Eight aspiring Asian directors will each receive a grant of HK$300,000 (US$38,000) from the Asian Film Awards Academy, which they can use to fund their short film project, backer Sands China said in a press release.
The recipients were part of a group of 16 filmmakers who were participating in an International Film Camp that was held in Sands China between 9 and 13 April. At the end of the camp, each participant had the opportunity to pitch their short film project based on the theme of “My Hometown” to a panel of judges, with half of them receiving funding.
One of the recipients is Macao-born, Taiwan-based director Galilee Ma, whose project will be a 20 minute magic realism film called Pop It. According to the project’s blurb, it will be a family story involving different generations, in which “a young girl’s search for her lost heart [leads] to encounters with history.”
[See more: Seasoned pros and budding directors will gather for a film camp next month]
The other seven directors selected for funding were Song Dongxu, Lee Chak Hang, Lkhagvadulam Purev-ochir, Chen Yun, To Chun Him, Lan Tian and Ines Sothea. The awards were announced during the International Film Camp’s closing ceremony, which took place yesterday night at the Londoner.
Mentors at the film camp included renowned film festival director, producer, and writer Roger Garcia, Hong Kong director and screenwriter Mabel Cheung, Singaporean director and screenwriter Anthony Chen, as well as emerging Macao directors Tracy Choi and Hong Heng Fai.
Dr. Wilfred Wong, executive vice chairman of Sands China, said the camp was “a significant milestone for the development of the Macao film industry,” and highlighted the “exceptional film talent from various Asian regions” that converged in the city for the camp, “providing guidance and inspiration for the future leaders of the film industry.”
