Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige has agreed to serve as international jury president at the third edition of the International Film Festival & Awards – Macao later this year, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Kaige, who is famously the only Chinese filmmaker to have won the Cannes Palme d’Or, is a leading figure in what is sometimes termed the “fifth generation” of Chinese cinema.
He will lead the judging panel for the festival’s main competition segment, dedicated to first- and second-time filmmakers.
IFFAM festival director Mike Goodridge told the film and television media outlet that it was a “great honour” to welcome Kaige as international jury president.
“That he has agreed to be our jury president this year is a great honour to our festival,” he said. “With a 35-year filmography spanning Yellow Earth (1984) to last year’s dizzyingly spectacular Legend of the Demon Cat, he pioneered a new era in Chinese cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, yet continues to challenge himself today with the same energy, ambition and command of the medium across many different genres.”
Citing further comments of Goodridge, the Hollywood Reporter noted that there will be several new additions to the festival this year, including a showcase called “New Chinese Cinema” that will feature selections of Chinese-language cinema from 2018.
According to the Macau Daily Times, another new element will be a “For All the Family” segment, screening family film favourites from around the world.
Meanwhile, many of the popular segments from previous years are also set to return this year. Among them is Flying Daggers – a selection of international genre films – the Best of Fest Panorama, the Director’s Choice Retrospective (in which international directors select some of their favorite classic genre films), and the usual array of special presentations and career achievement awards.
The third edition of the film festival is due to be held in Macau between December 8 and 14.
