SARS Closes Hong Kong Film Forum

[TexasStooge]

Latest from Yahoo! News:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The outbreak of atypical pneumonia, or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which has left 708 people in Hong Kong infected and claimed 16 lives, has forced organizers of the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum 2003 (HAF) to postpone the event indefinitely.

"We had hoped to still go on with the event, but after careful consideration in the light of the latest developments, we have sadly decided to postpone the event. We are still working out a possible date," HAF director Albert Lee said.

HAF 2003 was scheduled to begin Monday and run through April 9.

More than 450 industry professionals from around the world had registered to attend the three-day event, which was to showcase 24 projects from Asian filmmakers.

The event was supposed to have made a welcome comeback after a three-year absence. The inaugural HAF was held in 2000, but the event was shelved the past two years because of late funding approval.

"Some participants have informed us they would be dropping out, and also quite a few countries are discouraging their citizens from coming to Hong Kong. We also heard that some airlines might be bypassing Hong Kong," Lee said.

Lee said this year's organizer, the Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Assn., is committed to holding the event at a later date, but financial details have to be worked out.

"Obviously, we've incurred some costs already," he added. "It may be that we have to apply for further funding for the event later, but it is a little too early to tell how much we will need."

SARS has killed nearly 80 people worldwide, and the World Health Organization (news - web sites) urged travelers Wednesday to avoid Hong Kong and China's Guangdong province, saying it did not think the disease had peaked.

Reuters/VNU

[wx247]

That stuff is so scary!