A History of Film Exhibition and Reception in Colonial Hong Kong (1897 to 1925): 香港殖民時期電影放映與接收史料庫 (1897-1925)

This open-access database developed under the project ‘Screen Practices in Colonial Hong Kong: A History of Film Exhibition and Reception from 1897 to 1925’ is supported by the Research Grants Committee, HKSAR, under the General Research Fund (GRF #LU 12613217). It is presented to serve as an essential resource for research on Hong Kong film history from the initial screenings of motion pictures in the late 1890s to the mid-1920s when the local film industry took shape. It provides online access to more than 29,000 items of news materials, covering movie theatres, distribution companies and circuits, advertisements, and film reviews. These primary materials are expected to help construct the history of early screen practices in Hong Kong.

By ‘screen practices’, we mean two things. First, they refer to screening events, particularly the projection of motion pictures as multi-faceted and multivalent occurrences, such as a technological display, a public assembly for charity, an entertaining performance, and a trendy cultural pursuit. Second, they indicate the domination of exhibition in the cultivation of a film industry before production entered the picture. Exploring the exclusive role of exhibition and the logistics, space, facilities, and equipment required to set up screening events is crucial to understand how movie shows were connected to the social fabric of Hong Kong of the early 20th century. All of this information can be used to explore the formation of the early film industry by identifying screening routines and business transaction patterns.

The term ‘practice’ highlights the repetition of such screening events to achieve some form of proficiency and recognition. The history of screen practices thus reveals the multiplicity and heterogeneity of early Hong Kong film culture, covering the screening equipment, built environment, distribution and exhibition, censorship, and cinema reception as a key part of public life in colonial Hong Kong.

此資料庫為研資局優配研究金資助研究計劃「殖民地香港的映演實踐：電影放映與接收史(1897-1925)」(GRF#LU 12613217) 的部分成果。資料庫開放予公眾瀏覽逾29,000項與電影相關的報章資料，包括戲院、片商、發行網絡、電影廣告與電影評論等，並提供香港電影歷史初期至1920年代的重要研究資料，以助建構香港早期映演實踐的歷史。

「映演實踐」指涉：一，影畫放映的多重面向，涉及包括科技展示、公共慈善聚會、娛樂表演，及時髦的文化追求等活動；二，電影行業在未有電影製作前的發展。藉由與映演實踐相關的資料，了解映演的獨特地位，探索放映活動背後的運作、場地、設施與設備等安排，我們方能洞悉映畫放映與二十年代香港社會架構的關係。同時透過剖析當中的放映作息及交易，描繪出香港電影行業草創的歷程。

絡繹的「實踐」令放映活動日趨完善及備受肯定。無論是當年的放映設備與環境、電影發行與上映，以至電影的核准檢查、戲院的經營狀況，映演實踐的各個軼事均能展現早期香港電影文化多姿多彩的面貌，有助進一步了解殖民時期香港的公眾生活。