Documentary festival returns today

Now entering its 14th edition, the Lisbon-    based Doclisboa International Film Festival is for the third time extending part of its program to Macau. The festival celebrates the documentary genre and will open today at the auditorium of the Consulate-General of Portugal with a screening of a Macau-related film that won this year’s prize for best script. Pedro Caldeira’s film features the life and work of Mio Pang Fei, a Macau-based painter who is considered a key figure in the Chinese contemporary arts scene.
Until February 15, nine films made by Portuguese directors competing in the festival will be showcased in this event. The festival will also showcase movies that won the 2014 “Image and Sound Challenge” and “European Union Short-Film Challenge.” All documentaries have English translations and entrance is free.
The festival’s arrival in Macau is being promoted by the Portuguese Institute of the Orient (IPOR) in cooperation with several local and international organizations.
Among the many directors showcasing their films is João Pedro Plácido, this year’s guest director, whose film “(Be)longing” received an award at Doclisboa, as well as four awards from other festivals in the international documentary circuit. RM