THE SHADOW OF KATANA•GUNS•SWORDS by IC
Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), “THE SHADOW OF KATANA•GUNS•SWORDS—Martial Arts, Samurai and Western Film Festival” will be held from August to September, featuring a collection of 25 classic films in the martial arts, samurai and western genres, categorised in five sections, namely “The Aesthetics of Violence”, “Literary Flavours in Action Films”, “Western Guns and Eastern Swords”, “Heroines” and “Special Screenings”. The opening ceremony of the Festival was held on 31 July in the movie hall of the Block R teaching complex at the Macau University of Science and Technology, during which A Touch of Zen, a classic martial arts film directed by King Hu, was screened and accompanied by classic film soundtracks performed by the Macao Youth Chinese Orchestra. The ceremony was officiated by the Deputy Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, Yin Rutao; the Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, Cheong Lai San; the Deputy Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office of the Macao SAR Government, Hoi Io Meng; the Member of the Administrative Committee of the Cultural Industries Fund of the Macao SAR Government, Wong Keng Chao; and the Representative of the President and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Arts of the Macau University of Science and Technology, Zhang Zhi Qing.
“THE SHADOW OF KATANA•GUNS•SWORDS—Martial Arts, Samurai and Western Film Festival” will be held at the Cinematheque‧Passion from 6 August to 18 September. During the Festival, a number of films will be screened, including Harakiri directed by the famous Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi, which received the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize, and Once Upon a Time in the West, an epic Spaghetti Western film, which allows the audience to review classical films and introduces outstanding pieces to young spectators from novel and interesting perspectives. Two post-screening talks will be held during the Festival. On 28 August, local scholar Professor Lei Kun Teng and local writer Tai Pei will talk about literature and film after the screening of the film Warriors from the Magic Mountain. On 5 September, local director Chan Nga Lei and local film reviewers Leng Wu Chio and Lei Ka Hon will take the audience to the world of martial heroes, cowboys and samurais after the screening of the film Sukiyaki Western Django. Tickets are priced at MOP60. A 50% discount will be offered to full-time students and seniors aged 65 or above (required to present the respective documents for admission). A 20% discount will be offered when purchasing ten or more tickets for the films. For ticketing and details of the Festival, please visit the website of the Cinematheque‧Passion at cinematheque-passion.mo, or contact through tel. no. 2852 2585.
The Cinematheque‧Passion is open daily from Tuesdays to Sundays, including public holidays, and closes on Mondays. The ticket office is open from 10am to 11:30pm. The exhibition hall and film information hall are open to the public from 10am to 8pm. IC will continue to pay close attention to the development of the pandemic, follow the relevant guidelines of the Health Bureau, implement appropriate measures for the activities. All participants must wear face masks, undergo temperature checks, and present a valid “Macao Health Code” of the day.
