HKTB and WWI showcase winter romance with ‘Hold My Hand’ short films
ETW Staff – Mumbai
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has joined by renowned Film School, Whistling Woods International (WWI) and bestselling Indian author Durjoy Datta to unveil the colours of its yearly marketing campaign – adapting snippets of ‘Hold My Hand’ into short films to raise awareness of Hong Kong as an exciting, vibrant and romantic travel destination among Indian consumers.
The first wave of promotion of FY 13-14 Campaign witnessed HKTB commissioning a novel, ‘Hold My Hand’ by Indian author, Durjoy Datta. HKTB took the association forward by collaborating with creative talent house, WWI, to convert the bestselling fiction novel into Short Films. This is a unique promotional campaign for a National Tourism Board to link literature and cinema to promote a destination in India.
Three teams of contestants from Whistling Woods International travelled to Hong Kong and shot at the locations mentioned in the novel, ‘Hold My Hand’. The winning team comprising of Arbaaz Shroff, Prachi Sinha, Kaushal. S Shah, Abhinav Agnihotri and Rishabh Rastogi along with Actors Lianne Texeira and Nakul Sahdev, were awarded by Daisy Lui, deputy executive director, HKTB and Subhash Ghai who is also the chairman of WWII. The winning film; Hold My Hand – Altair and Vega received rave reviews from all judges including chairman of jury, Nagesh Kukunoor. The HKTB firmly believes that the passion of Indian consumers for books and cinema will generate huge interest in for Hong Kong, the city known for being a romantic destination.
Daisy Lui, deputy executive director, HKTB said, “We are honoured and thankful for the love and support shown towards us by WWI and Durjoy Datta. We hope that through our associations and cutting edge PR initiatives we will be able to consolidate Hong Kong’s presence in India and attract more visitors to Asia’s World City.”
Subhash Ghai, Bollywood producer director and chairman, Whistling Woods International said, “We at WWI are glad to be associated with HKTB. Adapting a novel into short films of five-six minutes is never easy. After months of hard work, the students have come out with fantastic results. We wish the best for HKTB and hope to associate with them in the future as well.”
The HKTB will spin off a series of promotional activities, using Social Networking Services (SNS) and mobile apps, with a view to raising awareness of Hong Kong as an exciting, vibrant travel destination among Indian consumers.
