[Photo/China Daily]

"The early spirit of Hong Kong movies is not dying. Hong Kong has created many classic titles. We have the confidence to make new ones," says Hong Kong Movie Week's front man, Nick Cheung.

Cheung, a two-time winner of Hong Kong Film Awards' best actor, recently starred in the crime thriller Helios, which grossed 210 million yuan over the May Day holiday.

With a cast of Hong Kong A-listers, the movie was seen by critics as an effort to revive Hong Kong movies.

There is also hope Hong Kong filmmakers will learn how to better appeal to mainland moviegoers.

Kung fu master director Tsui Hark triumphed in the revolutionary film The Taking of Tiger Mountain, which brought in a box office of 880 million yuan.

Derek Tung-Shing Yee, famed for directing crime films, chose the extras working in China's largest film shooting location, Hengdian, as the subject of his upcoming film, I Am Somebody.

Not surprisingly, most of the top Hong Kong filmmakers, who have traditionally spoken Mandarin poorly, have worked to improve that shortcoming.

Veteran Hong Kong film producer Shi Nan-sun, speaking at the just-concluded Shanghai International Film Festival, says Hong Kong filmmakers know how to tailor their work for an international market and win Western audiences.

The Taking of Tiger Mountain, for example, gained the Chinese-language movies' largest overseas distribution in recent years.

"In France, 100 cinemas will screen the movie. It's very inspiring," says Shi, who is also the producer of the movie.