How do pop-culture producers survive in a field driven by both the state’s political interests and the market forces? To address this question, this study examines how the film production companies from Hong Kong coped with the institutional pressures in China after the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government implemented the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement in 2003. The Chinese film market offers a rich context to pursue this inquiry because it is a field wherein enduring institutional complexity encompassing both a political and a market logic is evident. The Hong Kong film companies’ experience also presents an intriguing case: they were once a prominent player in the field, best known for their market-oriented traits that sometimes challenged the officially permissible line in China’s censorship regulations. During the early 2010s, however, many of them shifted their focus to producing propaganda-like movies. This study draws on a quantitative dataset and an event-history database on Mainland-Hong Kong film co-productions between 2003 and 2016, and in-depth interviews with industry practitioners in Hong Kong and mainland China. The unanticipated consequences of the Hong Kong film companies’ strategic actions and their implications for the development of the cultural industry in mainland China will also be discussed.

Authors:
Victor Shin, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Victor Shin is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Lingnan University in Hong Kong

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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