Culture & Leisure

In October, two local films, "Warriors of Future" and "Table For Six", broke over HK$70 million at the box office while some movie related people wonder whether the Hong Kong film industry can have its second glorious "1980-90" era.  "As time passes and more significant events occur, there will inevitably be more compelling movie ideas.," Luk said.   "Warriors of Future", starring Louis Koo, Lau Ching Wan, and Carina Lau, is the biggest movie ever made in Hong Kong while "table of six" became the top Hong Kong-produced comedy at the box office in Hong Kong in 2022. Luk said social events can inspire new themes to Hong Kong films and create a craze. For example, a 2002 film "Internal Affairs" created with the background after Hong Kong's handover in 1997. Hong Kong is also attempting to produce a wider genre of films. Over half of the films with the gangster genres in the 1970s to 1990s to kung fu films such as “Ip Man” series from 2008 to 2019, the Hong Kong films mostly are about themes of police and bandits. “By introducing science fiction films to the local market, "Warriors of the Future" has made an important first step for Hong Kong's film industry,” said Luk. Chan Hoi-king, 21, a former film student in Hong Kong Baptist University, now studying at the University of Birmingham thinks the Hong Kong film industry is expected to revive. “The government has begun to face up to the development of the film industry, and the rebirth of Hong Kong film is expected,” said Chan. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau has set aside approximately HK$240 million to promote the development of Hong Kong films. Eligible film projects will receive a maximum of HK$9 million in funding under the new measure "Asian Cultural Exchange …

A typical day for Ka Yu Ng, a 32-year-old independent artist in Hong Kong, starts by reflecting her anxious thoughts, embracing her sensitive emotions; feelings of vulnerability that she once hated and tried so hard to supress growing up. She spends most days on Peng Chau Island in her small studio, embraced by the melodic instrumentals playing in the background, engulfed by the scent of sandalwood incense, as she channels her feelings into art, words, and music.  Away from the hectic city, 5+2 studio, named after her childhood nickname which sounds like “five plus two” in Cantonese, is Ng’s daily personal exhibition venue where she is free to produce visuals.  Having been in Hong Kong’s art scene for three years, Ng thinks the local art has developed. “The locals are more aware of building their own style. I believe it’s a very good start,” she said. Local art in Hong Kong has been gaining more attention since the social movement in 2019 and the shortly followed COVID-19 pandemic. However, some artists have faced restrictions on creativity, which has led them to question the extent of their artistic freedom.   “The social unrest and the pandemic are reminding people that something in this place needs to be protected, the culture in particular,” Ng said.  Hong Kong comprises approximately 29,420 creative establishments, with around 136,470 members, according to the official website of the local government. As a culturally dynamic city, it boasts 11 components of the cultural and creative industries, including arts, antiques and craft, accounting for about 5% of the city’s GDP. This year, the government announced a series of new subsidies for art talents. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu pledged new funding for the new generation of artists, in his first Policy Address in October. Financial Secretary Paul Chan committed several …

In a narrow and cluttered shop, Lee Chui-Lan, 68,  leans over a table piled with materials and brushes, stapling sheets of shiny metallic paper together to make flowers. Surrounded by yellowed photos on the peeled wall, she works in a cramped storefront where vivid handmade peacocks hang from the ceiling. The inconspicuous flower plaque shop is called Lee Yim Kee, located in Shap Pat Heung, Yuen Long District. Lee, the owner of Lee Yim Kee, inherited the store and the craft from her father Lee Gam-Yim, who set up the shop the year his daughter was born. She started helping out in the shop in her early teens and experienced the most prosperous years of the flower plaque-making business.  In the 1970s, giant flower plaques on display around  Hong Kong were common. Nowadays, they can only be found in the New Territories and walled villages. Hong Kong has 480 Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) items, and traditional flower plaques craft is one of them. With limited government support, the craftsmen struggle to survive in a rapidly changing society.  Flower plaques are huge colourful displays, mainly made of bamboo, fabric and paper. Most are meant for  celebrations or announcements of festive events such as the opening of new stores, weddings and birthdays. Back in the days when there was no internet to  disseminate information, flower plaques were useful in spreading messages. “When a family or company held an event, people passing by would know about it quickly by looking at the flower plaques,” said Lee. The process of making flower plaques involves writing messages, making paper flowers, crafting the structure and assembling the different parts. Over time, various crafting techniques developed. For instance, messages that used to be assembled with cotton eventually changed to paint. “Sometimes, we will use the computer to …

For the last 13 years, Kylie Hung Ka-yi, a 30-something local cartoonist known as Lobintan, has been drawing about her life as a wife, mom and cat owner. She has published 20 comic books, and though she doesn’t specialise in political cartoons, her content sometimes involves social topics, such as the Olympic Games and 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.  Hung said she worries about her career as press freedom in Hong Kong diminishes.  “In the past, I never have felt the future would be inky, but now I feel it is unlighted, sometimes I have fears,” said Hung. “I have no idea when I will cross the line. I have to be as careful as possible.” Hung is one of a handful of cartoonists in the city who worry about the political red line especially when two political cartoonists received police complaints for their artworks, a blow to an industry already struggling with declining sales.  Justin Wong Chiu-tat, an editorial cartoonist and  a former assistant professor of visual arts at Hong Kong Baptist University, who previously drew a daily political comic strip column named “Gei Gei Gaak Gaak”, which means chicken chirping sounds in Chinese, for 14 years in Ming Pao.  Wong first time ever received a letter from Hong Kong Police expressing “strong dissatisfaction” and “concerns over unreasonable allegations” in one of Wong’s comics satirising youth police group Junior Police Call in September 2021.   Wong later apologised for being unfair and admitted its inappropriateness, saying he respected the contributions made by the Junior Police Call, according to RTHK.  In late October, veteran political cartoonist Zunzi received police complaints saying his Ming Pao cartoon on the government's recruiting talents policy was “misleading”. “I don’t think there are many political cartoonists left in Hong Kong after the introduction of the National Security …