Competition is the festival’s international competition group comprising 11 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 Ning Hao (Mainland China) will be jury president together with Jury members Mattie Do (Laos), Nina Hoss (Germany), Eric Khoo (Singapore), and Albert Lee (Hong Kong).
This category includes the following films: Back To The Wharf, by Xiaofeng Li (Mainland China), Black Light, by Bae Jongdae (Korea), The Cloud in Her Room, by Xinyuan Zheng Lu (Mainland China), Falling, by Viggo Mortensen (US/Canada/Denmark), Love Poem, by Xiaozhen Wang (Mainland China), Servants, by Ivan Ostrochovský (Czech Republic), Shorta, by Frederik Louis Hviid and Anders Ølholm (Denmark), Spring Blossom, by Suzanne Lindon (France), Sweat, by Magnus von Horn (Poland), Tragic Jungle, by Yulene Olaizola (Mexico) and Limbo, by Ben Sharrock (UK).
The shorts competition is comprised of 10 short films and the award is Best Film, voted by juries Jia Fu (Mainland China), Mathilde Henrot (France), and Johnny Ma (China/Canada). Movies included are The Cup, by Mark Chua and Li Shuen Lam (Singapore), Elephant in The Car, by Ikram Nurmehmet (Mainland China), Empty Sky, by Kun Ieong Chiang (Macau), Endless Chain of Lies, by Liknifena, Hoi Yan Lee (Hong Kong), Fencing Distance, by Hei Long Tse (Hong Kong), Fragile Moon, by Phyllis Tam (USA), Mama, by Lou Ian Io (Macau), Rose, by Derrick Lui (Singapore, Thailand), The Smoke That Blinds Us, by Yu Man Lai (Hong Kong, Japan) and Under, by Yue Jiao (Mainland China).
Flying Daggers category–a selection of films representing the latest style of genre cinema–includes Meander, by Mathieu Turi (France), The Paper Tigers, by Quoc Bao Tran (USA) and Relic, by Natalie Erika James (Australia), while at the World Panorama group will be screened films by celebrated directors and award-winning films from major international film festivals, thus including Another Round, by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark), A Balance, by Yujiro Harumoto (Japan), First Cow, by Kelly Reichardt (USA), Here We Are, by Nir Bergman (Israel), My Little Sister, by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond (Switzerland), Never Gonna Snow Again, by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert (Poland), Nowhere Special, by Uberto Pasolini (UK), Quo Vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnia), Summer Of 85, by François Ozon (France), Sun Children, by Majid Majidi (Iran) and Under The Open Sky, by Miwa Nishikawa (Japan).
Special Presentations include 76 Days, by Weixi Chen, Hao Wu (Mainland China/USA), Calamity, by Rémi Chayé (France), A Dream Of A Lifetime, by Ricky Hayashi & Yoshi Hon (Hong Kong), My People, My Homeland (Mainland China) comprising five segments: A Mystery of UFO, by Chen Sicheng, The Way Back to Hometown, by Chao Deng, Baimei Yu, A Beijing Good Person, by Ning Hao, The Magical Touches, by Da-Mo Peng, Fei Yan, The Last Class, by Xu Zheng, Narcissus Off Duty, by Ricardo Calil and Renato Terra (Brazil), and Tonkatsu DJ Age-taro, by Ken Ninomiya (Japan).
In Conversations takes place with internationally renowned filmmakers and actors, available for free and online. Invited personalities are director, producer and writer from China, Ning Hao, German actress, Nina Hoss, but also South Korean director, Hur Jin-ho and actor and director, Viggo Mortensen.
The International Film Festival & Awards．Macao (IFFAM) was first launched in 2016, jointly organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office and the Macau Films & Television Productions and Culture Association; the film festival is held in Macau annually in December for a duration of approximately one week, to introduce world-class exchange opportunities to local cultural and creative industry professionals and to further raise Macau’s international profile.
When: Thursday–Tuesday, December 3–8, 2020
Where: Macao Cultural Centre, Avenida Xian Xing Hai s/n, NAPE, Macau
How much: TBA
For more information, check the event’s official website
Also read: Famous Films Shot in Macau
