President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes； Artistic Director of IFFAM Mike Goodridge； Executive Vice President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee Alvin Chau； Talent Ambassador Donnie Yen； Festival Ambassador John Woo, among others attended the press conference
The 2nd International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao (“IFFAM” or the “Film Festival”) will be staged from 8to 14 December. The Organizing Committee of IFFAM hosted a press conference today (3November). Director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; Artistic Director of IFFAM Mike Goodridge; Executive Vice Presidents of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, namely, President of Macau Films & Television Productions and Culture Association (MFTPA), Alvin Chau, and President of Management Committee of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, José Tavares; Vice President of Cultural Affairs Bureau and Vice President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Chan Peng Fai; Talent Ambassador Donnie Yen; Festival Ambassador John Woo; among others attended the press conference. The Organizing Committee announced the dazzling lineup of international film stars and directors including internationally-reputed action star Donnie Yen and rising Korean movie star D.O. as Talent Ambassadors, and internationally-acclaimed film director John Woo as Festival Ambassador. The awe-inspiring event programme was also unveiled in the press conference.
President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee Senna Fernandes expressed, “IFFAM is such a young and vibrant film festival brimming with new possibilities and potentials to tap into. With our theme of this year – “A New Avenue to the World of Films”, we aspire to tailor a high-quality programme fueled by fresh new elements to fascinate our audience, as we strive for the vision to forge IFFAM into a prestigious brand in the world.”
Artistic Director of IFFAM Mike Goodridge then came forward to introduce the brand-new remarkable event programme. He stated, “I am so delighted to unveil our programme for the festival this year. I am very proud of the lineup which brings a feast of world of cinema to the audiences of Macao. From our outstanding crowd pleasing opening night film Paddington 2 to the exciting competition lineup of first and second features, our thrilling galas and special presentations and our best of festival panorama, I believe we are showcasing the very best films of the year to the people here. I can’t wait for the filmmakers to come and present their films here.”
Strong jury lineup
This year’s international jury comprises 5 distinguished figures, presided by French director Laurent Cantet. President Cantet attended the Institut Des Hautes Études Cinématographiques and received thePalme d'Orfor his film“Entre les murs” at the2008 Cannes Film Festival, in addition to the César Award. Other jury members include famed Chinese American actress Joan Chen, Austrian director Jessica Hausner, United Kingdom author Lawrence Osborne and Singaporean director Royston Tan. With their expertise, the jury will select winners for Best Film, Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Actor Award, Best Actress Award, Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress, Award for Best Screenplay, Award for Best Technical Contribution and other awards from the 10 films in the Competition section.
Opening Film to offer a good laugh
On the night of the Opening Ceremony, family movie “Paddington 2” will be shown as the Opening Film, starring famous English actor Hugh Grant in this sequel of the widely acclaimed movie “Paddington” (2014), based on the well-loved character in the United Kingdom – Paddington.
Over 40 international films come into spotlight
In this edition, more than 40 international films will be screened through the Competition section, Gala, Flying Daggers, Best of Fest Panorama, “Crossfire”, Special Presentation and more. 10 films are selected to pit against each other in the Competition section, including “Beast” (UK),“TheCakemaker”(Israel/Germany),“Custody” (France),“Foxtrot” (Israel/Germany/France/ Switzerland),“The Hungry” (UK/India), “Borg McEnroe” (Sweden/Denmark/Finland), “Hunting Season” (Argentina/USA/France/Germany/Qatar),“My Pure Land” (UK), “Three Peaks” (Germany/Italy) and “Wrath of Silence” (China). UK war film “Journey’s End” will be featured in the Gala section; while 2 Hollywood films – “The Shape of Water” and “Suburbicon”, both being screened in the74th Venice International Film Festival, will be shown in the Hollywood Special Presentation section. The “Crossfire” will present classic genre films selected by 6 heavyweight directors, namely ShekharKapur(India),ImSangSoo(Korea),PenekRatanaruang(Thailand),Martin Koolhoven (Netherland),Guillermo Del Toro (Mexico) andIvanSen (Australia). Furthermore, directed by Macao director, “Love is Colder than Death” will be screened in the Macao Special Presentation section. To go in line with the recent designation of Macao as UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, the Organizing Committee specifically arranged two movies related to gastronomy to be shown during the Film Festival: “The Last Recipe” and “The Cakemaker”.
IFFAM features internationally-famous action star Donnie Yen and rising Korean movie star D.O. as new Talent Ambassadors
The Organizing Committee proudly announced during the press conference that internationally-famous action star Donnie Yen and rising Korean star D.O. will also come into the spotlight as Talent Ambassadors in the upcoming Film Festival, following Hollywood star Jeremy Renner, who starred as Hawkeye in the Marvel film, and famous film actress in Asia, Miriam Yeung. All four Talent Ambassadors are prominent film stars with their own respective accomplishments in the Chinese and Western film industries. Jeremy Renner, D.O. and Miriam Yeung will be attending the Opening Ceremony, while Donnie Yen will mark his presence at the Award Ceremony on 14 December.
Two Masterclasses unfold a vast world of potentials
The highly-anticipated Masterclasses will explore innovative film elements and tap into new potentials, helping young people to venture forth into the world of films and reach their dreams. A highlight in the inaugural edition of IFFAM, the Masterclasses provided an interactive exchange platform for industry professionals and local audience. Carrying on this year, the Masterclasses have invited internationally-acclaimed film director John Woo and famous Hong Kong director Pang Ho-Cheung to share their skills and experiences as keynote speakers and help young aspirers to gain insights into filmmaking and a deeper understanding of the film industry. Through sharing and dialogues, the Masterclasses will inspire young minds for the advantage of the industry.
Nurturing local new blood with the British Film Institute
Following the success of the BFI Film Academy Project co-organized by IFFAM and the British Film Institute (BFI) last year, the upcoming Film Festival will once again offer this film-shooting training programme, providing opportunities for budding local filmmakers to engage in international filmmaking experience and exchange perspectives with their European counterparts, thus fostering cultural exchange, broadening their mindset and diversifying their professional development. 24 of Macao’s most promising young filmmakers will participate in this programme working together to produce two short films. They will be led by industry professionals from the BFI. Students will be offered a specific role based on their skill and experience, and work together to produce two films that will be screened at the IFFAM. Participants will have 9 days and a small production budget to produce the films.
Supporting Local View Power to grow local filmmaking talent
With the direction of “New Platform, New Perspectives” in mind, IFFAM offers full support to the latest edition of Local View Power by offering a platform to screen the outstanding works supported by this programme. Organized by the Macao Cultural Centre, Local View Power has supported more than 90 local film productions in the last decade. The Film Festival will include these local films supported by the Local View Power programme for the first time, with the aspiration to help promising local filmmakers in their pursuit of dreams to create innovative film works, encourage local youth to pursue career paths as independent filmmakers and impel the local film industry to move forward.
Over 400 film industry professionals and media to attend the Industry Hub
This year’s IFFAM Industry Hub will be held in the Macao Cultural Centre, offering a platform for industry professionals to exchange with one another and tap into the vast business opportunities of the industry together. The Organizing Committee will invite over 250 industry professionals from more than 20 countries and regions in addition to 165 media from 36 countries and regions to participate in the event.
Ticketing
Films in the IFFAM programme will be shown to the public at Macao Cultural Centre, Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre, and Cinematheque・Passion. Residents and visitors can buy the film tickets through www.macauticket.com starting from 8November, or at the screening venues during the Film Festival. The Organizing Committee looks forward to sharing this year’s wealth of cinematic experiences with the film industry, media, residents and visitors in December.
For more details of the 2nd IFFAM, please visit http://iffamacao.com/en/.
