MACAO HOSTS 2ND-ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

  NEW YORK, NY - 12/05/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

The second-annual International Film Festival & Awards: Macao (IFFAM) will take place December 8-14, 2017 in Macao, China. Sponsored by the Macao Government Tourism Office among other notable partners, the festival strives to excite both local and international guests alike, showcasing Macao as a destination where Chinese and Asian industries meet to explore the best of new films from Asia and beyond. 

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. We aspire to tailor a high-quality program 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.” 

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 Hugh Grant in this sequel of the widely acclaimed movie “Paddington” (2014), based on the well-loved character in the United Kingdom – Paddington the Bear.

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), “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). 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 the 74th 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 Shekhar Kapur (India), Im Sang Soo (Korea), Penek Ratanaruang (Thailand), Martin Koolhoven (Netherland), Guillermo Del Toro (Mexico) and Ivan Sen (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”.

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 the Palme d'Or for his film “Entre les murs” at the 2008 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.

IFFAM features internationally-famous stars as 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 program, 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 program 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 program. 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 program 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 program 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 or at the screening venues during the Film Festival. 

For more details of the 2nd IFFAM, please visit http://iffamacao.com/en. 

About Macao, China:
A former Portuguese enclave located on the Pearl River Delta in southern China, Macao is the result of cultural exchange between Europe and China spanning over 400 years. Like Hong Kong, Macao is a Special Administration Region (SAR) of China. It is easily accessible from the US, with connecting flights into its international airport, and via Hong Kong, which is less than 40 miles away and only an hour via high-speed ferry. For more information, visit http://www.macaotourism.gov.mo.