Michelle Yeoh is the Actress In Focus at IFFAM this year
The 2nd International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao (“IFFAM” or the “Film Festival”) was inaugurated tonight (8th December) under the theme “A New Avenue to the World of Films”, presenting an array of spectacular films lined up by the IFFAM Organizing Committee seven days in a row. A total of 48 outstanding films from the East and West, as well as 16 local film works are screened for public admission at the Macao Cultural Centre, the Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre and the Cinematheque・Passion from 8th to 14th December. The latter are presented under two projects rolled out to cultivate and encourage local filmmakers.
An extravaganza of cinematic experiences
Through the Opening Film “Paddington 2” and a series of highlights including Competition (10 films), Gala (3 films), Flying Daggers (6 films), Best of Fest Panorama (10 films), Crossfire (6 films), Hollywood Special Presentation (3 films), Macao Special Presentation (2 films), Food Special Presentation (2 films), Special Presentation (4 films) and In Focus (1 film), the Film Festival will open the eyes of the audiences to a kaleidoscope of remarkable films. The 48 Chinese and Western films cover a variety of genres and themes ranging from animation, adventure, comedy, romance, sports, drama, thriller, war, documentary, science fiction, musical, fantasy, gastronomy, action, horror, historical fiction, mini-drama to martial arts, offering a diversity of choices for the audiences.
New Platform, New Perspectives
The Competition section spotlights first and second-time film directors this year, pitting 10 selected films against each other including “Beast” (UK), “The Cakemaker” (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). Winners of 13 accolades will be selected by a judging panel comprising five distinguished figures from the fields of film and literature, namely Laurent Cantet, Joan Chen, Jessica Hausner, Lawrence Osborne and Royston Tan. The accolades include Best Film, Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Actor Award, Best Actress Award, Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress, Award for Best Screenplay and Award for Best Technical Contribution. Other accolades range from Macao Audience Choice Award, Asian Blockbuster Film 2017, NETPAC Award, Variety Asian Star: Up Next Award, International Star of Year to Career Achievement Award. The list of winners will be unveiled on the Awards Ceremony on 14th December.
Gala
The Gala section features a total of three films namely “Journey’s End”, “Okja” and “Samui Song” to be screened at the Macao Cultural Centre. Their film crew will appear on the red carpet and attend the respective film screenings, an encounter with the audiences coming true.
Special Presentation of Hollywood and Macao films
In the Hollywood Special Presentation section, two of the films, “The Shape of Water” and “Suburbicon”, marked their appearance in the Venice International Film Festival before, whereas “I, Tonya”, a film based on true events, was featured as a film of special presentations in the Toronto International Film Festival this year.
Directed by Macao directors Ho Fei and Lorence Chan respectively, “Love is Colder than Death” and “Passing Rain” will take the audiences onto a cinematic journey across local streets and lanes.
In addition, the films of Special Presentation include “My Generation”, “The Workshop”, “The Last Emperor” and “Stained”.
Food Special Presentation
In line with the new designation of Macao as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy announced last month, the Organizing Committee specially selected two films revolving around gastronomic themes to be screened in the Food Special Presentation – “The Last Recipe” and “C’EST LA VIE”. In addition, one of the films in the Competition section, “The Cakemaker”, is also imbued with elements of gastronomy.
Flying Daggers creates tense atmosphere
“A Day”, “Brawl in Cellblock 99”, “The Outlaws”, “A Prayer before Dawn”, “Mom and Dad” and “Good Manners” revolve around elements of mystery, thriller, criminal, action, science fiction and horror. The films are set to unfold a tense and suspenseful atmosphere until the end for the audiences. Among these films, “The Outlaws” had grossed close to 50 million US dollars in Korea and become a hot topic of the year. In addition, Udo Keir, who starred in “Brawl in Cellblock 99”, will be honored with the Career Achievement Award in the Film Festival. Born in Germany, the prominent actor has been devoted to his career in film for over five decades, delivering brilliant performances in more than 300 films.
Best of Fest Panorama promises fantastic films from worldwide
This section has lined up ten dazzling films spotlighted in other major international film festivals of the year, namely “Call Me by Your Name”, “Sweet Country”, “Goodbye, Grandpa!”, “The Nothing Factory”, “Zama”, “Angels Wear White”, “Shuttle Life”, “Oh Lucy!”, “The Guardians” and “The Florida Project”.
Crossfire of East and West
To promote films of different classic genres with influences from the East and West cultures, the Crossfire presents an array of six films recommended by six heavyweight directors from around the world – Shekhar Kapur, Im Sang Soo, Penek Ratanaruang, Martin Koolhoven, Guillermo del Toro and Ivan Sen. The six films are “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “The Silence of the Lambs”, “Kind Hearts and Coronets”, “Rashomon”, “Mad Detective” and “One Nite in Mongkok”.
Actress In Focus: Michelle Yeoh at IFFAM
Internationally-acclaimed film actress Michelle Yeoh will join the director of the film “Reign of Assassins”, Su Chao-Bin to mark their presence in IFFAM. In a session titled “In Conversation with Michelle Yeoh”, she will share her precious experience in acting and the film industry over the last 30 years.
Two projects for nurturing local filmmaking talent
This year, a total of 24 local young filmmakers have participated in the BFI Film Academy Project – a filmmaking training programme co-organized by IFFAM and the British Film Institute (BFI) – and produced two short films with low budget under the guidance of BFI’s filmmaking professionals. The short films, namely “Blood Bound” and “Clarity”, will be screened for public admission on 10th December.
The 2nd IFFAM also 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. The 14 film works which entered the final phase will be screened for public admission on 12th and 14th December, namely “Between the Lies”, “Ka Cha”, “Pass On”, “Grandmas”, “Ten for Perfection”, “San Va Hotel Behind the Scenes”, “My Work Place”, “A Long Fishing Journey”, “Pedaling Life”, “My Days in an Apartment”, “The Age of Hangover”, “Gin, Sake and Margarita”, “Hato’s Journey” and “Illegalist”.
For more information of the 2nd IFFAM, please visit http://iffamacao.com/en/
