Culture | Passion Cinematheque preparing for March 30 re-launch

Rita Wong and Albert Chu

Passion Cinematheque will have its grand opening at the end of the month to mark the venue’s re-launch under the administration of a private institution.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) awarded the cinema to CUT Ltd., a company affiliated with Associação Audio-Visual CUT, for a three- year tender beginning January 2017.

According to the cinema’s new operators, the venue will host an opening ceremony on March 30 for local film-makers and representatives of Macau’s cultural authorities. It will officially open to the public the next day.

Three local artists will showcase their film productions on the opening night, namely Antonio Faria, Chao Koi Wang and Tracy Choi. Choi recently exhibited her work at last year’s International Film Festival & Awards – Macau (IFFAM).

According to Albert Chu, the film crews for all three movies are based in Macau with “some of them Portuguese, and others Chinese and Macanese.”

Exterior façade of Passion Cinematheque

The launch of the venue, which includes an intimate 60-seat cinema and a library space for storing a movie database and books on film, aims to promote Macau film- making and nurture film knowledge among locals.

Passion Cinematheque chief executive officer Rita Wong describes the venue as “a space for people who love film and love art.”

“This is a place for many people, including cinema-goers and the general public, where we will screen Macau movies and non-commercial, independent films. It will be a place for film appreciation and criticism and film marketing,” she told the Times in an interview yesterday.

“Every month we will have screenings and workshops. Then later, we will have film director residences and they will stay for two or three weekends.”

Three types of events will be held on a monthly basis. The first will be the screening of a new independent or non-commercial film. Separately, special focus topics will be held with the first two, “local films” and a “Hong Kong residency”, during the months of April and May, respectively.

“For the first month, April, we will be focusing on local talent and showcasing works from Macau over the last 20 years. These include short films – which are very popular in Macau – and feature-length films,” explained Chu, chairman of the CUT association.

The cinema will also dedicate two weekends each month to re-screenings of local films from the past 20 years. Organizers have said that admission will be free and that the events are open to both locals and tourists.

“We are trying to build a film culture in the city. This is a place where young filmmakers can screen their films,” said Chu.

“We are about bringing local people with expertise together to grow the film society and knowledge in Macau.”

In recent years, international film directors have commented that Macau may be in the early days of a film renaissance. Former IFFAM director Marco Müller and Macau-based Portuguese director Ivo Ferreira have both testified to the emergence of “a new movement in Macau film.”

“I think film-making [in Macau] will be more diverse in the future,” said Chu.

“Already, we have several platforms and competitions to grow the Macau film movement, and for training people, like [some activities] at the Macau Cultural Center.”

“This cinema is more specialized,” added Wong, “while other places are more general in their culture [promotion].”