Hilary He Hongjin, Ph.D. candidate, University of Western Sydney, Australia.

Seminar topic: “One Movie, Two Versions”: Post-1997 Hong Kong Cinema in the Mainland

Abstract

Some Hong Kong movies theatrically released in Mainland China are more or less varied from the original due to the market entry requirements and the censorship in PRC. This paper seeks to explore the interrelationship between the “one movie, two versions” phenomenon and the “one country, two systems” policy: to what extent is the long-existed multi-version practice influenced and scaled up by the unprecedented formula; and how does the phenomenon reflect the transitional characteristic of post-1997 Hong Kong cinema and affect its future direction? I will argue that the two-versioned Hong Kong films is a result of economic collaboration and the ideological divergence between Hong Kong and PRC, the two ends under “two systems”. Apart from elucidating the context, causes and impacts of the phenomenon, the interlocking relationship between market, censorship and piracy will also be explored against the backdrop of marketization of movie industry in China.