These are eight films you shouldn’t miss at the 5th Macao International Film Festival & Awards, which will take place online from December 3rd – 8th, 2020. (Films will be available for people in Macao and Hong Kong only)

About the festival:
The aim of the Festival is to raise awareness and develop an audience for cinema from the region and the rest of the world, promoting the films as both artform and entertainment. In addition to all the sections mentioned in the following paragraphs, the Festival may include retrospectives and tributes to major figures in the film industry as a contribution towards raising awareness of the history of cinema.

How to watch the films:
1) Be located in Macao or Hong Kong.
2) Go to https://programme.iffamacao.com
3) Make an account or sign in if you have one.
4) Click the movie that you want to rent.
5) Make the payment.
6) Confirmation email will be sent to the registered email address. Please save it and wail until this movie is live!

Important note: The films will be available to watch for a short period of time (window of 24-46 hours) after the scheduled time. To read more about the screening Q&A section please go here: https://programme.iffamacao.com/page/help

Recommended Films:

On January 23rd, 2020, China locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis, this film tells the human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandpa with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. (IFFAMacao 2020)

Screening Date:
December 3rd, 2020 (Thursday) | 17:00 pm (local time – Available for 48 hours)

Trailer:

Documentary director Yuko is putting together a TV segment about bereaved families connected to the suicide of a schoolgirl who had been badly bullied. Determined to shed light on the truth, Yuko’s uncompromising nature brings her into conflict with conservative-minded management at the television network, but she succeeds in getting her interview subjects to emerge from their shells and place their trust in her. But when Yuko discovers that her father Masashi, a cram-school teacher, has made a grave error of judgment with one his students, she finds herself with a new perspective on the news story as a close relative of the “victimizer.”

Screening Date:
December 6th, 2020 (Sunday) | 11:00 am (local time – Available for 24 hours)

Trailer:

Song Hao, an 18 year-old high school student with excellent grades is involved in the accidental death of a man, and flees his hometown. His life trajectory altered forever, he sets up his existence elsewhere but, 15 years later, he returns home for the funeral of his mother. He meets his father and high school best friend again, and discovers love with an old classmate, but he won’t be happy until he has revisited the scene of his apparent crime and regained control of his life.

Screening Date:
December 6th, 2020 (Saturday) | 17:00 pm (local time – Available for 24 hours)

Trailer:

A collision occurs between two cars on a busy road. One man dies, the other goes into a coma. An investigation into the crash concludes that the dead man was at fault. Racked with guilt, the dead man’s widow Hee-ju struggles to move on with her life. But when she discovers that the man in a coma had tried to kill himself before the accident occurred, she begins to suspect that he might have have caused the crash on purpose and her husband was innocent after all. She starts to reinvestigate the events.

Screening Date:
December 3rd, 2020 (Thursday) | 17:00 pm (local time – Available for 24 hours)

Trailer:

What feels like an ordinary weekend outing, paying a visit to grandpa, a young couple gets into a heated argument exposing their resentments, past lies, an old lover, a missed birthday, a possible divorce and a death. But have they told each other everything?

Screening Date:
December 7th, 2020 (Monday) | 17:00 pm (local time – Available for 48 hours)

It’s a wet winter in Hangzhou. Muzi, 22, comes home for Chinese New Year, where she plays her roles as a daughter, a half-sister, and a girlfriend. One day, Muzi accompanies her little sister to school and meets a local bar owner, the father of another student. The man reminds Muzi of an old friend, reigniting memories of a relationship she had with him that suddenly disappeared into thin air. At the same time, Muzi’s boyfriend arrives for a visit. Roaming in this city that feels so familiar yet distant, Muzi searches for a place where she belongs.

Screening Date:
December 3rd, 2020 (Thursday) | 17:00 pm (local time – Available for 24 hours)

Trailer:

Agetaro is the heir to his family’s long-running tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo. He spends his days chopping cabbages and slacking off because he has nothing else better to do. One day, he goes to a dance club to deliver a bento, and is thrilled to get a chance to speak to Sonoko, the girl he secretly has a crush on. He also experiences the excitement of the dance floor grooving to the music for the first time, and is filled with an uplifting sensation that he has never felt before. To win Sonoko’s heart, Agetaro decides to become the “Tonkatsu DJ,” a guy who can cook both tonkatsu and the dance floor!

Screening Date:
December 5th, 2020 (Saturday) | 11:00 am (local time – Available for 24 hours)

Trailer:

A middle-aged ex-yakuza who has spent most of his life in prison gets released after serving a 13-year sentence for murder. He struggles to get a job and fit into society, and his impulsive nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction with the people who are trying to help him. But eventually he builds genuine relationships and accepts support and affection.

Screening Date:
December 5th, 2020 (Saturday) | 11:00 am (local time – Available for 48 hours)

Trailer:

For more information about the festival and the programme please visit the official website here: https://www.iffamacao.com