Google local, ifva global?

Google joined arms with Hong Kong Art Centre’s Incubator for Film and Visual Media in Asia brand (ifva) to launch three short, locally made films.The works, set to be unveiled at the end of the month at the arts centre in Wan Chai, feature real stories of strife where Hong Kongers have realised their dreams through the use of Google search.One story tells of a city girl who becomes obsessed with healthy recipes after her car crash; another is a tale of a banker-cum-entrepreneur who built a name for himself for marrying traditional Chinese carvings with Swiss watch-making technologies; the third is a story of an actress who is trying to develop her career back home after growing up in a foreign country.For Stella Cheung (pictured on the right), sales director of Google Hong Kong, it’s a project that meshes technology and art, and opens a platform for the search engine to go local, and – vice versa -- for Hong Kong Art Centre to go global.“Google is honoured to…promote Hong Kong’s spirit through exquisite artistic expression in local film, bringing these inspiring stories to light,” she said, adding that the films will be loaded and promoted on Google’s YouTube channels after debut.“Search is not just a convenient way to look for information, but also the starting point of a life-altering idea.”Aside from online distribution channels, the movies will also be shared in relevant film festivals overseas, said Connie Lam (picture on the left), executive director of The Hong Kong Arts Centre.“These are all very inspiring stories to show to the rest of the world: it’s our way of communicating the Hong Kong spirit through different media,” she said. “Google’s participation and its influence around the globe is the perfect platform that helps us facilitate this.”