29 Sep – The Hong Kong Film Awards recently announced that it will be postponing its 40th edition, which was scheduled to be held next year, to 2022. As reported on Mingpao, Chairman Derek Yee, who spoke to the media about the decision, stated that due to the constant changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, theatres in Hong Kong have not been able to operate normally for most of the year and had greatly delayed the release of films. This, in return, has affected the HKFA submissions. Therefore, the 40th HKFA will instead be held in the first quarter of 2022 and will combine both movies released in 2020 and 2021. "Regardless of the number of annual films or market issues, the pandemic is also affecting the preparations for the award ceremony – making it hard for us to get manpower and venue for the event. We had no choice but to make this decision," he said. The filmmaker also dismissed the idea that combining films of both years will increase the competition, as the HKFA has always received hundreds of submissions throughout the years. Among films that had delayed its release this year are the Andy Lau-starring "Shock Wave 2" and Anthony Wong's "Declared Legally Dead", while next year will see the release of films such as "Broken Net", "Hand-Rolled Cigarette", and the post-humous release of Benny Chan's "Raging Fire". (Photo source: Hong Kong Film Awards' Facebook)