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Academy of Film holds international conference to explore documentary film-making in Hong Kong and beyond

The Academy of Film under the School of Communication organised a conference last week (9-10 January) at which distinguished scholars of film, communications and history from overseas universities examined the forces influencing the region's documentary film tradition.

The conference was entitled "Public Service Documentary Film-making in Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Film Unit and Radio Television Hong Kong; and the Influence of the Griersonian and British Colonial official film tradition on the Region and Beyond".

The conference emphasised four aspects of the documentary tradition: the making of public service documentaries in the territory; colonial film units from 1940-1970; the impact of renowned film-maker John Grierson on local documentary films and the history of Hong Kong's documentaries.

Professor Brian Winston, Lincoln Chair of Communications at Lincoln University, delivered a keynote address entitled "The Progress of Shadows: the Griersonian 'long tail'". The panellists unravelled the cinematic link that ties together such fascinating and diverse topics as entertainment, post-World War Two geo-politics, Hong Kong's heritage of film-making, and colonial policy in Asia and Africa.  

	Professor Brian Winston delivers keynote address at the conference