by Suman Gupta
November 2019: The International Film Festival & Awards • Macao (IFFAM) will take place from 5th December (Thursday) to 10th December (Tuesday). This year’s programme features 10 big sections showcasing over 50 international films, and presents three competition sections – International Competition, New Chinese Cinema and Shorts Competition.
A brand-new section titled 20th Anniversary Macao Special Presentations will unfold in the Film Festival this year to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macao Special Administration Region. The IFFAM Organizing Committee will continue to push forward the development of Macao films, and cultural and creative industries, enhance exchange opportunities with international movies as well as unveil a wider landscape for development of cultural and artistic platforms, tourism and other fields through this edition of IFFAM.
Festival Programme Highlights
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards•Macao will be screening over 50 international films. Programmes include: Opening and Closing Ceremony, Opening Film, International Competition, Gala, Flying Daggers, World Panorama, New Chinese Cinema, Director’s Choice, Special Presentations, 20th Anniversary Macao Special Presentations, Shorts Competition, etc. The Industry Hub activities and Masterclass will also be held during the 6-day festival period.
Opening, Closing and Award Ceremony
Opening Ceremony
Date: December 5, 2019 (Thursday)
Venue: Macao Cultural Centre
Red Carpet: 5:30pm
Ceremony: 7pm
Closing and Award Ceremony
Date: December 10, 2019 (Tuesday)
Venue: Macao Cultural Centre
Red Carpet: 6:30pm
Ceremony: 8pm
Opening Film
Jojo Rabbit – 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Grolsch People’s Choice Award
Date: December 5, 2019 (Thursday)
Screening Time: 8:30pm
Venue: Macao Cultural Centre – Grand Auditorium
Closing Film
i’m livin’ it – Selected for competition for 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival
Date: December 10, 2019 (Tuesday)
Screening Time: 9pm
Venue: Macao Cultural Centre – Small Auditorium
International Competition － An international competition comprising of 10 feature films which is a showcase for first and second time filmmakers with 60,000 USD as the award winning prize
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Bellbird, by Hamish Bennett（New Zealand)
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Bombay Rose, by Gitanjali Rao（India/France/UK/Qatar）
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Buoyancy, by Rodd Rathjen（Australia）
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Family Members, by Mateo Bendesky（Argentina）
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Give Me Liberty, by Kirill Mikhanovsky（USA）
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Goldie, by Sam de Jong （USA/Netherlands）
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Homecoming, by Adriyanto Dewo（Indonesia）
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Lynn + Lucy, by Fyzal Boulifa（UK/France）
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Two Of Us, by Filippo Meneghetti （France/Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg）
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Two/One, by Juan Cabral（UK/Mainland China/Canada）
Gala －A selection of mainstream crowd-pleasing films will be screened in a series of red-carpet presentations
UK Galas
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Judy, by Rupert Goold（UK）
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A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, by Will Becher and Richard Phelan（UK）
Japan Gala
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Dance With Me, by Shinobu Yaguchi（Japan）
Flying Daggers － A non-competitive selection of films representing the latest style of genre cinema, including TIFF People’s Choice Award winner The Platform
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First Love, by Takashi Miike（Japan）
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The Lighthouse, by Robert Eggers（USA）
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The Platform, by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia（Spain）
World Panorama－ Celebrated directors and award-winning films from major international film festivals
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Balloon, by Pema Tseden（Mainland China）
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Dirty God, by Sacha Polak（Netherlands/UK/Belgium/Ireland）
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Little Joe, by Jessica Hausner（Austria/UK/Germany）
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My Zoe, by Julie Delpy（France/Germany）
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Proxima, by Alice Winocour（France/Germany）
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Saturday Fiction, by Lou Ye（Mainland China）
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The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, by Karim Aïnouz（Brazil）
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The Long Walk, by Mattie Do（Laos/Spain/Singapore）
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The Wild Goose Lake, by Diao Yinan（Mainland China）
New Chinese Cinema － A competition section of outstanding films from Chinese-speaking territories
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Better Days, by Derek Tsang（Mainland China/Hong Kong）
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Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains, by Gu Xiaogang（Mainland China）
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Lucky Grandma, by Sasie Sealy（USA）
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Over The Sea, by Sun Aoqian（Mainland China）
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To Live, To Sing by Johnny Ma（Mainland China/France）
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Wet Season, by Anthony Chen（Singapore）
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Wisdom Tooth, by Liang Ming（Mainland China）
Director’s Choice － Film classics selected by Asian and non-Asian filmmakers
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The 400 Blows （1959, François Truffaut, selected by Anthony Chen）
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Blow-Up（1966, Michelangelo Antonioni, selected by Wang Xiaoshuai）
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Tokyo Story （1953, Yasujirô Ozu, selected by Cristian Mungiu）
Special Presentations－ Screenings of films at the discretion of the Artistic Director and jury president related to special guest attendance
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A City Called Macau, by Li Shaohong（2019, Mainland China） – Starring Talent Ambassador Carina Lau
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The Captain, by Andrew Lau （2019, Mainland China）
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Dark Waters, by Todd Haynes（2019, USA） – Screening as “Hollywood Special Presentation”
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The Domain, by Tiago Guedes（2019, Portugal）
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Flowers of Shanghai, by Hou Hsiao-hsien（1998, Taiwan/Japan） – Starring Talent Ambassador Carina Lau
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A Hidden Life, by Terrence Malick（2019, Germany/USA）
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The Present, by Hur Jin-ho（2019, South Korea）– Short film starring Talent Ambassador Suho
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Red Amnesia（2014, Mainland China） – Tribute to Ambassador Wang Xiaoshuai’s achievements
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The Truth, by Hirokazu Koreeda（2109, Japan/France） – Starring Talent Ambassador Juliette Binoche
20th Anniversary Macao Special Presentations － Marks the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region
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Ina and the Blue Tiger Sauna, by António Caetano de Faria and Bernardo Rao
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Let’s Sing, by Keo Lou
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Patio of Illusion, by Chen Shangshi
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String of Sorrow, by Oliver Fa
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Years of Macao, by Tou Kim Hong, Penny Lam, Albert Chu, Emily Chan, Peeko Wong, Chao Koi Wang, Maxim Bessmertny, Ao Leong Weng Fong and António Caetano de Faria
IN FOCUS (Retrospective) – This year’s Actress IN FOCUS is Zhou Dongyu. She stars in Derek Tsang’s Better Days, which will be screening in the New Chinese Cinema section
Shorts Competition － A selection of 10 Chinese-language shorts from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao
Masterclass － Invited festival ambassador, Korean director Kim Yong-hwa and BAFTA’s special mention Lily James as speakers and interact with Macau audiences and film industry insiders
Industry Hub－ Inviting over 200 industry professionals from 28countries to participate or present in film forums from December 6-8
Awards
International Competition
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Best Film
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Best Director
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Best Actress
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Best Actor
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Best Screenplay
New Chinese Cinema
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Best Film
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Best Director
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Best Actress
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Best Actor
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Best Screenplay
Other Awards
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Best Short Film
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Macao Audience Choice Award
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Audience Choice Award for Chinese-language Films
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“Spirit of Cinema” Achievement Award
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Asian Blockbuster Film 2019
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NETPAC Award
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Variety Asian Star: Up Next Awards 2019
Ticketing － IFFAM public screening tickets are now available for purchase through the Macau Ticketing Network at http://www.macauticket.com. Tickets are also available at the screening venue from December 5-10 during the festival.
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Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/IFFAMACAO/
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Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/iffamacao/
