Polina is a story about a young woman who travels to Moscow to join the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet.
The cast & crew of Polina, opening film at IFFAM 2016
The opening ceremony and opening night screening were held at the Macao Cultural Centre, one of the Festival’s key venues
Chinese-Canadian star Ludi Lin who’ll be seen next in the Power Rangers reboot
IFFAM will showcase the best of Asian and international cinema with a program of 12 Competition films, 3 Galas, Hidden Dragons (9 films representing the latest trends in contemporary Asian genre cinema), Crossfire (12 East Asian genre film directors and their chosen genre favorites), 9 award-winning feature films from major international festivals in the Best of Fest Panorama alongside the Special Presentation of 2 Clemens Klopfenstein films and 2 Jang Keun Suk short films. In addition, the Festival will hold a HollywoodSpecial Presentation. For its inaugural edition, the IFFAM has selected Taiwanese star Gwei Lun-mei as its Actress in Focus and will screen 3 of her films.
Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival
Among others, the red carpet today was attended by film stars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. Representatives from Toronto Film Festival, Far East Film Festival Edinburgh, Busan Film Festival & Rotterdam Film Festival also marked their presence and support.
South Korean songwriter and actress Jessica Jung
IFFAM aims to bring members of the local and international film community together to create opportunities for cultural, creative and business collaboration, and to introduce local audiences to a wide range of genres and styles from across the world.
Chinese actor Zhang Jin attends the red carpet. He is currently filming for Pacific Rim: Maelstorm slated to release in 2018
Earlier in the day, Jury President Shekhar Kapur confessed that being in a jury is always tough but it’s a really rewarding experience. Talking about the festival in particular he said, “IFFAM is a uniquely Asian Film Festival. I’m excited as many of the greatest stories today come from Asia.”
Competition Jury on the red carpet. From L to R – Stanley Kwan, Makiko Watanabe, Shekhar Kapur, Giovanna Fulvi, Jung Woo-Sung
India is represented by the film Gurgaon, directed by award winning cinematographer Shanker Raman which won the fiction award at the National Film Development Corporation’s Film Bazaar 2015 in Goa. It will be in competition for the best film in the festival. Gurgaon is a noir-thriller which deals with real estate and the impenetrable nature of patriarchy.
The 1st International Film Festival & AwardsÕ¢_ŠÎë_Macao runs from Thursday 8 December – Tuesday 13 December 2016. Follow Film Companion on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to stay updated with all the latest stories from IFFAM 2016 #FCatMacao
