Hong Kong film director Kenneth Bi (left) and producer Rosa Li engage in a lively discussion with the audience after a screening of “The Drummer” at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.

A Chicago audience took part in an enthusiastic discussion with Hong Kong film director Kenneth Bi and producer Rosa Li about their film, “The Drummer,” and other Hong Kong movies on May 9.

Mr. Bi was in Chicago to take part in the “Hong Kong Cinema: The Next Generation” film series being held at the Gene Siskel Film Center throughout the month of May.

Paying tribute to Hong Kong film directors, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York Monica Chen said the Hong Kong government is committed to the long-term development of its film industry and to its new generation of film directors.

The government has injected US$38.46 million into the Film Development Fund to help expand the scope of financing film productions. It also aims to encourage more commercial investment in film productions, nurture home-grown Hong Kong talent and to create more employment opportunities for local filmmakers.

“Hong Kong is also committed to supporting and developing other sectors of its creative industries, including design, animation, digital media technology, advertising and architecture,” Ms. Chen added.

“To this end, we will shortly be establishing a new office — Create Hong Kong — a one-stop-shop service dedicated to promoting the development of creative industries.”

Aside from “The Drummer,” the other seven films featured in the film series are “A Decade of Love,” “Golden Chicken,” “The Pye Dog,” “Mob Sister,” “Fatal Contact,” “Mr. Cinema” and “Eye in the Sky.”

These eight films represent the new face of Hong Kong cinema, with new takes on film genres that run the gamut from love story to gangster film to martial arts film to crime thriller.

“Hong Kong Cinema: The Next Generation” is a core program of the Hong Kong Comes to Chicago 2009 Festival, held in conjunction with Chicago’s monthlong celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.

Other events in the festival include the “This is Hong Kong” photo exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center, a multimedia exhibition showcasing Hong Kong through the eyes of five students from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, a music performance featuring a Chinese ensemble and Chicago’s Fulcrum Point New Music Project and gallery talks about Hong Kong and Chinese art.

Hong Kong Comes to Chicago 2009, which showcases Hong Kong's creativity, entrepreneurship and cultural and economic vitality, offers the Chicago community an opportunity to learn about the evolving “modern heritage” of this continuously vibrant and transformative city. The festival is hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York, and is supported in part by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.