Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
28th BIFF Chow Yun-fat expresses hope of reigniting spirit of Hong Kong films
Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat poses during a press conference for the Busan International Film Festival held at KNN Tower Building, Thursday. Yonhap
By Lee Gyu-lee
BUSAN ― Veteran actor from Hong Kong Chow Yun-fat shared that he hopes for more films that capture Hong Kong’s unique spirit, calling for more transparency on his government’s censorship procedures against film productions.
“We have a lot of censor requirements for China. Mainly, our script must go through a lot of departments to film. So we must have a direct and clear situation for this. We have a lot of restrictions, making it difficult for filmmakers. But honestly, we will try our best to do our Hong Kong spirit movies. This is our goal,” the 68-year-old actor said during a press conference for the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) held at KNN Tower Building, Thursday.
He continued to reflect on the shifting landscape of Hong Kong cinema.
“I think many people in the 1980s watched a lot of Hong Kong movies and I’m proud of that. But somehow, after 1997, things changed. We have to pay attention to the government, and for their direction. We have to listen to it, or otherwise, it would be hard to get all the money to develop a story. The mainland China market is huge, so we are trying (to look for) solutions," he said.
Chow, one of the most highly regarded actors in Asia, visited the festival as the recipient of this year’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year accolade.
The actor also expressed optimism about the Korean film industry’s rising popularity in the global market.
“I believe each region has its own luck. It’s a delight that people from the Korean film industry are making it to Hollywood. It’s great for one region's industry to move forward to push the boundaries further, during times when another region is stagnant and unable to progress,” he said.
“I think it's highly positive that the South Korean film industry is receiving significant attention.”
A scene from Chow Yun-fat's new movie "One More Chance" / Courtesy of BIFF
Chow attributed the competitiveness of Korean cinema to its freedom of creativity.
“What makes Korean films competitive, I believe, is the creative freedom. The plots are diverse and the level of creative freedom is high. I sometimes would think ‘How did they think to explore such a story?’ So I really enjoy (Korean works) as well,” he said.
“As we went through COVID-19, the film and theater industries, not only in Korea but also globally, have faced a crisis. So, Hong Kong is also deeply contemplating what kind of plots and stories we should tell to draw people’s interest, like Korea.”
BIFF is honoring Chow with a special program, which will screen three of the films throughout his 50-year acting career, including his latest work “One More Chance,” directed by Anthony Pun.
On a personal note, the Hong Kong actor shared the profound influence of cinema on his life journey.
“I was born in a small coastal town in Hong Kong and moved to the city at the age of 10. At 18, I started training for acting and became an actor,” Chow said.
“When I didn’t have much chance to study properly, films were the source of knowledge and experiences to me. I learned a lot as I filmed movies ... When I work in a movie, I get to live someone else’s life. And that gave me a significant experience. I would say without movies, there would be no Chow Yun-fat.”