Macao – The International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) announced the appointment of Hong Kong based star Aaron Kwok as the first of this year’s Talent Ambassadors for the 3rd edition of the festival, which will take place from 8 to 14 December 2018. Additional Talent Ambassadors will be announced in the coming months.
Internationally recognized actor, singer and dancer Aaron Kwok will represent the ‘East-meets-West’ culture of the IFFAM and its bringing together of local and international industry professionals.
Mike Goodridge, Artistic Director of the IFFAM, comments “We are so thrilled that the brilliant Aaron Kwok will be coming to Macao this year. He is a star of many talents and a great actor to boot.”
Aaron Kwok comments “It’s my honour to be part of the much-anticipated festival which offers substantial support to emerging directors as a platform with comprehensive resources under the auspices of the Macao government. Their staunch support helps put the festival on the map for a wider audience across the globe while grooming new talent, such as directors, screenwriters and emerging filmmakers, which makes the greatest difference. These are the values of the festival which distinguishes us from the others. And as an ambassador I’d like to invite more cinephiles, emerging filmmakers and aspirants to participate in the festival.”
As previously announced, Chen Kaige will serve as International Competition Jury President, judging a program dedicated exclusively to films by first and second time film makers, including an award of 60,000 USD for best feature.
As part of their year-round support of the Macanese film industry and development of Macao as a destination for international film productions, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) supported local film director Tracy Choi to attend the 71st Cannes Film Festival. Choi won the Audience Award at the inaugural IFFAM with her movie Sisterhood and was brought to Cannes as part of the China New Force event, which also included a screening of Sisterhood at the La Filmothèque du Quartier Latin in Paris.
China New Force is organized by Movie View and was initiated by Chinese actor, director and filmmaker Xu Zheng. A recommendation committee formed by around 100 respected film critics selected 10 outstanding movies directed by young filmmakers of Chinese-language cinema. Sisterhood was awarded the Jury Prize at the “Beijing Night” Beijing International Film Festival Promotion & 2nd China New Force Award Ceremony in Cannes.
Choi also took part in a wide range of panels and events during her trip to Cannes, exchanging ideas with international industry professionals and showcasing Macao as an ideal backdrop for films. Choi and MGTO representative Sue Whitehead took part in the “Meet Macao by Her Culture Treasure” panel at the China Pavilion on 14th May, highlighting Macao as a film location and cultural tourist destination. Through numerous scenes of films shot in Macao, including Hollywood movie Now You See Me 2 and Hong Kong movies Isabella and Casino Tycoon II among others, MGTO promoted a range of outdoor filming locations in the city, while Choi shared her experiences filming in her hometown.
2018 IFFAM Programme Highlights
Bringing A New Avenue to The World of Films, the IFFAM programme will comprise of the following strands:
- Competition – An international competition comprising a maximum of twelve feature filmswhich is a showcase for first and second time film-makers with 60,000 USD as the award winning prize.
- Gala – mainstream crowd pleasing films will be presented, comprising a maximum of six films
- Flying Daggers – A non-competitive selection of international genre films
- Best of Fest Panorama –A non-competitive selection of films from other major international film festivals of the year
- New Chinese Cinema –A showcase of four to six films representing the programming team’s choice of the best of Chinese language cinema first screened in 2018.
- Director’s Choice (Retrospective) – A non-competitive selection of six classic genre films, selected by six well-known directors; three films from Asia selected by non-Asian directors and three films from the world outside Asia selected by Asian directors
- In Focus (Retrospective) – A celebration of one or two specific outstanding talents to be invited among directors, actors, actresses, writers, directors of photography, production designers, producers, composers, editors etc with screenings of their films and on-stage interviews
- Special Presentations – Screenings of films at the discretion of the Artistic director and jury president related to special guest attendance and lifetime achievement honorees
- For All the Family – A small collection of one to three films which will appeal to a wide family audience.
The IFFAM Industry Hub and Masterclasses will also be held during the event.