International Film Festival & Awards Macao coming in December

With Hollywood star Jeremy Renner, actress Miriam Yeung, Chinese action star Donnie Yen and rising South Korean star D.O. acting as its talent ambassadors and veteran director John Woo as festival ambassador, the 2nd International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) is scheduled to be held from December 8-14 in the coastal city.

Opening with the British family comedy Paddington 2, the festival will screen a total of 40 films from countries and regions around the world.

Among these picks, 10 films, all directorial debuts or a director’s second film, will take part in the Competition section.

Two Masterclasses featuring two different generations of Hong Kong directors, Woo and Pang Ho-cheung, as keynote speakers are two major events.

Woo's class was held on Saturday as a pre-event for the festival. During the class, Woo, who has worked in the film industry for more than 50 years, shared his experiences making films for different markets with young filmmakers at the Macao Polytechnic Institute.

For Pang's class, which is scheduled for December 9, he will cover dialogue in film.

“IFFAM is such a young and vibrant film festival brimming with new possibilities and potential,” Senna Fernandes, president of the IFFAM Organizing Committee, said at a press conference on November 3.

She added that “we aspire to tailor a high-quality program fueled by fresh new elements to fascinate our audience, as we strive for the vision to forge IFFAM into a prestigious global brand.”