Arts | Mike Goodridge to complete IFFAM hat trick

Artistic Director Mike Goodridge of the International Film Festival and Awards (IFFAM) is to head the festival for the third time in a row, it has been reported by Portuguese newspaper Hoje Macau.

He was appointed hastily in 2017 after his predecessor Marco Müller resigned from the post.

His repeated appointments may be in part because his vision is seen to align with that of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the organizing body behind the festival.

The MGTO wanted to make Macau shine in international filmmaking. Goodridge commented that “there should be [dozens] of Asian and Western films shooting here in Macau every year” in his interview with The Times near the end of last year.

During his time directing the festival, stars of global fame were brought in as ambassadors. They have included Nicolas Cage and Jeremy Renner, as well as Hong Kong’s Donnie Yen and Aaron Kwok.

He has picked quite a number of blockbuster films for the festival, such as “Sink or Swim” and “The Truman Show”, not to mention the 2017 festival’s opening with the world premiere of “Paddington 2”.

But Goodridge has also made space for not-so-accessible films, for example “Manta Ray” and “Loro”.

Goodridge previously served as the chief executive officer of Protagonist Pictures, a film finance, production and sales company. Prior to that, he worked as a journalist for almost 20 years, including being the overall brand editor of Screen International from 2009 to 2012. Staff reporter