HONG KONG - Unhappiness over indie film Ten Years' win at Sunday's Hong Kong Film Awards continues, with Hong Kong film bosses hinting of a boycott of the awards if the awards' film selection process is not looked into.
Producers including Peter Lam of Media Asia and Raymond Wong had been vehement, lambasting the win by the low-budget, anti-China movie which has been criticised for its poor production values.
Lam is chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Films, which represents owners of local film production companies, many of whom have investments on the mainland. Wong, whose film Ip Man 3 lost in the Best Film race to Ten Years, is a member.
On Tuesday, another member Daneil Lam, head of Universe Entertainment, said the Chamber will soon convene a meeting before asking the awards' body, the Hong Kong Film Awards Association, to review its selection and voting mechanism.
"We wish that they will listen to feedback. Otherwise, it will be meaningless for us to take part in the awards," Daneil Lam, whose film Little Big Master was a Best Film favourite, was quoted as saying by Apple Daily.
"The selection process has room for review," he explained, "The second round of voting, especially, can easily fall under people's control. Hence, Sunday's irrational result."
Hong Kong Film Awards Association's chairman Derek Yee had on Monday defended the voting mechanism, which has two rounds. Voters in the first round comprise 100 film professionals, added to members of the public who register to vote. In the second round, 55 invited film professionals and 13 executive committee members, representing film bodies, are among those can vote.
Crucindo Hung, the chairman of the Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association, is among the voters who felt Ten Years should not have won. He said the voters had cast sympathy votes, adding: "This is like telling the world that Hong Kong's Ten Years is the best of the some 50 films produced last year. It's laughable."
But Wong Fei Pang, a director of Ten Years, said the dissenters were just arrowing the voters and were not showing respect for their professionalism.
Meanwhile, the pro-Beijing Takung Pao has waded in with an editorial. It says: "On what basis did a film that clearly besmirches 'one country, two systems', that talks badly about Hong Kong's future and that has no artistic merits, become a winner?"
