“We’ve worked like crazy for the success of the festival”

Marco Müller – What happened is what has been confirmed by all the official sources: months and months of divergence of opinions about, not just on how any festival should be done, but how an inaugural festival should be done. An inaugural festival has to prove that it’s been done for the films – for the filmmakers, for the people who take care of the films, the distributors, the sales agents, and the people who go to see the films, the general public, the sophisticated viewers. This has to be very clear, it cannot be just an event. You need the red carpet and I’ve tried to push so a lot of films could be honored with a red carpet, but it cannot just be the red carpet. That’s why everything happened.

The divergence of opinions between you and the organizing committee was unbearable and that’s why you’ve decided to resign?

I cannot go any further than saying that it was a divergence of opinions, but there’s something I can tell you: I find it quite shocking that during the press conference, the officials who first called me a friend, then without even sending me a letter, they say that they are considering legal action against me. This is completely surprising. They don’t let me or my lawyers know and announce it publicly at a press conference?

Have you informed your lawyers about this statement and this possibility?

I did and they told me this is unheard of. No one does that.

Another thing MTFPA stated was that the terms of your contract have been breached.

It would be fun to see how could they prove that. We’ve worked like crazy for the success of the festival, we’ve worked with passion for a programme that it’s actually very strong. It would be very interesting to see how could they accuse me of breaching the contract. That’s a joke. We’ve worked with passion and the programme is there to prove it. We have seven world premieres and apart from some of the side events, everything in the festival is a world, international or Asian premiere. I’m not trying to be presumptuous, but there are not many first editions of a festival that have so many world and international premieres. With this kind of result, who would be able to say that? A festival programme is not like going to a supermarket and saying ‘I would like a little of this and a little of that’. It takes weeks, if not months to convince people who have invested 30, 40, 50 million dollars in a movie and who have to sell and distribute that film, to let you have a premiere. They can say whatever they like, the programme is there to prove the level of passion and dedication we’ve put in to this first edition.

What are you intending to do regarding a possible legal action?

My lawyers are waiting to see if they’re going to file any legal action. We don’t have problem on our side. It would be completely ridiculous, because everybody working on the festival knows how much we’ve worked. The hardest thing is that they’re not just forcing me to leave, they’re forcing the whole programme team. It’s an absurd situation. I’ve sent my letter of resignation for just cause, not only a letter of resignation but for just cause, and I had to spend two days convincing producers and directors to participate in the festival, because the first thing they did when they’ve received my letter was to send out emails everywhere saying ‘He’s leaving and the festival is continuing’. So, immediately directors and producers started reaching out to me asking ‘What is happening? Should we cancel?’. I told them ‘No, please. Let’s prove that my idea for Macau was right, that this place can really be the necessary hub, the hub that is missing, for very original productions, for very intelligent but commercial films’. The programme proves that we were very successful aiming for those films. We have huge films. And don’t forget my consultants, all of them. Did they announce the consultants?

At the press conference they didn't.

Films and guests are coming [to the festival] mainly because of these people, because we have to do it with our faces and our names, to make sure people accept to come.

Do you think that all the guests who have already confirmed will consider not coming after your resignation?

I can tell you that they’ll come because I’ve personally called up to ask every producer and every director to come. I cannot guarantee the twelve directors in the Cross Fire retrospective, because some of them say ‘Look, this was built on a continuous dialogue with you, so we don’t want to do it without you’. It’s a different story, I’ve invented the retrospective in an ongoing discussion with them.

So you’re saying that you’ve asked people not to give up on the festival?

Of course, otherwise it would be suicidal. I’ve fought for people to come to the festival. It took me over 10 months to convince some people to come to Macau. I sold the idea that a new film hub should be here in Macau. The festival is going to happen because my consultants will be there. That was how I could reassure all the producers, sales agents, but above all the directors. I’ve told them ‘Look, my consultants, the people who have been following your film from the start and discussing the possibility of showing it in Macau, they will also be in Macau’. They will be my ambassadors.

Will the festival we’ll see in December still be the festival you envisaged?

Regarding the programme, yes. And I’m sure that the people at the Macau office, after all these months of discussions, right now they must be aware of the kind of responsibility they have. To handle a film that has cost a lot of creative and mental effort, and also cost a lot of money to a lot of people, is a very serious thing, and you have to be very serious about it.

I must ask you to explain again why exactly you’ve decided to quit. Was there a decisive moment?

There are things I can’t say, you can imagine… Don’t forget that you’re talking to me and I’m in Zhuhai. I’m in Zhuhai and so is my programming team. The programming team is composed of the selection committee that they haven’t announced and two consultants that have worked in international film festivals before, because sadly so far there is nobody in Macau who has experience in international festivals, so I had to hire two people that I’ve trusted and with whom I’ve worked in the past. The three of us had to live in Zhuhai. At the same time we know that we’ve done the work that we had to do, really properly. How can anybody say anything against us? Most of the actors and directors will be at the festival because these consultants will be there too, they know them, they trust them. These people have worked with me since Venice. Venice, Rome, Beijing, The Silk Road Festival. They enjoy the challenge, the adventure.

How would you describe the experience of putting together this festival?

It was actually positive in the sense that I’ve discovered the strength of the new Macau cinema. I’m talking not just about Emily Chan and Tracy Choi, but also A-Man Cheong and all these amazing people. When I was in Macau, I made a point to spend as much time as I could with the young filmmakers, because I really believe in them, that they’re reaching the point of maturity and that they’re ready to get wide exposure on the international scene. (…) We’ve discovered Macau culture, Macau music, and I’m passionate about the new Macau filmmakers.

I’m leaving Zhuhai on Saturday, because I’ll be again the mentor the Work in Progress Lab in Goa. That’s a lab where we watch unfinished films and give advise to the directors, editors and producers on how the film’s potential could be developed to the full. That was also where I discovered one of the films that is in competition in Macau, an amazing Indian film. I knew that I wanted this film for my new festival. Again, I’m going to India and I think I’ll be able to discover another new film that I will bring to my new festival, because I’m sure that there will be a new festival for me next year.

What’s your feeling now as you’re about to leave this situation?

I take the sadness of not being there. We’ve strived… the programming team, the selection committee, the consultants and myself; we’ve strived to have a successful festival. The consultants will be there to see it.