The International Star of Year – Donnie Yen
The Awards Ceremony of the 2nd International Film Festival & Awards．Macao (“IFFAM” or the “Film Festival”) was staged at the Macao Cultural Centre at 8:00 p.m. tonight (14th December) with the presence of around 800 guests including internationally-acclaimed film directors, movie stars and industry professionals from around the world. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, Alexis Tam; Director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; two of the 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; Acting President of Cultural Affairs Bureau and Vice President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Kent Ieong Chi Kin; Talent Ambassador Donnie Yen; Artistic Director of IFFAM, Mike Goodridge; Jury President of IFFAM, Laurent Cantet, as well as Jury members of IFFAM, Joan Chen, Jessica Hausner, Lawrence Osborne and Royston Tan were present at the Awards Ceremony, with famed Hong Kong artists Lawrence Cheng and Astrid Chan being the host of the night.
President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, delivered her remarks at the Awards Ceremony, “After an enchanting seven-day cinematic journey, it is about time for us to draw the curtain on the 2nd International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao. From the start of coordination to the midst of the event, we have done our best to shape every section into profound and rewarding experiences, with our strong commitment to help young filmmakers to venture into the global film industry and reach new heights. Not only that, we have created an exchange platform for industry professionals from across the world, and tailor-made a training program for filmmaking aspirers to broaden their international perspectives, with our goal to foster cultural and creative industry development and immerse local audiences into a new depth of appreciation for international films.”
Winners of Competition section unveiled
The Competition section spotlights first and second-time feature film directors this year, pitting 10 selected films against each other including “Beast” (United Kingdom), “The Cakemaker” (Israel/Germany), “Custody” (France), “Foxtrot” (Israel/Germany/France/Switzerland), “The Hungry” (United Kingdom/India), “Borg McEnroe” (Sweden/Denmark/Finland), “Hunting Season” (Argentina/United States/France/Germany/Qatar), “My Pure Land” (United Kingdom), “Three Peaks” (Germany/Italy) and “Wrath of Silence” (China). There are a total of eight accolades and the Macao Audience Choice Award presented to the film voted by the local audiences.
Best Film: “Hunting Season” (presented by Actress in Focus – Michelle Yeoh and Jury President of IFFAM, Laurent Cantet)
Jury Prize: “Wrath of Silence” (presented by IFFAM Jury members Royston Tan and Joan Chen)
Best Director: Xavier Legrand “Custody” (presented by IFFAM Jury member Jessica Hausner and director Martin Koolhoven)
Best Actor: Song Yang “Wrath of Silence” (presented by Best Leading Actress of Golden Horse Awards 2017, Kara Wai)
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley “Beast” (presented by Talent Ambassador Donnie Yen)
Award for Best Technical Contribution: Benjamin Kračun, Director of Photography of “Beast” (presented by Artistic Director of IFFAM, Mike Goodridge, and director Pen-ek Ratanaruang)
Award for Best Screenplay: Samuel Maoz, Writer-Director of “Foxtrot” (presented by IFFAM Jury member Lawrence Osborne and actor Joe Cole)
Award for Best New Young Actor: Thomas Gioria “Custody” (presented by celebrity couple, Mainland actor Du Jiang and actress Huo Siyan)
Macao Audience Choice Award: “Borg McEnroe” (presented by four Premium Sponsors and Suncity Group)
Besides the above awards in the Competition section, an array of other accolades was presented at the Awards Ceremony to commend prominent films and filmmakers for their achievements. Internationally-famous action star and Talent Ambassador Donnie Yen was entitled the International Star of Year (presented by Festival Ambassador Shekhar Kapur), while Udo Keir, who starred in “Brawl in Cell Block 99” – one of the films in Flying Daggers – was honored with the Career Achievement Award (presented by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, Alexis Tam). In addition, the NETPAC Award went to “Angels Wear White”, chosen by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) (presented by the jury members Clare Stewart, Hassan Muthalib and Johnny Ma). The IFFAM Organizing Committee and Variety Magazine – an influential film and TV magazine in the United States – jointly conferred the Asian Blockbuster Film 2017 on “Wolf Warrior II” (presented by President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, and Asia Editor of Variety Magazine, Patrick Frater), while the Variety Asian Stars: Up Next Award went to seven actors and actresses as follows: Celina Jade (Mainland China/Hong Kong/United States), Ludi Lin (Mainland China/United States), Piolo Pascual (Philippines), Rajkummar Rao (India), Shioli Kutsuna (Japan), Chutimon Cheungcharoensukying (Thailand) and An Seo Hyun (Korea) (presented by Executive Vice President of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, Alvin Chau, and Asia Editor of Variety Magazine, Patrick Frater).
Among the 14 new film projects lined up by the IFFAM Project Market held days ago, a jury panel of three film professionals selected three most outstanding film projects to be recognized at the IFFAM Project Market Awards Ceremony on 11th December. The three awarded film projects are “The Girl With No Head”, “Mihara” and “The Last Savage”.
This edition of the Film Festival was held for seven consecutive days from 8th to 14th December. The IFFAM Organizing Committee and professional teams have selected a spectrum of remarkable films from worldwide for the audiences. What’s more, IFFAM has forged the Industry Hub for industry professionals from around the world and organized an educational filmmaking project to cultivate the next generation of local filmmakers. By rolling out different tourism and cultural products and events, the Macao SAR Government endeavors to drive the sustainable development of the tourism industry and the cultural and creative industries in the long term, fueling the city’s endeavor to become a world centre of tourism and leisure.
For more information of the 2nd IFFAM, please visit http://iffamacao.com/en/.
