Film Development Fund launches Film Production Financing Scheme 2.0

The Hong Kong Film Development Council (HKFDC) has enhanced its film financing scheme with increased funding and relaxed measures in a bid to further bolster the local film industry and sustain its long-term development.

The Film Production Financing Scheme 2.0, which was launched on January 15, will see government support increased from $1.15m (HK$9m) to $1.28m (HK$10m) per project. Eligible projects will be provided with the maximum financing amount equivalent to 40% of the approved production budget but no more than $1.28m (HK$10m). Production budget must not exceed $3.2m (HK$25m).

A bigger portion of the funding will be disbursed at an earlier stage to improve the cashflow of the production. A total of 70% of the government funding, up from 50% previously, will be disbursed upon commencement of principal photography.

Enhanced measures also include an increased quota for applicants and main financiers, up from two to four; and investors given the priority to recoup half of their investment to encourage their investment and reduce their risk.

The original Film Production Financing Scheme (Relaxation Plan) was introduced in mid-July 2020 during the Covid pandemic to create job opportunities and revitalise the local film industry. It was well-received by the industry and funded 23 film production projects, including Jack Ng’s A Guilty Conscience, which set a record as the first ever local film to reach $12.8m (HK$100m) at the Hong Kong box office, making it the highest-grossing Chinese film in Hong Kong in 2023.

Recent releases such as Philip Yung’s Papa and Jill Leung’s Last Song For You were both funded under the Relaxation Plan and struck a chord with local audiences, with takings of more than $2.7m (HK$21m) and $1.2m (HK$9m) respectively following their December releases.

The Financing Scheme 2.0 will not be time limited. It will retain and optimise several facilitation measures, including:

• increasing the Government’s maximum financing amount from $9 million to $10 million. All applications with passing scores will be provided with the maximum financing amount, i.e. 40 per cent of the approved production budget, with a cap of $10 million;
• disbursing funding at an earlier stage, the amount of government funding received will increase from 50 per cent to 70 per cent upon commencement of the principal photography to improve the cash flow for production;
• increasing the quota for applicants and main financiers from two to four; and
• giving investors priority to recover half of their investment to encourage investment and reduce risk.

“The optimised Financing Scheme 2.0 will further enhance the attractiveness of the financing scheme and provide a strong boost to the film industry,” said HKFDC chairman Wilfred Wong. “I believe that it will bring positive and active developments in volume and genre diversity in future film productions.”

While the overall box office for 2024 dropped 6.2% to $172.7m (HK$1.34bn) – the lowest in 13 years – local productions surpassed the market share of Hollywood and overseas titles by 5.5% for the first time since 2004. This was mainly driven by two record-breaking hits, Soi Cheang’s Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In and Anselm Chan’s The Last Dance, which were the second and third local films to cross the milestone of HK$100m ($12.8m).