Local movie company boss says controversial hit does not possess qualities of a top film
ELIZABETH.CHEUNG@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Monday, 04 April, 2016, 1:13pm
Hong Kong Film Awards Association chairman Derek Yee (left) announcing that ‘Ten Years’ won the Best Film award, a decision criticised by Media Asia chairman Peter Lam (right). Photo: AP, Edmond So
The head of a local film company has criticised the award of Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards to dystopian work Ten Years as “unfortunate for the Hong Kong movie sector”.
Commenting on the independent film’s controversial win at the 35th annual awards show, Media Asia chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok told local press the film did not possess the qualities of a top film, as it was not nominated for any other awards, nor was it a blockbuster.
“I respect the judges’ choices, but I do not agree with the result,” Lam said.
“It was unfair to filmmakers. Politics has kidnapped the profession and politicised film awards,” he said.
Ten Years comprises five stories which anticipate the changes in Hong Kong by 2025, dealing with Hongkongers’ fear of and alienation from mainland China.
The controversial messages of the film have led to its pointed snubbing by mainland media.
Two films by Media Asia – She Remembers, He Forgets and Helios – were nominated for six awards, including the best supporting actress and best screenplay, but only She Remembers, He Forgets won the best original film song with its theme We Almost Fly.
Ten Years has been taboo on the mainland, especially after its best picture nomination.
In January, mainland web portal QQ’s entertainment page omitted the film from a report on the awards’ list of nominations.
And in February, in what was generally seen as a reaction to Ten Years’ nomination, QQ.com pulled out from airing the ceremony altogether, despite a pre-existing contractual agreement with the awards association.
Derek Yee Tung-sing, chairman of the association’s board of directors, had said that the cancellation meant that the association would lose out on a purported broadcasting fee of up to HK$5 million.
Ten Years was also slammed by Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times for being absurd and pessimistic.
The film was not mentioned in any news related to the film awards. Mainland news websites including Sina and Sohu did not display Ten Years on the awards list. Reports on the ceremony were also not seen on Xinhua.
Since its release late last year, only a few cinemas have screened the film due to fears of controversy. But the film continued to gain popularity, and has since been shown for free in different neighbourhoods in the city.
With the dearth of media coverage, internet users across the border resorted to social networking sites for a renewed wave of discussions about the film.
The film’s win was omitted from a list of the awards’ winners, carried by major online news portals such as Sina, ifeng and 163.
In Guangdong province, the only mainland region where signals of Hong Kong broadcaster TVB are allowed, users on a popular Baidu Tieba message board complained that the station’s broadcast on Sunday night was suddenly “taken off air” and replaced by a cooking show.
One user, under the handle summer_hu, asked: “What has happened? Has it been ‘harmonised’ (a common expression denoting censorship)?”
And when a Post reporter searched the Chinese language name of Ten Years on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo, the results page turned blank.
But heated discussions about the film’s victory were once again generated among mainland internet users with knowledge of the matter.
“Ten Years scooped the best film prize, and the best director went to Tsui Hark for his pro-Beijing drama The Taking of Tiger Mountain. Obviously there is a struggle among judges between standing up for Hong Kong independence and acting in Beijing’s interest,” Weibo user with the handle Aibaxiaotuji posted on Monday morning.
“They are playing something big – Ten Years took the best film prize!” another Weibo user named modtsoi wrote.
Full list of winners from the 35th Hong Kong Film Awards
Best Film
Ten Years
Best Director
Tsui Hark (The Taking Of Tiger Mountain)
Best Screenplay
Philip Yung Tsz-kwong (Port Of Call)
Best Actor
Aaron Kwok (Port Of Call)
Best Actress
Jessie Li (Port Of Call)
Best Supporting Actor
Michael Ning (Port Of Call)
Best Supporting Actress
Elaine Jin Yan-ling (Port Of Call)
Best New Performer
Michael Ning (Port Of Call)
Best Cinematography
Christopher Doyle (Port Of Call)
Best Film Editing
Cheung Ka Fai (Ip Man 3)
Best Art Direction
William Chang Suk Ping, Yau Wai-ming (Office)
Best Costume & Make Up Design
Yee Chung-man (Monster Hunt)
Best Action Choreography
Li Chung-chi (SPL 2 : A Time For Consequences)
Best Original Film Score
Dayu Lo, Chan Fai-young (Office)
Best Original Film Song
We Almost Fly (She Remembers, He Forgets)
Composed by Day Tai
Lyric by Saville Chan
Sung by Feanna Wong
Best Sound Design
Kinson Tsang, George Lee Yiu-keung, Yiu Chun-hin (The Taking Of Tiger Mountain)
Best Visual Effects
Jason Snell, Ellen Poon, Tang Bingbing (Monster Hunt)
Best New Director
Raman Hui Shing-ngai (Monster Hunt)
Best Film From Mainland And Taiwan
The Assassin
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1933450/politics-has-kidnapped-filmmaking-media-asia-head-peter-lam-slams-ten
