Film ‘Space Intellectual’ to launch in celebration of 20th handover anniversary

The launching ceremony of the first science fiction film jointly financed by Macau and mainland China, titled “Space Intellectual,” was held yesterday at the Macau University of Science and Technology.

The film is produced by China Great Wall Art Culture Center and by the Macau-Pan Entertainment Holdings Limited, with the support of various agencies including the Macau Academy of Cinematic Arts of MUST, the China Film Group Corporation, the China National Space Administration, and the China Space Foundation.

The MUST State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences will also provide technical advisory support to the film.

The film aims to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Macau SAR.

“Space Intellectual” will focus on hard science fiction concepts, and will pay tribute to the development and achievement of China’s aerospace industry.

Filming is expected to be completed in 2019, with the premiere planned to take place in Macau.

The project will also consult with a team of Chinese aerospace experts, including China’s first astronaut in space, Yang Liwei, with “the objective of creating the highest level of realism and a hard science fiction blockbuster that perfectly combines new mainstream cinema with scientific concepts.”

Shi Zun Guo, representative of one of the production companies, indicated that the film is a way of “saluting the aerospace dream and our space explorers.”

Shi also noted that the decision to work with Macau organizations was based on the fact that Macau offers an artistic environment that thrives with imagination and promotes creativity.

“Space Intellectual is set in the year 2049, when the launch of the cutting-edge spaceship Phoenix marks a new milestone of human space settlement. However, during the voyage, the ship disappears after an encounter with a black hole, prompting the ship’s creator, professor Zhong Xingguo, to assemble and lead an international space rescue mission. In the film, Zhong is the main driving force behind the rescue effort, and in a climate dominated by films featuring Hollywood heroes saving the world, the character of a Chinese scientist saving humanity from peril carries special significance,” the press release reads.

The professor, to be played by Hong Kong actor Ray Lui, will be a Macau resident.

The film is claimed to “provide the audience with a unique visual feast complete with dazzling visual effects and gripping space rescue drama.”