Taika Waititi's highly-acclaimed anti-war satire Jojo Rabbit will be the Opening Film of the 4th International Film Festival and Awards Macao, which is set to take place from 5-10 December. The winner of the Grolsch People's Choice Award at this year's Toronto International Film Festival boasts an all-star cast, including Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Roman Griffin Davis as an impressionable 10-year-old during World War II, whose imaginary best friend is Adolf Hitler (as played by the director).
The full lineup of next month’s festival was unveiled today, at a ceremony officiated by Hong Kong actress Carina Lau, one of this year’s talent ambassadors. The programme boasts an impressive selection of gala premieres and genre favourites, including Robert Eggers’ Melvillian nightmare The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, Hirokazu Koreeda’s foreign-language debut The Truth, with Ethan Hawke and Juliette Binoche, Toronto Midnight Madness winner The Platform from Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, and Takashi Miike’s riotous return to form, First Love.
This year’s international competition showcases new works from 10 first or second-time filmmakers, including Bombay Rose, by Gitanajali Rao, Buoyancy, by Rodd Rathjen, Homecoming, by Adriyanto Dewo, and Two Of Us, by Filippo Meneghetti. 2019 also sees the launch of the New Chinese Cinema competition, featuring half a dozen outstanding films from Chinese-speaking territories, including Derek Tsang’s blockbuster Better Days, Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, and Sasie Sealy’s Lucky Grandma.
Gala screenings will be staged for Aardman Animation’s hotly anticipated animated sequel Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon, as well as the Renee Zellweger starrer Judy, and Shinobu Yugachi’s Dance With Me. In addition, the World Panorama section includes such international highlights as Sacha Polak’s Dirty God, Jessica Hausner’s Little Joe, Mattie Do’s The Long Walk, and Diao Yinan’s The Wild Goose Lake.
Close to 50 films will be screened in total, including a selection of local productions in recognition of the 20th anniversary of Macau’s handover from Portuguese rule, back to China, and the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
The 6-day event also includes a short-film competition, retrospective screenings handpicked by some of this year’s visiting filmmakers, as well as an industry hub and project pitching market.
For more information about this year’s festival, visit the official website here.