Putting Overseas Film On the Record
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Rosanna Law Shuk-pui (羅淑佩), said on a local television talk show this week that overseas filmmakers must submit an outline of the film’s “story content” and “the message [the film] conveys” when shooting there.
On the TVB interview show On the Record (講清講楚), Law was responding to questions about plans for the film and tourism industries outlined in Hong Kong’s 2026 Policy Address — an annual policy overview released by the Chief Executive last month — that included setting up a “Support Unit for Non‑local Film Productions, which will provide one‑stop services for Mainland and overseas film crews filming in Hong Kong” as a way to attract the production of more high-quality films.
Asked by host Kennie Chan (陳嘉欣) whether the bureau was worried that overseas film crews would “defame” (醜化) Hong Kong and whether establishing a censorship system would “scare” production crews away from Hong Kong, Law said production teams must “clearly explain” their film’s outline, plot, and the nature of the story to the local authorities. The “support unit” is intended to offer an “immersive” filming experience for the overseas film crews and, according to the Policy Address, would make sure the shooting goes smoothly.
Local coverage of Law’s interview, such as in the Hong Kong Commercial Daily (香港商報), a newspaper linked to the Shenzhen Press Group, has focused on the bureau’s careful usage of subsidies provided to the local film industry. The planned “comprehensive review” of the Film Development Fund — a fund administered by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau’s Film Development Council that supports local film production — would, according to Law, conduct a deeper evaluation of films according to their market value.
The Secretary added that visitors had gradually witnessed Hong Kong’s shift from “stability to prosperity” (由治及興) — a term used by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2022 to describe the territory’s transition after the implementation of the National Security Law that followed the 2019 mass anti-extradition bill protests — thanks to Hong Kong’s commitment to “telling Hong Kong’s story well” (說好香港故事).
Since the Hong Kong government began beefing up its national security legislation following the 2019 protests, the media has repeatedly found itself the target of government crackdowns, often under dubious sedition and collusion charges. Hong Kong’s film industry has not been spared: a 2021 amendment to the territory’s Film Censorship Ordinance mandated that a panel of censors list films considered harmful to national security as unsuitable for screening. According to Hong Kong’s Ming Pao, 50 films were ordered to modify their content while 13 films were ordered not to be screened between 2021 and 2025.
In 2025, Law told Hong Kong’s HK01 in an interview that “soft resistance” (軟對抗) has long existed in the art and culture sector, highlighting that the threat can manifest in various forms, including movies. “Soft resistance” is a term widely applied by Hong Kong officials since 2023 to flag any gesture that they view as stirring discontent.
