William Pfeiffer, CEO of Celestial Pictures, says Hong Kong is the best base for making films and conducting business

William Pfeiffer is CEO of Celestial Pictures, a pan-Asian media conglomerate which owns the world's largest Chinese film library and Celestial Movies, a global Chinese movie channel. He tells why the world can't get enough of Asian film entertainment - and why Hong Kong, with its long history of film making, provides a front row seat to the action.

'I moved to Hong Kong in 1992 from Tokyo, having been hired by Sony Pictures' Columbia TriStar to head up their Asia operation. Originally from Connecticut, US, I had visited Hong Kong many times before on business, having set up the Disney video and TV distribution deal with Intercontinental.

I have always loved Hong Kong, and enjoy it today more than ever. I find Hong Kong an incredibly stimulating place to be, from its beautiful setting of the city on the water, to the excitement of international business. I am a huge fan of Hong Kong.

Best place to be

Hong Kong has always been a hub for the Chinese film industry, and a very good geographic base from which to conduct business. Whether you are making Chinese films or distributing Hollywood films around the region, Hong Kong is the best place to be. It has a central location, and everything works so efficiently here. There is a strong international business environment, a capable workforce, and a good system of law. The advantage of being at the centre of the Chinese film industry is that you can create content here, and also from Hong Kong manage the creation of content in China.

Hong Kong's film industry has gone through some unique challenges, but has always found a way to transform itself and capture new trends. The industry has a feel for the tastes of audiences and its finger on the pulse of what's happening in the region. Hong Kong has always been able to understand what people want to watch, so you can make films that work not only in Hong Kong but across South East Asia. China now presents a large opportunity for revenue growth, and Hong Kong has quickly figured out how to make films that have been successful in capturing a large box office share through co-production.

Our latest film, Perhaps Love, is an example of what can be achieved. The biggest production of a musical in China and Hong Kong for 35 years, it stars actors from the mainland, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, and the dance choreographer came from Bollywood (India). In addition to earning 11 nominations for the 25th Hong Kong Film Awards (to be announced on April 8), Perhaps Love picked up the Best Foreign Language Film at the third annual Queens Film Festival in November, and was Hong Kong's selection in this year's Oscars competition. This reflects that Chinese films no longer merely fill a niche; their appeal has reached the mainstream.

Rich content

Celestial Pictures was set up five years ago with the Shaw Bros film library as its core asset. The 760 films of the library had not been exploited on TV or video, so it was fresh programming and a new source of revenue. One part of our strategy is remastering these classic films to a very high quality, and releasing them for cinema, DVD, VCD, pay TV, the internet and even mobile phone content as well as ring tones. We've also been using the library for remakes, as it is a good source of creative ideas for new content. We've done merchandising, have remixed the songs, and created movie channels. Celestial Movies now has four channels in 10 countries including China, and we launch a new market every couple of months. We also produce high-budget TV shows, recently launched the infotainment channel WATV, and make games for mobile phones. We distribute film and TV programming to over 40 countries.

It's been a fast-paced development, but we have a good team of mostly Hong Kong people who have vast experience in the film industry. The Hong Kong film industry is incredibly influential across the region as it has always been a source of actors, directors and behind-the camera-people, as well as executives. Many of Celestial's staff have worked in the major studios of Hollywood, such as Warner, Sony and Paramount - as well as Hong Kong studios such as Golden Harvest - and have now returned to Hong Kong.

Kudos for FILMART

This month's FILMART (the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market, March 20 - 23) is a wonderful opportunity for companies who are in the business of producing content to get together with people in the business of buying and distributing content. Ideas are shared; partnerships pursued and forged. It is a very convenient way to meet many people in a few days, and a highly efficient way of conducting business. FILMART attracts people from across Asia as well as the US, Europe and Latin America, as it is a very important outlet for content.

A lot of film makers are now using Asia for its interesting settings as well as the cost savings. Hong Kong, as the centre of Asian business and historically the film industry, will continue to play an important role in the development of Asian media. Hong Kong has a very strong position in a very competitive world.'

Related links
Celestial Pictures 
FILMART