[2025.03.26] TIN KAI MAN: THE FILM INDUSTRY NEEDS TO REFORM AND INNOVATE DURING THE ICE AGE

Ng See Yuen says that losing the overseas market would be the fatal shot to Hong Kong film. If it can expand to the Greater Bay market, the film production rate would in turn increase

Tin Kai Man feels now is not the winter of film industry, but the ice age. It would need reforms and innovations before seeing the light of day

Last year the Hong Kong film total box office has reached a new low. Even with THE LAST DANCE's over Hk$ 149 million, saving the market would be difficult.

THE WAY WE TALK despite good reviews and the Golden Horse Award Best Actress Chung Suet Ying finally exceeds HK$ 10 million after a month in release in Hong Kong, a performance that is less than outstanding.
courtesy of mingpao.com

The president of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers Louis Koo Tin Lok said earlier that the film industry has entered a cold winter period this year, and Hong Kong-produced films will be expected to scale back to a terrifying point. Possibly all productions will need government funding before they can be started. Veteran filmmaker Tin Kai Man believed that now is not the cold winter period, but the ice age. "I have been in the industry for 46 years. I have experienced cold winters, but I have never seen an ice age. Now is the most severe time, but not the end of the world. The entire film industry needs to be reformed, including theaters, in order to see the light of day." Ng See Yuen pointed out that opening up the Greater Bay Area would be the way out for Hong Kong films. As long as there would be a market, the number of films will increase, even more outstanding filmmakers will join, and investors will also be bold to invest.

Tin Kai Man said that Hong Kong's film industry was in an ice age, and as a whole needs to be reformed. "From black and white to color films, then to widescreen films, from no 3D to 3D, from film to digital production, etc., they all have been reforms. In cinemas, sound systems and equipment must also be constantly reformed. The future should have new reforms and innovations, because traditional films can no longer attract young audiences to cinemas."

Tin Kai Man said that he has studied the idea of reform with some technicians, hoping to achieve "You must go to the theater to see it, you don't get to see it at home. Even if it would be screened on the streaming platform in the future, the feeling would be different". Only this would be the incentive and motivation to enter the theater, and in the future filmmakers should conceive subjects in this direction and think about how to use this technology. "The technology has been there, and it can be done, but other places have not thought of it. I hope to become the initiator; no longer like in the past when after the completion of foreign reforms, we will follow. Now we need to boldly move forward. (Is reform difficult or not?) It would certainly be difficult, the theater has to spend money to modify the equipment, and there is also more production cost for filming." He said that his reform ideas would be still immature in the experiment, and he does not know whether they are feasible or not, so he has not announced them for the time being.

Speaking of only 20 some Hong Kong-made films were made last year, would there be even fewer this year? Tin Kai Man said that there will be definitely less in the first half of the year, but the second half of the year is unknown. He has asked different film companies, and they have no plans to start production. "Everyone first puts their hopes in the 6 films selected for the First Feature Film Initiative scheme, only a few films will be made in the market. Hopefully there will be more in the second half of the year, but now it is not a question of whether there are any productions. What kind of movies will be made and can be competitive are the keys. As I have said many times, the Hong Kong market now needs high-quality products, not just meeting a quota." Is there a lack of subject matter? He said, "Several things complement each other, people who are filming are now fragmented. They go where the jobs are, not necessarily productions in Hong Kong; now Hong Kong directors are not lacking movies to make. For example (Stephen) Chow Sing Chi is making a movie in Shenzhen, which fails to benefit Hong Kong staff; Lau Ho Lung is also working in Shenzhen. I hope that the success of my reform ideas will lead people back to make movies in Hong Kong."

Now there is a big gap in the box office between movies, some of them have collected more than HK$ 100 million while some of them have ended dismally and lost all their money. Tin Kai Man believed that a successful film will suck up the entire market. "The pie is only so big. When a successful movie attracts a lot of audiences, and those audiences may not watch another movie for a few months. So I think it is necessary to make it a high-quality product now." Has the development of the internet made a big impact? He believed that talking about the influence of the Internet alone was not enough. The whole world is changing, including the young consumer group. Would they be willing to spend two hours to sit in the theater? There are too much to watch, some don't even cost money. That's why I say that now is the ice age and needs reforms. "When it is smooth sailing and the pain isn't as deep, no one would change". However he was still optimistic about the future of Hong Kong films, "When the ice age reaches a certain point, the wave of cinema closures is also near its end. There will always be a way out for Hong Kong films. Now we have to think about what kinds of movies to make to attract an audience. All filmmakers would have to dig deep and the operation and competitive formats needs to change." He believed that it would be necessary to open up more markets. "With Hong Kong as the pioneer of reform, it will naturally be able to open up markets."

Ng See Yuen acknowledged that the film industry is in a cold winter. "I have been talking for a long time about opening up the Greater Bay Area market, because Hong Kong makes relatively small productions except for big scale co-productions, and they are mainly Hong Kong subjects. Hong Kong-made films speak Cantonese, and audiences in the Greater Bay Area know Hong Kong actors and artists, so why not properly distribute films in the Greater Bay Area. If the Greater Bay Area does well, it would at least be equal to one Hong Kong market, or even two Hong Kong markets. So even average productions can break even. You can't just be all talk, you have to do it steadfastly. The Greater Bay Area has cinema circuits, and negotiations would have to be done through the National Film Administration or certain committees in the Greater Bay Area to ensure that every Hong Kong-made film can be screened in the Greater Bay Area. In addition, for each film, the Hong Kong government funds the publicity. If the film is attractive, it can be distributed nationwide. This move can save the current predicament of Hong Kong films. Now when the box office of Hong Kong films reaches HK$ 10 million, everyone seems to be happy. Actually they only get about HK$ 3 million, not enough to even cover the cost!"

Ng See Yuen said that with the Greater Bay Area market, film production rate would naturally increase. Then outstanding new directors and actors would appear, investors would be even more willing to invest, and even more big productions would appear. "Earlier the Executive Deputy Director of the Film Bureau of the Central Propaganda Department Mao Yu came to Hong Kong. We met and he said that there will be CEPA 5, and Hong Kong film companies would be able to shoot in the mainland without co-production and the introduction of film sharing. The first step would e to establish our Greater Bay Area cinema circuit. (Would Hong Kong be saved?) At least it would have one more market, I hope the government and the industry will work together to promote it."

Ng See Yuen said that now is the most difficult time since he entered the industry. "The most difficult thing is that the lack of an overseas market. There used to be Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea and other markets, but now there is basically none. Because their local production is very good, Hong Kong films are dispensable for them and have become worthless. This is the fatal wound of Hong Kong films. If you find a new market, such as the Greater Bay Area, when done well it is equal to two Hong Kong markets. If Hong Kong receives HK$ 10 million, and the Greater Bay Area receives HK$ 20 million, there will be HK$ 30 million. This is possible."

Would the future of Hong Kong films be optimistic? He said, "Actually Hong Kong can have even more development, such as computer special effects and animation. Because animation does not need a lot of space, it can cultivate a group of animation talents. Animation does not need celebrities, and now it is popular in the mainland, why not create Hong Kong animation. You can walk on a few legs, but you can't keep sinking down!"