Vasan Bala’s “The Man Who Feels No Pain,” and Qiu Sheng’s “Suburban Birds” are among 11 films set for competition at the third edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao. Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” will open the festival in an out of competition slot.
Other films in competition include: “Aga” by Milko Lazarov (Bulgaria); “All Good,” by Eva Trobisch (Germany); “Clean Up,” by Kwon Man-ki (South Korea); “Jesus,” by Hiroshi Okuyama (Japan); “Scarborough,” by Barnaby Southcombe (U.K.) “School’s Out” by Sebastien Marnier (France); “The Good Girls,” by Alejandra Marquez (Mexico); “The Guilty,” by Gustav Moller (Denmark); and “White Blood” by Barbara Sarasola – Day (Argentina). The competition is only open to first or second time feature directors.
The lineup was announced Thursday in Macau by artistic director Mike Goodridge. The jury which will select the prize-winners includes Chen Kaige as president, alongside Mabel Cheung (Hong Kong), Paul Currie (Australia), Tillotama Shome (India) and Danis Tanovic (Bosnia).
The festival’s new competitive section for Chinese-language films includes: “Baby,” by Liu Jie (China); “Dear Ex,” by Chih-Yen Hsu & Mag Hsu (Taiwan); “Fly by Night,” by Zahir Omar (Malaysia); “The Pluto Moment,” by Zhang Ming (China); “Up The Mountain,” by Zhang Yang (China); and “Xiao Mei,” by Maren Hwang (Taiwan).
Gala screenings go to “Aruna & Her Palate” by Indonesia’s Edwin, “Nobody Nose,” by China’s Kong Ruiliang, “Old Boys,” by the U.K.’s Toby MacDonald, and “The Favourite,” by Yorgos Lanthimos. There is also a screening of Indonesian action film “Wiro Sableng” (aka “212 Warriors”) for family audiences.
The festival’s best of festivals section includes: “Close Enemies” by David Oelhoffen; “Cobain,” by Nanouk Leopold; “Happy New Year, Colin Burstead,” by Ben Wheatley; “Loro,” by Paolo Sorrentino; “Manta Ray” by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng; “Papi Chulo” by John Butler; “Roma,” by Alfonso Cuaron; “The Sisters Brothers,” by Jacques Audiard; and “U July 22,” by Erik Poppe.