PRESS, BROADCASTING, FILMS AND TOURISM
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small producing companies who rent studio space as required. Films made in Hong Kong are mostly shown in those places in South-East Asia where there are large Chinese com- munities. Some are also shown in the United States.
Altogether there are 63 cinemas in the Colony, 28 on Hong Kong Island, 25 in Kowloon and ten in the New Territories. Two of the older theatres were demolished during the year but one of them is now being rebuilt. The larger modern theatres in Victoria and Kowloon are air-conditioned and equipped to show wide-screen productions.
Apart from locally-produced films, the majority of imported films shown are American. During the year 231 American films were seen, whilst British films took third place with a total of 56 shown. French, Indian, Italian, Japanese and Russian films are shown occasionally. First-run and second- run cinemas are required under quota law to show British films at least seven days out of seventy.
All films must be submitted for censorship before exhibi- tion to the public, but any owner or distributor of a film who is aggrieved by a decision of the Panel of Censors may appeal to a Board of Review, the decision of which is final. Provision is also made whereby anyone objecting to a film being shown may appeal to the Colonial Secretary for its examination by the Board of Review. All films passed by the censors are released for general exhibition. There is no system of special certificates limiting the audience to certain categories, as in the United Kingdom.
The Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia selected Hong Kong as the site for their Third Annual Film Festival which was held in June. All eight member countries were represented at the Festival which was opened by the Governor at a colourful ceremony attended by many visiting actors and actresses wearing their national costumes, as well as by film company executives. Twenty six feature films and ten documentaries were submitted to the Jurors
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