The ProjectorWhy Macau’s filmmakers are struggling to make their mark – there is no movie industry to speak of
- The lack of a film industry or schools in the casino hub means new directors have little support, unlike their Chinese or Hong Kong counterparts
A year ago on December 9, Macanese filmmaker Lorence Chan Ka-keong’s debut feature, Passing Rain (2017), had its world premiere at the International Film Festival and Awards Macao (IFFAM). Set in the casino hub, the movie revolves around six characters and was seen as a beacon of hope for the city’s indie cinema scene.
Twelve months on, however, rather than having capitalised on his success – Passing Rain was screened at a festival in Barcelona, Spain, and at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival recently – Chan has returned to his previous vocation as a graphic designer.
“I spent four years on Passing Rain, and it was a struggle throughout,” says Chan, who was at the festival in Hong Kong to present his film and participate in a panel about Macau cinema. “The only thing that sustained me was the desire to create something interesting and fun.”
But creating Passing Rain seems to have removed the fun factor from filmmaking.
Chan had received a grant from the Macau government’s Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films in 2014, but the problem, he explains, was that he had to do nearly everything himself. He was director, producer and production manager, all rolled into one, so rather than focusing on the artistic side, he also had to schedule shoots and arrange the logistics. (Actor Wang Hongwei, who has appeared in almost all of the films of Jia Zhangke, a leading member of China’s “Sixth Generation” filmmaking movement, , came on board as a producer towards the end of production.)
For Chan and his peers in Macau, a city devoid of film schools and with no movie industry to speak of, it has been a steep learning curve.