The inaugural Macao International Shorts Film Festival is scheduled to take place between 23 to 30 March
Confusingly, the event is unrelated to the Macau International Short Film Festival, which held its 14th iteration in December last year and is organised annually by the Institute of European Studies of Macau in conjunction with the Creative Macau Center for Creative Industries.
The newer festival bears exactly the same initials but attempts to distinguish itself from its more established counterpart with a different spelling for Macao and the plural form “shorts.”
Leong Wai Man – the head of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (commonly referred to by its Portuguese initials IC) – said the new event is intended to be an “exchange and exhibition platform” that allows Macao film and TV to be showcased to a worldwide audience.
[See more: In conversation with film veteran Marco Müller]
She was speaking at a press conference held yesterday afternoon.
There will be four types of screenings during the March festival, which is jointly organised by the IC and Galaxy Entertainment Group. They are Macao Short Film, New Voices from the Horizon, Filmmaker in Focus and Special Screenings, with the former two being competitive sections and the latter two being non-competitive programmes.
Screenings are scheduled to be held at the Cinematheque Passion and Galaxy Cinema from 23 March onwards.
During the press conference, the IC president was asked about the potential overlap between the two international short (or shorts) film festivals. She said the government-organised event would be a different “jumping-off place” with more focus on local talent and opportunities for exchanges with international filmmakers.
