Finalists Selected for Hong Kong Doc Initiative

HONG KONG: Four proposals have been selected as finalists for the Hong Kong to the World documentary production project, a joint initiative from National Geographic Channel (NGC) and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK).

The selected entries, drawn from a pool of 50 proposals with diverse subject matters, each will receive around HK$700,000 ($90,100) for producing a one-hour documentary. Siu Mei Kung Fu focuses on how the marriage of traditions Chinese food and martial art brings out a new perspective of Chinese culture. Cancer and the City looks at the environmental and food hazards that occur in the life of a cancer patient. Falling Through the Ropes tells the heart-warming stories of how some wild post-90s are brought back to the right track by the Hong Kong Police Boxing Club. Inside Hong Kong’s Rugby Sevens spotlights one of the biggest international sports event stages. Siu Mei Kung Fu and Inside Hong Kong’s Rugby Sevens are funded by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) under the sponsorship for the project Hong Kong to the World, while Cancer and the City and Falling Through the Ropes are funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Viewers will be able to watch these four documentary films on NGC and RTHK by the fourth quarter of 2011.

Zubin Gandevia, the COO for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East at National Geographic Channels, said, “Hong Kong to the World is a ‘for Hong Kong, from Hong Kong and by Hong Kong’ initiative. Told from a unique Hong Kong perspective in National Geographic’s hallmark standard, the program will reveal the fascinating stories of individuals who call Hong Kong their home. With the professional production standards of RTHK and NGC, Hong Kong to the World will help to build the local production ecosystem by helping to engage industry professionals and viewers in the world of documentary film. This will be the first year of what we hope becomes a long and fruitful partnership.”

Franklin Wong, the director of broadcasting at RTHK, who is also the chief deviser of the project, remarked, “RTHK has always attached importance to the production of documentary films and over the past five years our documentary films have altogether won 86 international awards. To ramp up the development of the local creative industry, RTHK invited NGC to jointly launch the Hong Kong to the World documentary production project, which will widely open up our local production platform as well as to showcase our outstanding documentary films to 320 million homes worldwide through the NGC, bringing Hong Kong to the world.”

“We’d like to see that more young TV and film makers with high potentials are being nurtured under this project Hong Kong to the World. The whole idea is in line with our permanent faith and unfailing support to the local arts and cultural development,” added Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the CEO of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Jerry Liu, the head of CreateHK, said, “By showing these documentaries on the National Geographic Channel, we wish to promote Hong Kong documentaries to the audience worldwide. This can help open up more opportunities for our creative talent, and reinforce Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s creative capital.”