The Macau Government recently launched its Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films. With the deadline for applications closing this month, CLOSER takes the opportunity to look at what’s being done in the city’s cinema landscape, from documentaries to animation, from directors to producers, from public funding to private companies. Cameras are everywhere and Macau is in the spotlight.
First steps with CUT
In Macau, when you think about films you think CUT Association. They have been around since 1999, and director and producer Albert Chu, head of the association, is one of the most influential people on the Macau cinema scene.
Chu, who directed 'Not to Forget 1999/12/20', seeks to nurture filmmakers in Macau and be of assistance as they venture forth and find their own voices.
“I think CUT can maybe be the first few steps for filmmakers to start their filmmaking,” he says.
That hope already took shape in 2008, when the first 'Macau Stories' was shot, bringing together different local young directors, actors and technicians to make a series of short-films. And again in 2011, 'Macau Stories II: Love in the City', was produced by Chu and screened at Macau Tower and Teatro Alegria, as well as in theatres in other cities.
Chu will be overseeing the third 'Macau Stories' production, to be completed next year. Instead of looking at the theme of love, the latest films, with a budget of around MOP2.3 million, will be thrillers and involve three directors, one Portuguese and two Chinese, working on 35-minute films.
Chu is also one of the individuals behind the cinema programme organised by the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM): Local View Power. It includes a programme for supporting the production of local documentaries and fiction, and has already financed more than 50 films, providing opportunities for all interested parties to develop their productions, catering for beginners to the more experienced.
The Cut Association head is also optimistic about the direction documentary film making is taking in Macau.
“I think, and others do too, that documentary making is going quite professionally, in technical terms and also in terms of how they explore the subject”.
However, while the non-fiction film genre is showing positive development in the territory, the feeling is less upbeat when it comes to animation and fiction.
“We need more people who can tell good stories, non-fiction or those related to reality. This goes under general education. If we have good art education or good visual education, it all builds into the future of film and cultural development,” Chu explains.
“The other thing we need is more professional film makers, working in different positions instead of directors. We hope to have more DP’s, to have art directors…and of course actors and actresses,” he adds.
Finding actors and actresses in Macau is another challenge: “Now most people are in theatre and they are not full-time. And also training as a theatre actor is in some way different to training as a film actor.”
Chu also holds great hope for Macau in terms of being home to its own film festivals in future.
“I think in the long term maybe we can try to have our own festival. Macau is a city for festivals and in the long run, the government or the private sector can look in that direction”.
Right Place, Right Time
It was a question of serendipity when four Portuguese film professionals found themselves working in Macau and sharing a common vision – to use their combined experience of over 20 years to develop local cinema through their own production company.
Inner Harbour Films started in June 2012 and as well as bridging East and West, a deep love for Macau is a cornerstone of the company’s philosophy. The two directors, Ivo Ferreira and Edgar Medina, and two directors of photography, Susana Gomes and Pedro Cardeira, each have a deep connection to the territory, and film is their medium of choice for communicating what they feel is the very cosmopolitan nature and aesthetic beauty of Macau.
“It’s a city that makes you want to film because, although it’s small and looks like it can run out of options quickly, I keep on discovering unique visual places that transport me to stories that can be told, at the level of reality, as much as at the level of pure fiction,” says Susana Gomes.
A desire to follow projects from start to finish is an important part of how Inner Harbour Films operates, and an important driving force behind their vision.
“We want to be a production house that has commercial, market, and festival knowledge, and that can not only take on our own personal projects, but can also function as an incubator for projects,” explains Ivo Ferreira. “Its not just about what gets done, it is also about how it gets done and how things are thought through”.
Inner Harbour Films currently has one completed fiction short film to its credit, ‘On the Dragon’s Flake’, by Ivo Ferreira (selected for the Rotterdam International Film Festival), as well as a documentary on local artist Mio Pang Fei, by Pedro Cardeira, which is currently in post-production. In Portugal, Edgar Medina is working on a film for permanent exhibition at one of Lisbon’s most famous landmarks, Monument to the Discoveries.
There are also a number of other projects in development, including co-producing a film entitled ‘Journeys With My Father’, by Joana Vicente, with Open City Films, an award-winning production company based in the United States.
Macau’s film industry has been slow to develop and Ferreira believes this is because there has never been a clear policy or solid game plan for the industry.
“There was occasional support but the professionalisation of people requires long term continuity”, explains Ferreira.
This sporadic support meant that the occasional production would come to town, but then depart just as they came, leaving nothing behind, “there were no consequences, there was no group”.
The director is quick to praise the initiatives by others in this area, citing work done by Cut Association and the Cultural Affairs Bureau. Regarding the recent development of the Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, where applicants can receive financial support of up to MOP1.5 million, Ferreira feels “it’s very positive” and “a moment of great hope”.
One of the greatest obstacles filmmakers in Macau currently face is the lack of specialised professionals.
“Until specialised professionals are available, or being trained, the industry will always face difficulties,” Pedro Cardeira explains. “We are completely open to helping in this area”.
The Advantages of Being Late
A keen interest in computer animation led Nelson Wong to study in Hong Kong, but the cost of the commute and the course soon took their toll and gave him the idea of starting a course in Macau.
The first of its kind, iCentre, with support from Macao Foundation, opened in 2005.
“At first we only had about 10 classes a year, but now it is more than 50. In the very beginning we only had one room, and now we have nine,” says Nelson, the Centre’s founder.
Today the centre offers 50 courses, ranging from 30 hours to 120 hours.
“It’s not only 3D animation, but also sound mixing, post production and digital photography. iCentre is now a very famous school in this industry and we have people from all kinds of backgrounds joining the courses, from different fields, productions houses, from the government, casinos, and audiovisual departments,” he adds.
Despite this very clear indication of progress, “animation is still at the starting point in Macau, because there is no market”, Wong explains.
A way of dealing with this is by encouraging students to get involved in projects run by the government.
“The government asks us if we have any students suited to the projects they are proposing, and as a non-profit organisation, we act as a link between the students and clients,” Wong says.
While the animator thinks the filmmaker grant being offered by the Cultural Affairs Bureau is an encouraging sign, he, like many others working in the area of film in Macau, feels that a long-term approach needs to be adopted, and that training people in specialised areas is crucial to the growth of local cinema. In terms of funding, his position is clear: “Movies are a commercial thing, so you must find a vendor, otherwise all the money must come from the government and that’s not a good thing”.
Since 2010, iCentre has completed more than 12 animation pieces, all 10-minutes in duration, and all for children. But apart from animation for children, other areas have not been explored.
“It’s because the market is too small,” says Wong.
He also notes that Macau has entered this field of animation quite late, but argues that this could actually be an advantage.
“Nowadays the technology has improved greatly and the speed of the computers is very good with very user-friendly software. A 10-minute film can easily be made by two people, unlike the 20-plus people it used to take in the past. In the near future, one person will be able to make their own movie, so it’s a good time to start in Macau”.
In the world of animation there are no limitations to what can be created, but Wong also believes Macau productions should include local references.
“The students often ask me why they have to let people know that their work was made in Macau, and I say it is because Macau is very special, and people will find it amazing that animation production is possible in a small city like this”.
