Actor Jackie Chan has said there is no distinction between Chinese and Hong Kong films anymore.
Chan, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was attending a meeting of the conference’s arts group. He made his remarks in Beijing on Monday when asked about films co-produced between Hong Kong and the mainland.
“Now, we don’t say whether a film is a Hong Kong film or a Chinese film – Hong Kong films are Chinese films as well. It’s only about whether you are making local films – like in Shenyang you make Shenyang films, in Shandong you make Shandong films, many of them can’t get out of Shandong or Chaozhou,” he said.
“There is only one kind of film called Chinese film, like Hong Kong Chinese film. There is local film, and Chinese film. Sometimes when we make Hong Kong films, they are only made for Hong Kong people, but Hong Kong people can also make Operation Red Sea for all Chinese,” he said, referring to the recent movie which earned over HK$3.7 billion at the box office.
“If you make a film about Wong Tai Sin, it may only be shown in Hong Kong – and will not have a good box office results in China, as people do not understand. But if you make something with a bigger perspective, like Operation Red Sea or Wolf Warrior, then you will go global.”
He said he will ask for the cancellation of quota limitations for Hong Kong actors and support staff in co-productions.
But Hong Kong director Philip Yung, whose film Port of Call won seven awards at the Hong Kong Film Award last year, disagreed with Chan.
“You can say we did not make films as good as the past, but you can’t really say we don’t have Hong Kong films anymore, can you?” he wrote on his Facebook page.
可以説我們沒有拍得以前那麼好，新一代不如舊，但總不能說現在沒有了「香港電影」吧？那我們再努力些好了，如果「香港電影」拍得好，整個大中華社會與有榮焉，難道這又不可以嗎？看看下面這些電影，我們的電影總是那麼有尊嚴有色彩，神釆奕奕的，又有當代色彩。
Posted by 翁子光 on Tuesday, 6 March 2018
“Let us work harder then – if Hong Kong films are made well, the whole of Greater China will be honoured – is this not the case?” he added.
He posted several posters of renowned old Hong Kong films and said: “Look at these films – our films are always so dignified and colourful…”
