of HK$1 billion (around 120 million Swiss francs) will be invested in the CreateSmart Initiative to drive the development of the creative industries. Furthermore, an additional allocation of HK$900 million (around 108 million Swiss francs) is earmarked for the Art Development Matching Grants Scheme to further promote culture and arts from all sectors.
Hong Kong as a hub for cultural events is also gaining momentum after the slowdown caused by the pandemic. The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival was held in April this year in a hybrid format, showing over 190 films from 58 countries and regions. Later in May, Art Basel debuted in Hong Kong with its first hybrid show since the pandemic. The event was a big success with strong sales across all levels of the market and positive responses from the participants.
"I am very happy that the creative sectors in Hong Kong and beyond are revitalising and I hope we can contribute to that by taking the Swiss audience on a cinematic journey through Hong Kong in Zurich tonight", Ms Ka concluded.
About HKETO Berlin
HKETO Berlin is the official HKSAR Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Switzerland as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
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