Club's support will help local film-makers develop world-class documentaries

24 March 2010

Hong Kong film-makers have earned recognition both locally and internationally over the years for their many award-winning movies and TV productions, leading to high expectations of the quality of Hong Kong productions and a continual demand for new, up-and-coming talent.

To support the Government's initiative to promote the local creative industry, The Hong Kong Jockey Club has donated HK$1.43 million through its Charities Trust to launch the "Hong Kong to the World" project in collaboration with CreateHK.  Jointly organised by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and National Geographic Channel International (NGCI), the project is aimed at grooming budding talents in the industry and producing local documentaries that have international appeal.

At a press conference today (24 March), details of the project were unveiled by the Club's Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Permanent Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development (Communications and Technology) Duncan Pescod, NGCI's President for Asia Pacific & the Middle East Ward Platt, and Director of Broadcasting Franklin Wong.

Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges noted that horse racing was a multi-billion-dollar business in Hong Kong but the Club had decided to run it on a totally not-for-profit model, which was unique in the world.  All the surpluses would be donated to the community through the Club's Charities Trust, rendering it Hong Kong's largest community benefactor.  "Indeed, we are racing for the betterment of Hong Kong and we are convinced that this is a very meaningful project and in line with the Club's long-standing mission to support the development of arts and culture in Hong Kong," he said.  "We also believe that RTHK and National Geographic Channel are very experienced producers who have the expertise and passion to provide a unique opportunity to local talent in Hong Kong in enhancing their skills in producing documentaries at a world class level.  We particularly wish to see this project achieving further mileage on grooming young talents in the industry."

The Club is the largest single taxpayer in Hong Kong, having contributed some HK$123 billion to public funds through betting duties and taxes over the past ten years, as well as donating a further HK$10 billion to charitable and community projects.  Arts and culture is one of the principal areas of the Club's donations.  The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre have been amongst the key capital projects in this area, receiving major funding of HK$480 million from the Club's Charities Trust.  In addition, some HK$40 million was donated to support arts and culture-related programmes last year, benefiting over 100,000 local residents.  Some of these programmes have been specifically targeted at fostering interest in the creative arts among young people.

Co-funded by the CreateHK office of the Government's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, "Hong Kong to the World" is a joint production of RTHK and NGCI, aiming to make good use of their hallmark standards of documentary production to cultivate local film-making talent.  The combination of global expertise and local funding will empower the city's film-makers to produce compelling documentaries about the uniqueness of Hong Kong and China.  The winning works will be premiered in Hong Kong through RTHK and shared with a global audience via the National Geographic Channel network, which reaches more than 320 million homes in 166 countries.

125th Anniversary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is celebrating its 125th Anniversary in 2009/10 season.  Over the past 125 years, it has become one of Hong Kong's best known and respected organisations, providing the public with world-class sporting entertainment as well as being the city's major non-Government community benefactor, now donating more than HK$1 billion a year to charitable and community projects.  It has been a part of Hong Kong through good times and bad, sharing the city's growth and development with its people, and is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for future generations.