The International Film Festival and Awards Macao unveiled the lineup for its third edition today, which runs from 8-14 December in the former Portuguese colony, turned Chinese gaming capital. This year's event will see Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage, Hong Kong superstar Aaron Kwok and South Korean rising star Lim Yoon-a assume the duties of Talent Ambassadors, with Cage also taking part in a Masterclass to be hosted by IFFAM Creative Director Mike Goodridge ahead of a screening of his latest cult hit, Mandy.
Green Book, starring Viggo Mortensen and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), will be this year's opening film, and marks a change of pace for director Peter Farrelly (There's Something About Mary). The film won the People’s Choice Award at this year's Toronto Film Festival and is accumulating considerable Oscar buzz, not least for its two lead performances. Other gala screenings include the Asian premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite, British comedy Old Boys, Aruna and her Palate from Indonesia, and Nobody Nose from Mainland China.
This year’s competition section includes eleven titles from around the world, including Ben Wheatley's Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, crackling Danish thriller The Guilty, French shocker School’s Out, and the Indian hit and Toronto Midnight Madness winner The Man Who Feels No Pain. They will be vying for a range of accolades, awarded by this year’s jury, that includes Chen Kaige (Jury President), Mabel Cheung, Paul Currie, Tillotama Shome and Danis Tanovic.
The Best in Fest panorama boasts a number of regional premieres, including Paolo Sorrentino’s sumptuous Loro, Thai award winner Manta Ray, Alfonso Cuaron’s breathtaking Roma and Jacques Audiard’s wonderful deconstructionist western, The Sisters Brothers. Among the Special Presentations are Luca Guadagnino’s audacious reimagining of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie in Mary, Queen of Scots, and local Macanese production Grand Hotel.
For the first time this year, IFFAM includes a New Chinese Cinema spotlight, featuring six unsung titles from around the region. This year’s selection includes Dear Ex and Xiao Mei from Taiwan, Fly By Night from Malaysia, as well as Baby, The Pluto Moment and Up The Mountain from the mainland. As always, the festival’s Flying Daggers sidebar highlights a number of the year’s best genre offerings. This year features Erik Matti’s BuyBust, Peter Strickland’s In Fabric, and Rahi Anil Barve’s Tumbbad; meanwhile the Directors’ Choice programme gives audiences the opportunity to see influential masterpieces including John Woo’s Hard Boiled, Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America and Yasujiro Ozu’s An Autumn Afternoon on the big screen - as selected by contemporary auteurs including Paul Schrader, Edwin and Philip Noyce.
Alongside the festival, the IFFAM Industry Hub will be hosting over 200 industry professionals for a series of forums, as well as a project pitching market, boasting exciting new projects from the region’s next generation of filmmaking talent.
For full details about this year’s lineup, screening schedule and ticketing info, visit the official IFFAM website here.