May 11, 2005
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office is delighted to present tonight's lecture together with the University of Toronto and the Asian Heritage Month GTA Citizens Group to mark the Asian Heritage Month, which was started by Senator Vivienne Poy.

People in North America are getting more excited about Hong Kong films. From the wonderful kung fu films in the early days to Hollywood's favourite action-heroes like Jackie Chan and film directors like John Woo, Hong Kong has created wonders and surprises in the international film arena.

This evening, you will be seeing a short documentary film entitled "A Century of Hong Kong Cinema". You will detect that some of the clips there have been reproduced in Hollywood�s blockbusters such as "Kill Bill", "The Last Samurai", and "The Matrix" series.

The authoritative BBC described the phenomenon as "Hollywood's fascination with Asia, kung fu, and dramatic violence". It said many of these blockbusters have borrowed heavily from Asian, particularly Hong Kong, cinema. "Reservoir Dogs" was said to have large parts of it taken from the Hong Kong movie "City of Fire".

The presence of such strong influences from just one city in Asia in so many films is remarkable - however it has surprising origins. According to legend, kung fu was brought to China by an Indian Buddhist who settled in the north of the country in the Tang dynasty, over 1,000 years ago. He is said to have set up a Shaolin temple, and taught martial arts to his disciples.

Tonight, it's a happy coincidence that we have an outstanding India-born Canadian film producer, Deepa Mehta, sharing with us -- not her Shaolin kung fu -- but her cinematic perspectives, and her trilogy of the elements � Fire, Earth and Water � which belong to part of the five elements in Chinese culture. What a combination!

So, ladies and gentlemen, please spend the rest of this wonderful evening to share our experience in film production.

Thank you.