Editor

The International Film Festival & Awards • Macao (IFFAM) today announced its programme at a press conference in Macao, officiated by Carina Lau, the Hong Kong star who will attend as Talent Ambassador for the 4^th edition of the festival.

Opening with the gala premiere of Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit on Thursday 5 December IFFAM will run until Tuesday 10 December.

Continuing to showcase the best of Asian and international cinema the programme includes 10 films in International Competition including Bombay Rose which opened Critics Week at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and Buoyancy which won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury during Berlinale.

The competition jury, who will award a $60,000 USD prize to the best feature, comprises of:

• Peter Chan Ho-sun - Director, Producer, Screenwriter (Mainland China) (Jury President)
• Ellen Eliasoph – President, CEO, Producer VREGA (USA)
• Dian Sastrowardoyo – Actress (Indonesia)
• Midi Z – Director (Myanmar)
• Tom Cullen – Actor (UK)

Highlights from the New Chinese Cinema competition strand which features outstanding films from Chinese speaking territories include Xiaogang Gu’s Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains selected for Cannes Critic’s Week and Johnny Ma’s To Live To Sing selected for Cannes Director’s Fortnight.

The New Chinese Cinema jury will comprise of:

• Cristian Mungiu – Producer (Romania) (Jury Chair)
• Noah Cowan – former Executive Director of SFFILM (Canada/US)
• Kirsten Tan – Director/Writer (Singapore)
• Tricia Tuttle – BFI London Film Festival Director (UK)
• Qiu Yang – Director/Writer/Cinematographer (China)

The World Panorama strand films by celebrated directors including The Invisible Life Of Eurídice Gusmão winner of Un Certain Regard; Little Joe for which Emily Beecham won Best Actress in Cannes, and Proxima for which director Alice Winocour won Special Prize of the Jury at San Sebastián.

The programme will include Special Presentations in the presence of their stars or director including Carina Lau, Kim Jun-myeon (Suho) and Wang Xiaoshuai, and five films as 20th Anniversary Macao Special Presentations to mark the anniversary celebrations.

Galas include two films from the UK, the latest animation from Aardman Shaun The Sheep 2: Farmageddon and Judy about showbiz legend Judy Garland, and Dance With Me as the Japan Gala.

Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Director and President of Organizing Committee of IFFAM emphasized that the Organizing Committee will continue to push forward the development of Macao’s film, 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. With the experience from the last three editions, the Organizing Committee will progressively shape IFFAM into a mega event established with its own orientation, unique characteristics and special elements of Macao. Over the years, the IFFAM teams have made unreserved efforts in delivering the best. In terms of film selection, two of the films screened in the past two editions of the Film Festival have garnered the Oscars for Best Picture in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The Committee hopes to cultivate a more profound level of appreciation towards international films among audiences in Macao by bringing together Chinese and Western movies of remarkable quality.

Mike Goodridge, Artistic Director of the IFFAM, states “I am very happy how our programme has come together this year, and I can’t wait for the audiences of Macao to sample the many cinematic pleasures on offer. From our delightful opening film JoJo Rabbit to our wonderful international competition and our newly expanded New Chinese Cinema competition, we have a treasure trove of films to offer. Our programming team has been working non-stop all year round to select these titles and about 50 films we are showing will bring a host of film-makers and special guests to present them. I am especially pleased that there are five new Macao features in the programme in this special anniversary year."

Talent Ambassadors and Ambassadors

Joining Carina Lau as Talent Ambassador is South Korean-Chinese K-pop mega-group EXO’s Kim Junmyeon (SUHO), writer/director and fellow South Korean Kim Yong-Hwa, Indian director/producer Karan Johar, and director from Mainland China Wang Xiaoshuai as IFFAM Ambassadors, reflecting the festival’s ambition to bring together local and international industry professionals.

The IFFAM Industry Hub will also be held during the festival between 6 and 8 December.

Tickets to films across all sections at The International Film Festival & Awards • Macao will be available for purchase through the Macau Ticketing Network from 6^th November 2019. Tickets are also available at the screening venue from 5^th – 10^th December 2019 during the festival.

IFFAM FILM PROGRAMME

The 4th International Film Festival & Awards • Macao Opening Ceremony will be on Thursday 5 December and IFFAM will run until Tuesday 10 December when the Awards Ceremony will take place.

Opening Film

• Jojo Rabbit, by Taika Waititi (Germany/US)

Competition – An international competition comprising 10 feature films, which is a showcase for first- and second-time filmmakers. A jury of five film personalities will appraise and award the best film works. Chinese film director, producer and screenwriter Peter Chan Ho-sun will be Jury President together with Jury members Ellen Eliasoph (USA), Dian Sastrowardoyo (Indonesia), Midi Z (Myanmar) and Tom Cullen (UK).

• Bellbird, by Hamish Bennett (New Zealand)
• Bombay Rose, by Gitanjali Rao (India/France/UK/Qatar) 
• Buoyancy, by Rodd Rathjen (Australia) 
• Two Of Us, by Filippo Meneghetti (France/Belgium/Netherland/Luxembourg) 
• Give Me Liberty, by Kirill Mikhanovsky (US) 
• Goldie, by Sam de Jong (US) 
• Lynn + Lucy, by Fyzal Boulifa (UK/France) 
• Two/One, by Juan Cabral (UK/Mainland China/Canada) 
• Homecoming, by Adriyanto Dewo (Indonesia) 
• Family Members, by Mateo Bendesky (Argentina) 

Galas – A selection of mainstream crowd-pleasing films will be screened in a series of red-carpet presentations.

UK Galas

• Shaun The Sheep 2: Farmageddon, by Will Becher and Richard Phelan (UK) 
• Judy, by Rupert Goold (UK) 

Japan Gala

• Dance With Me, by Shinobu Yaguchi (Japan) 

Flying Daggers – A selection of films representing the latest style of genre cinema, including TIFF People's Choice Award winner The Platform.

• First Love, by Takashi Miike (Japan) 
• The Platform, by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia (Spain) 
• The Lighthouse, by Robert Eggers (USA) 

World Panorama – Celebrated directors and award-winning films from major international film festivals.

• Dirty God, by Sacha Polak (Netherlands/UK/Belgium/Ireland)
• The Invisible Life Of Eurídice Gusmão, by Karim Aïnouz (Brazil/Germany) 
• The Long Walk, by Mattie Do (Laos/Spain/Singapore) 
• Proxima, by Alice Winocour (France/Germany) 
• Little Joe, by Jessica Hausner (Austria/UK/Germany)  
• My Zoe, by Julie Delpy (France/Germany) 
• Saturday Fiction, by Ye Lou (Mainland China) 
• Dark Waters, by Todd Haynes (USA) (TBC)
• The Wild Goose Lake, by Yi'nan Diao (Mainland China)
• Balloon, by Pema Tseden (Mainland China)

New Chinese Cinema – A competitive section of outstanding films from Chinese speaking territories. Film producer Cristian Mungiu will be Jury Chairperson alongside Jury members Noah Cowan (Canada), Kirsten Tan (Singapore), Tricia Tuttle (UK), Qiu Yang (China).

• Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains, by Xiaogang Gu (Mainland China) 
• Lucky Grandma, by Sasie Sealy (USA) 
• Wet Season, by Anthony Chen (Singapore) 
• To Live To Sing, by Johnny Ma (Mainland China/France) 
• Wisdom Tooth, by Liang Ming (Mainland China) 
• Better Days, by Derek Tsang (Mainland China)

Directors’ Choices – Classic films selected by Asian filmmaker, Anthony Chen (Singapore) and non-Asian filmmaker – Cristian Mungiu (Romania).

• Tokyo Story (1953, Yasujirô Ozu, selected by Cristian Mungiu)
• The 400 Blows (1959, François Truffaut, selected by Anthony Chen)

Special Presentations

20th Anniversary Macao Special Presentations

• Years of Macao, by Tou Kim Hong; Penny Lam; Albert Chu; Emily Chan; Peeko Wong; Chao Koi Wang; Maxim Bessmertny; Ao Ieong Weng Fong; António Caetano de Faria
• Ina and the Blue Tiger Sauna, by António Caetano de Faria and Bernardo Rao
• Let's Sing, by Keo Lou
• Patio of Illusion, by Shangshi Chen
• String Of Sorrow, by Oliver Fa

Special Presentations

• A City Called Macau, by Shaohong Li (China)
• Red Amnesia (2014, China) A Tribute to Director Wang Xiaoshuai
• The Truth, by Hirokazu Koreeda (Japan/France) 
• The Present, by Hur-Jin-ho (Korea)

Masterclass

• Kim Yong-Hwa Masterclass

For more information, please visit the official website: http://www.iffamacao.com

Press contacts:

For all international press enquiries please contact the Premier team at:

+44 20 7292 8330

MacaoForeignPress@premiercomms.com

Notes to editors:

Organising Committee

The 4^th IFFAM Organizing Committee comprises governmental representatives, film professionals and others. Macao Government Tourism Office Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes is President, while President of Cultural Affairs Bureau Mok Ian Ian, President of Management Committee of Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau José Tavares and President of Macau Films & Television Productions and Culture Association Alvin Chau are the Executive Vice Presidents of the IFFAM Organizing Committee.

The 4th IFFAM is supported by various sectors, including Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Galaxy Entertainment Group, MGM, Sands China Ltd and Wynn Resorts (Macau) S.A. as Premium Sponsors; Suncity Group as Special Sponsor; David Group as Bronze Sponsor; Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Center as Venue Sponsor; TurboJET as Official Carrier; BMW Concessionaires (Macau) Ltd. as Official Vehicle Partner; Vitasoy (Macau) Ltd. as Official Beverage Sponsor; CTM as Official Telecom; Macau Ticketing titled as Official Ticketing. Prince Seafood Restaurant, Rainbow Group Macau and EeiiFlorist titled as Sponsors. TDM-Teledifusão de Macau, EXMOO, Cable Tv Limited and FOX Networks Group, Variety and Screen titled as Media Partners. MOME Limited titled as Official Digital Marketing. Sun Entertainment Culture and The GREAT Britain Campaign led by the British Consulate-General Hong Kong titled as Industry Partners.

International Advisory Board

Wang Ye, deputy managing director of the Shanghai International Film & TV Festivals (SIFF) and Shen Yang an independent film producer and curator and founder of “Asian New Talent Award”, “SIFF Project” and “Student Shorts Award” sections at SIFF have joined the International Advisory Board which also includes Indian critic and Mumbai Film Festival’s director Anupama Chopra; the eminent producer Peter Loehr; the veteran Asia-Pacific based producer Michael J. Werner; Korean producer Oh Jung-wan; renowned producer Luís Urbano, producer and current chairman of the Producers’ Committee at UniFrance Philippe Carcassonne.

International Professional Team

The International Professional Team for IFFAM includes Artistic Director, Head of Festival Management, Ambassadors, International Advisory Board, Head of Industry as well as Programming Consultants. Mike Goodridge and Lorna Tee are Artistic Director and Head of Festival Management respectively.

The team of International Consultants in charge of film selection include Giovanna Fulvi for Mainland China, Hong Kong and the Taiwan Region; Violeta Bava for Latin America, Spain and Portugal; Fionnuala Halligan for Europe, Russia, Israel and Australia/New Zealand and Hiromi Aihara for Japan; Maxine Leonard is the consultant for US-related affairs; June Wu will also return as the Head of Industry.

Ambassadors

For 2019, the IFFAM ambassadors will include South Korean writer/director Kim Yong-Hwa, Indian director/producer Karan Johar, and director Wang Xiaoshuai from Mainland China.