HKETO Jakarta promotes Hong Kong cinema at Bali International Film Festival (with photos)

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta (HKETO Jakarta) has collaborated with the Asian Film Awards Academy to screen six Hong Kong films and promote the Hong Kong film industry at the 17th Bali International Film Festival held in Bali, Indonesia.

     Speaking at the opening reception today (June 1), the Director-General of the HKETO Jakarta, Miss Libera Cheng, said that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is committed to bolstering its cultural and creative industries, with a view to facilitating Hong Kong's development as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges. The Chief Executive has announced in last year's Policy Address an injection of $4.3 billion into the Film Development Fund and the CreateSmart Initiative, further promoting Hong Kong's cultural and creative industries on the global stage to tell good stories of the city. The Government has also launched the Hong Kong-Europe-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme to sponsor film projects co-produced by Hong Kong filmmakers and their Asian and European counterparts to enhance international exchanges and nurture talent.

     The opening reception was attended by some 200 participants, including senior officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia and the Bali Provincial Government. In line with the theme of film scoring at this year's festival, two Hong Kong musicians, Chu Wan-pin and Grammy Yeung, presented a series of Hong Kong film scores using an erhu and a guzheng at the event.

     At the press conference this afternoon, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, Mr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, delivered a congratulatory message virtually. Producer Stanley Kwan and director Sasha Chuk of "Fly Me to the Moon", the opening film of this year's festival, also attended the press conference and interacted with the audience after the film's screening.

     Another Hong Kong film "In Broad Daylight" will be screened tomorrow (June 2), followed by a sharing session featuring actress Rachel Leung, who won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 17th Asian Film Awards and the Best Supporting Actress award at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards for her performance in the film.

     The 17th Bali International Film Festival is held in Bali from today until June 7. Apart from "Fly Me to the Moon" and "In Broad Daylight", four other Hong Kong films namely "Time Still Turns the Pages", "All Shall Be Well", "The Goldfinger" and "Centre Stage" (4K restoration version) will also be screened.