China Daily Roundtable: Creative industry insiders talk survival strategies amid the pandemic

Creative industry insiders gathered for the fifth installment of China Daily’s Tipping Point webinar series on 27 August with the theme Taking the show back to the theaters in the time of COVID-19.

The goal of the webinar was to facilitate a healthy exchange for artists and creative professionals to gain new insights and opportunities amid the current challenging environment.

Moderator DJ Clarke (top left), Low Kee Hong (top middle), co-moderator Chitralekha Basu (top right), Albert Lee (bottom left), Fred Wang (bottom middle) and Tang Fu Kuen (bottom right) share their insights at the China Dailyhosted webinar.

The webinar featured five creative industry insiders and key players that included Mr. Albert Lee, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society; Mr. Low Kee Hong, head of theater at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; Mr. Tang Fu Kuen, curator at the Taipei Arts Festival; Mr. Fred Wang, Chairman of Salon Films (Hong Kong); and Mr. Teddy Chen, producer and director of Sum-Wood Production Ltd.

Among the topics discussed was the need of a combined effort from stakeholders to help the cinema industry survive the pandemic.

Mr. Lee pointed out that cinemas are experiencing difficulty due to the reduced capacity owing to social distancing restrictions.

Mr. Low Kee Hong added, “We need to rethink the choices of platforms and how we can monetise different platforms so that artists and staff can be paid properly. It is really essential to acknowledge that art is not for free.”

The panel also talked about the new normal and the opportunities for the film industry. Mr. Lee welcomed the idea of people viewing films on multiple platforms such as cinema halls, home theatre, live streaming platforms, and television.

Mr. Fred Wang pointed out that the film industry needs to try out new business models and observe whether the current environment can support these in a sustainable way. While Mr. Lee predicted that it could take the film industry anywhere between three and four years to recover from the effects pandemic, Mr. Wang still sees a bright future ahead. He envisioned that the traditional film business will develop rapidly and maturely, and believed that the injection of new blood will develop a business odel in order to support the improvement of the industry at large.

Mr. Tang Fu Kuen added, “Some of the artists in the industry will remain in melancholia for the better days of the past. They may not be able to cope with the future, while others will have that will and wisdom to move on. And they will be the ones who will renovate and innovate for survival.”