Remarks by C,USA Donald Tong
14th Annual "Made in Hong Kong" Film Festival premiere
Freer Gallery of Art, Meyer Auditorium
Washington, D.C.
July 16, 2009

Jim, [Ulak] thank you for the kind introduction.

1. Dear friends, welcome to the premiere of the 14th annual "Made in Hong Kong" Film Festival.

2. As you may know, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office is the permanent representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Illustrating the significance of Hong Kong's relationship with its second largest trading partner, the government maintains three offices in the U.S.: Washington, New York and San Francisco. The mission of the offices is to strengthen Hong Kong-US ties across areas of common interest, from economic and trade to security and investment.

3. We are grateful to our co-organizer, the Freer Gallery of Art, for its support of the popular "Made in Hong Kong" Film Festival which has become the gallery's longest running film series. It seems only fitting that the annual film festival takes place at the Smithsonian Institution's preeminent Asian art gallery.

4. The Smithsonian Institution has become a sort of depository for America's cultural identity. In a way, Hong Kong cinema plays a similar role – epitomizing our unique cultural heritage, vitality and ingenuity.

5. Hong Kong has a rich cinematic tradition. And this year, Hong Kong is celebrating its centenary of film making. In 1909 – in what is considered Hong Kong's first locally produced film – the comedic short, Stealing the Roast Duck, made its debut.

6. Illustrating the close ties Hong Kong has long enjoyed with the U.S., the film was reportedly shot by a Chinese director and produced by an American film entrepreneur.

7. The film helped set the stage for Hong Kong's emergence as the prevailing force in Asian cinema and a vibrant cultural export which enjoys lasting adulation the world over.

8. For many people, Hong Kong cinema was exemplified by the martial-arts genre, particularly kung-fu.

9. Allegedly, a New York Times film reviewer once critiqued an early kung-fu import as being "too extravagant, too gratuitously wild." For Hong Kong people, this is a welcomed compliment.

10. Hong Kong's masterful kung-fu films came to be personified by Bruce Lee, whose kinetic expression guaranteed Hong Kong cinema's global appeal and the genre's cult phenomenon status, particularly in the U.S.

11. Since then, Hong Kong's film industry has flourished. Today, the city's talented and innovative actors, directors and cinematographers straddle both Eastern and Western markets – garnering international recognition.

12. This year's film festival showcases the directorial work of such festival favorites as Wong Kar-wai, Johnnie To and Tsui Hark, as well as the on-screen talents of Tony Leung and the late Leslie Cheung.

13. Hong Kong continues to nurture this important creative sector.

14. In 1999, the government set up the Film Development Fund to support the long-term development of the film industry, including providing funding to finance small-to-medium budget film productions.

15. In parallel, Mainland China's rapid economic growth has helped fuel the commercial expansion of our film industry as demonstrated by the increasing number of Hong Kong-Mainland co-productions.

16. And under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, or CEPA, Hong Kong's "free trade agreement" with the Mainland, Chinese language films produced by Hong Kong companies can enjoy much wider access to the Mainland market.

17. Tonight's premiere film is the police thriller, Eye in the Sky. It is the directorial debut of longtime Johnnie To collaborator Yau Nai-hoi.

18. The plot pits a police surveillance unit against a ruthless crime boss. As tensions mount, the adversaries engage in a cat-and-mouse game through the streets of Hong Kong.

19. The film garnered Yau Nai-hoi and Kate Tsui awards for best new director and best new artist respectively at the 27th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards. In addition, the film earned David Richardson an Asian Film Award for best editor.

I hope you enjoy this evening's film. Thank you.