HONG KONG’S film and TV industry will seize a new chance to boost its development through a new initiative between Alibaba and leading Hong Kong production companies including Edko Films, Media Asia, Universe Entertainment, Shaw Brothers and Emperor Motion Pictures.

Unveiled March 11 at FilMart, the annual rights market for the Asian industries, the plan, called the Hong Kong Cultural and Art Industry Revitalization Program, will see an investment of HK$5 billion (US$640 million) into the city’s creative industries over the next five years through multiple divisions in Alibaba’s Digital Media and Entertainment Group, including Alibaba Pictures and streaming platform Youku.

“We will support a new generation of Hong Kong actors, allowing more creative talents from the city to thrive on the Chinese mainland, and provide greater opportunities for young talent, while at the same time, preserving and continuing Hong Kong’s unique pop culture,” said Youku vice president Xie Ying at the FilMart.

One of the plan’s goals is to produce content for global audiences. “Let Hong Kong’s style blow all over the world, and let Hong Kong’s stars shine in the world,” said Fan Luyuan, chairman and CEO of Alibaba’s Digital Media and Entertainment Group.

With the quick rise in mainland TV and film industry, and competition from international players like Netflix, Hong Kong’s TV and film industry has experienced a downturn in recent years. However, new changes are taking place as more and more young people return to the industry, encouraged by the Hong Kong TV and film industry’s development through the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with a bigger market, more subjects and young blood.

The great success of the 2023 hit TV series “The Queen of News,” produced by the joint efforts of Youku and TVB, gave a boost to the exploration of new Hong Kong dramas.

“To a certain extent, the new plan is equivalent to a bridge which connects the creative industry and promotes exchanges and cooperation,” said Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher at the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration. (Global Times)