Penny-Lam_GLP_11

A new view of documentaries

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The Macau International Documentary Film Festival (MOIDF) was held in July with the aim to generate more interest in documentaries among the Macau public and create a link between Portuguese cinema and Chinese speakers.  Penny Lam, curator of the festival, believes that the Macau public still shies away from documentaries and a lot of work needs to be done in the area of promoting the genre. Altogether, 23 documentaries were featured, including a number of Portuguese films, with Lam noting the territory can be a bridge between Portuguese cinema and Chinese speakers. 
 
The stated objective of this edition of MOIDF is to interpret the pandemic and the times we live in through the films selected. In what sense?
 
Because of the pandemic, the festival didn’t take place last year but we are back this year. Documentary film festivals always want to dialogue with the city through their program. For example, this year we are living in pandemic times and so we are limited in our ability to travel to other places. We selected films with that in mind. We want films that make people reflect on how they have been living in this pandemic world. For example, there is a film called Caught in the Net from the Czech Republic, which is about teenage girls who go online and are contacted by older men who try to have sexual conversations or send them inappropriate images. The film is about why we try to connect with others through the computer and our ‘online’ behavior. That has to do with what we are experiencing during the pandemic. Another film, called Bitter Love, is about elderly people who are on a ship, isolated for two weeks, and try to do ‘speed dating’ with each other. It’s also what we are experiencing now, being isolated in confinement in a city or in a specific area, and how we are forced to talk to each other or how we deal with our loneliness, being unable to go anywhere.
 
What are some of the highlights for you from this edition of MOIDF?
 
One of the highlights is a Norwegian film called The Painter and the Thief.  We screened this at Cinema Alegria, unlike most, which were shown at Casa Garden. This movie is excellent, it has an amazing story and characters. It is a bit surreal. I think not many people in Macau have seen documentaries in a cinema, maybe they are afraid that documentaries are boring. So I think The Painter and the Thief can be a gateway for many people in Macau who are curious about documentaries, but at the same time are worried that it will be too serious and boring. There was another film, also at the Cinema Alegria, called Vitalina Varela, by the most famous Portuguese director of today, Pedro Costa. We had this section of Portuguese films because we are in Macau and we need to see more Portuguese films. This is one of the most important films from Portugal in the last ten years.  Pedro Costa is currently the most important Portuguese director and I think this is the easiest and simplest film for our audience to watch. The story is very simple and, at the same time, it’s the most beautiful of all the films he’s ever made. 
 
Can you tell us about the film that was chosen to open the festival?
 
The opening film, The Witches of the Orient is an excellent film to kick off the festival. The Olympic Games is taking place this year, and this film is about the women’s volleyball team in the 1960s. It’s a very entertaining film with lots of animation, archival footage, and also some current interviews. This is a documentary film festival, but at the same time we also try to have a young and fun festival. You don’t need to know much about documentaries. The films are interesting, so anyone can watch them without knowledge. This film represents the principles of the festival.
 
Why do you think it was important to include Portuguese films in the program of this festival?
 
When you travel around this region – Hong Kong, China, Taiwan or Japan, for example – you realize that not many people know about Portuguese cinema or are interested in Portuguese cinema. Also, since we are in Macau and know Portuguese directors, I noticed that there was a gap between us and the world. In Macau, we can create a link between Portuguese cinema and Chinese speakers. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to have a section of Portuguese films in the festival. On the other hand, there are many Portuguese people in Macau who are big fans of cinema. Sometimes, in Macau, there are sessions where the audience is almost all Portuguese and there are almost no Chinese, and vice-versa. I wondered why that happens and thought we can share the same films. I wanted a Portuguese section so I could build a bridge for the Portuguese community and the Chinese community to watch films together.
 
This is the 5th edition of MOIDF.  What changes have been made to the festival over the years? Have you noticed any differences in the interest of the Macau audience?
 
As for the audience, in the last four editions we have created a base that looks forward to the festival every year. In Macau, there are many cinephiles and film students, but they focus only on fiction. In this festival, we have documentaries, observational documentaries, but at the same time we have films that are a mixture of fiction and documentary, as in Vitalina Varela, which is a mixture of these two genres. I think we still have a lot of work to do in promoting documentaries to the Macau public. What they usually see are commercial fiction films. We still have to convince them to try documentaries.
 
Has there been an increased interest in documentaries in Macau in recent years?
 
There have been more and more interesting and cinematic documentaries. There is so much choice now. There has been a change in the world. The number of documentaries produced every year is the highest in history. This is the golden age of documentaries and that gives a lot more options to select films and to make this festival.
 
 
Bitter Love
 
Caught in the Net
 
 
The Painter and the Thief
 
Vitalina Varela
 
The Witches of the Orient
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