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applications, and processed 144 such applications during the year, all of which were approved. In 2006, the office also provided new coordination services to process applications to use pedestrian precincts and fish culture zones, and to hire police for intermittent traffic control for location filming.
To promote Hong Kong films in the international market, the office facilitated the organisation of Hong Kong Film Festivals in Washington DC and Singapore, and promoted Hong Kong as an ideal city for location filming at global expositions such
'Locations 2006' and 'Busan International Film Commission and Industry Showcase' held in the US and South Korea respectively. In 2006, 160 overseas film crews, including the production teams of the French film, The Boarding Gate, and the Korean film, My Wife is Gangster 3, carried out location filming in Hong Kong.
The office is also responsible for licensing special effects operators and issuing permits for the discharge of special effects materials for the film and entertainment industry. In 2006, it processed 2 510 such applications.
Financial Support
The Government reactivated the Film Development Fund in 2005 to provide financial support for projects conducive to the long-term development of the local film industry. Since then, the fund has allocated about $15 million for sponsoring 13 projects in six major categories, namely, training courses, seminars, surveys and studies, data compilation, award schemes, and sponsorship for Hong Kong films. nominated to participate in overseas film festivals.
A Film Guarantee Fund was also established in April 2003 to assist local companies to obtain loans from local lending institutions for film production. It also serves to develop a film-financing infrastructure in Hong Kong. So far, the guarantee fund has provided loan guarantees totalling $20.4 million for nine film projects.
Film Classification System
Hong Kong adopts a three-tier film classification system: Category I (suitable for all ages); Category II, which is subdivided into Category IIA (not suitable for children) and Category IIB (not suitable for young people and children); and Category III (for people aged 18 or above only). The objective is to allow adults wide access to films while protecting young people under the age of 18 from exposure to potentially harmful materials. Category IIA and IIB classifications are advisory -
- not governed by statutory age restriction — and are intended to give more information to moviegoers, particularly parents, to help them select films for themselves or their children. The age restriction is mandatory for Category III films.
In 2006, some 1 186 films were submitted for classification, compared with 1 287 in 2005. Of these, 388 were classified Category 1, 394 Category IIA, 321 Category IIB, and 83 Category III. Film trailers, instructional films and cultural films intended for public exhibition can be exempted from classification. During the year, 5 976 such films were examined and exempted from classification.