The International Film Festival & Awards Macao has unveiled its program and jury ahead of its 5th edition taking place digitally December 3 – 8.
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda will receive the festival’s ‘Spirit of Cinema’ award at a virtual awards ceremony taking place online December 8. The event will also screen films via a dedicated video streaming platform and host five in conversation events virtually.
Competing in the International Competition are: Viggo Mortenson’s directorial debut Falling; Love Poem which won the top prize at the FIRST International Film Festival this year; Jeonju prize-winner Black Light; Rotterdam Tiger winner The Cloud In Her Room and Cannes 2020 Label titles Limbo, Spring Blossom and Sweat.
The competition jury, which awards a $60,000 prize to the best feature, will be comprised of: filmmaker Ning Hao (president), filmmaker Mattie Do, actress Nina Hoss, director Eric Khoo, and Hong Kong Film Festival head Albert Lee.
The five in conversations will be held with: Viggo Mortensen, Hirokazu Koreeda, Hur Jin-ho, Nina Hoss, and Ning Hao.
Further programs include the World Panorama strand, featuring Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow, Venice hits Quo Vadis, Aida? from Jasmila Zbanic and Sun Children from Majid Majidi and A Balance by Yujiro Harumoto, which won the New Currents section at Busan.
The Special Presentations program will include: Chinese blockbuster My People My Homeland, French animated film Calamity directed by Remi Chayé, Japanese comedy Tonkatsu DJ Agetaro directed by Ken Ninomiya, documentary 76 Days about the struggles of frontline medical professionals battling the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, and short film A Dream Of A Lifetime about Alex Fong’s 45km swim around Hong Kong challenge in aid of the ‘A Drop of Life’ charity.
Industry event the IFFAM Project Market will take place December 3-5, presenting 14 projects for an intensive program of presentations and meetings conducted digitally. Four cash awards will be on offer.
“The unprecedented challenges of 2020 may mean that we can’t play IFFAM’s programme in theatres and we can’t welcome any international guests to Macao, but that will not stop us delivering this superb selection of 31 films to audiences in Macao and Hong Kong on our dedicated online platform,” said IFFAM Artistic Director Mike Goodridge. “The films will play on specific days, and we want to recreate at least some of the excitement of a festival experience by providing introductions from directors, juried awards, and a series of conversations with five world-class directors. We hope, of course, to be back to theatres in 2021 and, in the meantime, we are so excited to bring our virtual festival to audiences this year.”
“I am glad that, despite the worldwide pandemic, we are still providing a rich IFFAM programme of new films to Macao residents. MFTPA & Sun Entertainment have not wavered in their support for the festival this year and continue to support cultural activities in Macao,” said Alvin Chau, Chairman of Sun Entertainment Culture and backer of IFFAM.