"Ne Zha 2" has made a significant impact on the 2025 film industry. Viewers who have experienced the film are eager for more, advocating online for the next chapter. The call for "early release" reflects the public's demand for cultural excellence, as well as China's goal of building a "film powerhouse", consistently delivering high-quality and high-quantity productions. Following the success of "Twilight of the Warriors: Walked In", the Hong Kong film "The Last Dance", which impressed at the box office, has caught the attention of the industry. The emergence of this film has boosted the market and rekindled the audience's confidence in the Hong Kong film industry. Yet, the challenge of maintaining this strong momentum, and solving the structural problems of the film and television industry, is still a real situation that must be faced directly.
Wen Wei Po interviewed industry experts, who pointed out that last year, CEPA "Agreement II" further provided strong policy support for cross-border film and television cooperation. With the support and collaboration of mainland film and television organizations, the key to revitalizing the Hong Kong film and television industry lies in consistently producing high-quality films.
In March 2024, Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group announced the "Hong Kong Arts Revitalization Plan" in Hong Kong, committing to invest no less than HK$5 billion over five years in four major areas: drama series, films, performances, and young talent training. Over the past year, Hong Kong has experienced a "new" rise in TV series, films, popularity, and box office success. According to Alibaba, the "New Hong Kong Drama" has effectively broadened the scope and expression of Hong Kong TV dramas for local creators and artists. In terms of film, there have been a series of high-quality productions focusing on local themes, and the nurturing of young talents has also yielded fruitful results.
Youku has been in the Hong Kong Drama business for over a decade
Alibaba's large investment in Hong Kong has also led to the industry's interest in the excavation and re-creation of "Hong Kong dramas". Websites such as Youku's "Hong Kong Drama", Tencent's "Hong Kong Drama Project" and TVB's "TVB Drama" have become an audience's treasure land.
Youku, a platform that has been involved in Hong Kong dramas for over a decade, is set to launch "The Queen of News 2", and new Hong Kong dramas such as "Prism Breakers", "Couple"s Game", "True Blood Portable", "Imitation of Life", "The Queen of Castle", "Fearless", "Behind The Queen Of Yarn", and "Trust No one" are all set to be aired one after another. Recently, the filming of "Fearless", "True Blood Portable", and "Couple's Game" has ended. "Imitation of Life" recently unveiled its cast this month, with Anita Yuen and Elena Kong reuniting on screen after 16 years. The promotional photos from the roadshow have ignited excitement among the audience.
How to recreate the "New Power" of "New Hong Kong Drama"?When it comes to the innovation of Hong Kong dramas, the Director of Youku explains that the key lies in a combination of preservation and transformation. Hong Kong dramas have a standard and efficient production process, professional and pragmatic directors, scriptwriters and actors, independent and self-love values, and heavily cultured.
To recreate the "new power" of the "New Hong Kong Drama", the key lies in a combination of preservation and transformation. Hong Kong dramas have efficient production processes, skilled directors, writers, and actors, along with independent and self-affirming values that resonate with a unique public culture. Apart from "keeping" these elements, "New Hong Kong Drama" also adopts the spirit of "change" to accurately understand the changes in the aesthetic interests of the current audience and seeks to make breakthroughs in artistic expression and narrative. Expanding from "Hong Kong Drama for Hong Kong Audience" to "Hong Kong Drama for Chinese Audience".
Youku revealed to Wen Wei Po that in 2025, it plans to collaborate with the Hong Kong industry to blend the new with the old, focusing on supporting a group of Hong Kong's new generation of directors, scriptwriters, and actors, and providing a bigger stage for more new generations. Reporters were told that new Hong Kong dramas by Youku and young actors such as Natalie Hsu, Regina Ho, Venus Wong, Tiffany Lau, Jeannie Chan, Jacky Cai, and Moon Lau will be on the agenda.
Mainland relaxes policy on co-productions of Hong Kong dramas
TVB General Manager Eric Tsang Chi-wai and director Chung Shu-kai believe that the performance of TVB's co-produced dramas in 2024 was excellent. They expressed gratitude for Mainland China's relaxation of policies, such as lifting the cap on the number of actors, which allows more artists to return to the mainland for co-productions, leading to better integration between the two regions. Complementing each other's strengths, Hong Kong dramas and co-productions have done very well on the Mainland in the past two years. Moreover, Mainland radio and television stations will be allowed to broadcast Hong Kong-produced dramas approved by the Mainland authorities during prime time, which is a favorable policy for Hong Kong dramas. Additionally, Mainland television stations will be able to broadcast approved Hong Kong-produced dramas during prime-time slots, which is a positive policy for Hong Kong dramas.
Seize the wave of artificial intelligence film production
The current focus of Mainland China is on developing artificial intelligence, and the Hong Kong government places significant importance on the development of the artificial intelligence industry. According to the financial budget 2025-26 released by Financial Secretary Paul Chan, the government will actively promote innovation, research, and industry applications of artificial intelligence in Hong Kong. A billion-dollar fund has been allocated to establish the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research Institute. Hong Kong film director Sunny Luk believes that the Hong Kong film industry should seize the golden opportunity presented by artificial intelligence film production. He is pleased to see a deepening interest across various sectors in the research and application of artificial intelligence technology. However, he also expresses concerns: there is a need to remain vigilant against the "misuse" of artificial intelligence technology in the future. Issues such as copyright problems in the film and television industry and the boundaries of technological applications require thorough discussions among stakeholders and the clarification of relevant policies and laws.
Launching the first industry training model for new recruits
According to Alibaba Pictures, in 2024, under the promotion of the "Hong Kong Cultural and Art Industry Revitalisation Program", both the film industry and talent development programs have achieved remarkable results. For example, they produced a variety of excellent Hong Kong films such as "Time Still Turns the Pages", "Customs Frontline", "Cesium Fallout", and "The Last Dance". Among them, "Time Still Turns the Pages" won the Best New Director Award at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards and was also selected for the highest-rated Chinese-language films on DouBan" 's 2024 list. The action blockbuster "Customs Frontline" based on customs-related themes, achieved an extreme level of realistic and hardcore production. The disaster film "Cesium Fallout" represented anewbreakthrough for Hong Kong cinema in terms of genre themes, actively exploring Chinese stories rooted in real-world issues. "The Last Dance" topped the Hong Kong box office for Chinese-language films in history and achieved over 200 million RMB in the mainland Chinese film market.
In terms of talent development, Alibaba initiated a "Susquehanna International Youth Director Development Program" to find young directors worldwide with international learning and practical backgrounds. Currently, they have recruited 53 outstanding young directors, some of whom have learning and practical experience in the Hong Kong region. The "Alibaba Pictures Scholarship", jointly established by Alibaba Pictures and the School of Film and Television of Hong Kong Baptist University, has provided scholarships to 10 outstanding young filmmakers as an incentive. Among them, the first batch of awardees, Chan Wing Kei, won the "Best Student Short Film" award at the 8th Pingyao International Film Festival with her work "Soldiers and Thieves".
Young film and TV talents are the driving force behind the development of the industry. Alibaba stated that the "Susquehanna International Youth Director Development Program" not only provides young directors with opportunities to learn from famous directors and producers but also assists them in enhancing their creative abilities, industrial technology, and artistic and commercial thinking. Additionally, the program offers young directors access to copyright IP, virtual production technology, lighthouse promotional data, project investment, and promotional support. "This is the first full industry chain support model for nurturing newcomers within the industry", one of the people in charge of Alibaba Pictures emphasized.
Micro-short films provide a new development path for the Hong Kong film and television industry
At a time when film and television production is flourishing, the rise of micro-short films has also provided a new development direction for the Hong Kong film and television industry. The first micro-short film produced by the Sil-Metropole Organisation has brought together many of Hong Kong's professional talents behind the scenes. Xie Wei, Vice General Manager of Sil-Metropole Organisation (Guangzhou), told reporters that their first investment in a micro-short film, "Ten Things to Do When Time Traveling," was made as a complementary production for movies. For this project, she invited Sharon Yeung Pan Pan, who played Mu Nianci in the 1983 version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", to serve as a martial arts consultant. In terms of the cast, they also persuaded Michael Jack, who gained fame for his role in Stephen Chow s "The New King of Comedy", to join the project. Additionally, they invited Hong Kong actress Lauria Wu to shoot a micro-short film in mainland China for the first time.
Maintaining quality and quantity while continuing to expand the boundaries of expressing the "New Hong Kong Drama" is also a challenge for the new year. Tao Ye, Vice Dean of the School of Arts at Jinan University/Zhujiang Film Academy, pointed out in a recent interview with reporters that whether it is the distinctive "New Hong Kong Drama" or the ongoing deepening of locally themed Hong Kong films, the past year has brought a fresh brightness to audiences. Leveraging cooperation opportunities with mainland platforms such as Alibaba Pictures and Tencent Video may be the key to revitalizing the competitiveness of Hong Kong's film and television industry. Perhaps maintaining a steady pace of filming is the industry's urgent need for development breakthroughs.
"Hong Kong Cultural and Art Industry Revitalisation Program" has shown effectiveness
In terms of policy support, based on the latest revisions to the 2024 CEPA "Agreement II", Tao Ye believes that today, for Hong Kong creators, wherever there is an opportunity for "co-produced films", there is a stage.
"Hong Kong does not actually lack money and platforms; what it lacks is a consistent opportunity for production output." Tao Ye believes that Alibaba Pictures "Hong Kong Cultural and Art Industry Revitalization Program" has provided Hong Kong's film and television production with a stable opportunity for continuous output. The director of the acclaimed "New Hong Kong Drama" benchmark work "The Queen of News", Chung Shu-Kai, is the best example. From last year's "Darkside of the Moon" to this year's filming of "The Queen of News 2", his series of IP is continuously solidifying.
It is encouraging to see that cooperation and support from mainland film and television industries are not only focused on series IP or renowned directors but also provide a broad development space for supporting young creators within the collaborative framework. In this way, the Hong Kong film and television industry can achieve a "dual-engine drive", further enhancing its influence on a global scale. Through cooperation with mainland film and television industries, it injects new vitality into the development of Chinese-language films by bringing the "Bay Area's brilliance" into the picture.
Related News:
'Ne Zha 2' tops HK box office for 4 consecutive days, grossing over US$2.07 mn
Comment