Hong Kong movie "Last Song For You" screened at Osaka Asian Film Festival
The "Hong Kong Gala Screening" featuring the Hong Kong film "Last Song For You" was held in Osaka, Japan, tonight (March 20) during the 20th Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF).
The gala screening, attended by some 300 film fans from Japan, was sponsored by the Cultural, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency and the Film Development Fund, with the support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo).
Speaking before the screening, the Principal Hong Kong Economic and Trade Representative (Tokyo), Miss Winsome Au, said that the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office was proud to support the "Hong Kong Gala Screening" together with the film talents coming all the way from Hong Kong to participate in the OAFF this year.
"Showcasing Hong Kong's cultural diversity and creative excellence is our top priority. By promoting Hong Kong films to overseas audiences, we hope to share our love for cinema and our city as a colourful and vibrant metropolis rich in arts and culture from the East and West," she said.
She added that the Film Development Fund has already approved over $1.3 billion to support more than 120 film projects, involving 110 new directors and producers.
Miss Au was joined by director Jill Leung of "Last Song For You", as well as other Hong Kong film talents participating in the film festival. After the screening of "Last Song For You", Leung also took part in a sharing session with the audience.
Hong Kong movie "Last Song For You" screened at Osaka Asian Film Festival Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong movie "Last Song For You" screened at Osaka Asian Film Festival Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong movie "Last Song For You" screened at Osaka Asian Film Festival Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FS visits companies in Beijing
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, who is currently in Beijing, made visits to a number of companies today (March 22). He will also attend the dinner of the China Development Forum this evening.
In the morning, Mr Chan visited a leading pop cultural entertainment company on the Mainland. This company, listed in Hong Kong, operates several popular intellectual property (IP) artistic toys that are well-received both domestically and globally. Mr Chan visited the company's thematic park and met with its senior management to understand their business status and development plans. He expressed his pleasure that the company, as a leading cultural and creative enterprise, has successfully used Hong Kong as a platform to enter both regional and global markets. He welcomed the company's plans to establish more physical sales networks in Hong Kong and to diversify its services. Mr Chan pointed out that to promote the development of Hong Kong as a regional intellectual property trading centre, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has proposed in the Budget to review the tax deduction arrangements for acquiring IP usage rights, etc., with a view to driving the further development of the relevant industries and ecosystem. He also encouraged the company to fully leverage Hong Kong's advantages in funding, talent and professional services by establishing its international business headquarters and corporate treasury centre in Hong Kong to support their global business development.
Mr Chan then visited another company focused on the research and development of high-precision artificial intelligence products. Their intelligent sensing solutions are widely applied in smart traffic management, self-driving, perception robots and the low-altitude economy. They have been adopted by several cities across the country, including Beijing and Shanghai. The company is planning to establish its international business headquarters and global research and development (R&D) centre in Hong Kong, and is preparing for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Mr Chan viewed the company's latest high-end products and engaged in in-depth discussions with the company's senior executives and R&D team. He encouraged them to bring their R&D teams and more technological solutions to Hong Kong, and to utilise Hong Kong's international capital, talent and professional services to further expand their business into other markets in the world.
Mr Chan will attend the China Development Forum tomorrow (March 23) and will speak at a thematic seminar during the forum.
FS visits companies in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FS visits companies in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FS visits companies in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
FS visits companies in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
