Lai Pak-hoi or Li Beihai (Chinese: 黎北海) (1889–1950) [1] was a Chinese actor and producer based in Hong Kong, and an early pioneer of the Hong Kong film industry.
Lai began his career as an actor, and was involved in one of the first films made in China, Stealing a Roast Duck, a silent short directed by Liang Shaobo in 1909.
[3] Lai was involved in the making of Zhuangzi Tests His Wife, the first confirmed Hong Kong-produced film, acting as owner of the company that financed the film, the China-America Company.
[2] The British colonial government rejected their plans to build the studio in Hong Kong, so they were forced to do so in neighboring Guangzhou in 1924.
[4] He also started the China Sound and Silent Movies Company, which released the first Cantonese talkie, Conscience, in Hong Kong in 1933.