Ning Hao’s film “The Movie Emperor” has been selected as the opening film for the first edition of the Asia-Europe Young Cinema Film Festival in Macau. On the other hand, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s “12th Fail” will serve as the closing film for the festival. The event features two main sections, including masterclasses and screenings for young directors, film students, and local audiences, as well as a Works-in-Progress (WiP) Lab for industry professionals.
The festival will host masterclasses conducted by renowned international filmmakers, including several from the Chinese-speaking world, such as Ning Hao, Li Dongmei, Johnnie To, Yon Fan, and Lee Hong-chi. In addition, esteemed filmmakers like Ryosuke Hamaguchi, Shinya Tsukamoto, Aleksey German Jr, Gabriel Menetti, Anurag Kashyap, Lav Diaz, and Amir Naderi will also share their expertise with attendees. The China Film Directors Association is actively involved in the event, bringing a group of emerging Chinese directors from its Green Onion Project.
The primary aim of the festival and its masterclasses is to connect young Chinese filmmakers with international audiences and the global market. Macau has been chosen as the ideal location for this initiative, as it acts as a bridge between filmmakers from Chinese-language territories and the international film community. Festival programmers and sales agents are enthusiastic about participating, highlighting the importance of the festival in establishing these connections.
The screening program at the festival will feature a mix of recent films and restored classics. Screenings will take place at Emperor Group’s new cinema in Macau’s Cotai district, housed within the Lisboeta shopping mall. Some of the recent festival films to be screened include Mama by Li Dongmei, Love Is A Gun by Lee Hong-chi, Youth by Wang Bing, No 7 Cherry Lane by Yon Fan, Kennedy by Anurag Kashyap, Essential Truths Of The Lake by Lav Diaz, and Air by Aleksey German Jr. The classic film selection includes Bugis Street (1995) by Yon Fan, Tiexi District: West Of The Tracks (2003) by Wang Bing, and The Experience (1973) by Abbas Kiarostami, co-scripted by Amir Naderi.
Furthermore, various films by Ryosuke Hamaguchi and Shinya Tsukamoto will be screened as part of the program. Noteworthy titles by Hamaguchi include Passion (2008), Happy Hour (2015), Asako I & II (2018), Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy (2021), Drive My Car (2021), and Evil Does Not Exist (2023). Tsukamoto’s films, including Fires On The Plain (2014), Killing (2018), and Shadow Of Fire (2023), will also be showcased.
The festival’s WiP Lab is a platform where 11 projects from mainland Chinese filmmakers and four Chinese-language international projects will be presented to festival programmers and sales agents. The selected films will be screened in Zhuhai, a city near the mainland China border, without the need for an export permit. This allows the unfinished films to be shown in their entirety. The WiP Lab aims to provide a networking opportunity for filmmakers and industry professionals, with confirmed attendees from festivals such as Rotterdam, Berlin, Cannes, Tokyo, and Busan, as well as sales agents like Loco Films, Edko Films, Fortissimo, Rediance, and Parallax.
A jury consisting of five film professionals will award post-production service prizes to the winning films. The jury members include producers Jeremy Chua and Wang Yang, scriptwriter Wang Yixin, production and sales executive Esther Yeung, and Mumbai film festival artistic director Deepti Dcunha. This format allows emerging filmmakers to gain valuable support for their projects and further develop their works.
According to Marco Mueller, artistic director of the festival, this year’s edition is considered a soft launch. The festival organizers view it as an opportunity to gauge the audience’s reception and adapt accordingly. As Macau continues to evolve and change rapidly, they aim to learn how to cooperate with the new Macau and identify the festival’s target audience.
The Asia-Europe Young Cinema Film Festival in Macau is set to kick off with Ning Hao’s “The Movie Emperor” as the opening film. The festival offers masterclasses by renowned international filmmakers, screenings of recent films and classic works, and an exclusive platform for works-in-progress. With the active involvement of the China Film Directors Association and the support of industry professionals from around the world, the festival aims to connect young Chinese filmmakers with international audiences and the global film market.