Local short films join Venice International Film Festival’s ‘Venice Days’

Macau will take center stage at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, with a curated program of local short films set to be featured in the “Venice Days” section – a parallel event to the festival – through a new partnership between the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), and Italy’s Giornate degli Autori.

The collaboration marks a step in promoting Macau as a film-friendly destination and will include the first-ever “Macao Day” on August 29 and 30 in Venice, spotlighting local cinematic talent to international industry professionals.

The “Macao Day” program will feature a screening and a sharing session of Macau’s short films, followed by a networking reception with the aim of “providing a comprehensive platform to promote Macau’s cinematic creativity and cultural identity to international industry professionals and audiences,” according to the statement.

Through its partnership with Venice Days, which runs alongside the main festival and the International Critics’ Week, the IC seeks to encourage diverse growth in Macau’s film and television industry as a “Cultural Capital of East Asia,” and create more opportunities for local talent on the global stage.

Artistic director Gaia Furrer and festival director Giorgio Gosetti welcomed the collaboration as a chance to deepen their commitment to discovering fresh cinematic voices and fostering inclusivity across age, gender, and geography.

The partnership with Venice Days complements the IC’s previous efforts to elevate Macau’s film industry, including the International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM), launched in 2016 and temporarily paused due to the pandemic, as well as the more recent Asia-Europe Young Cinema Festival and Film Market, launched in January 2024.

After the showcase in Italy, the second GEMISF will be hosted across venues at Galaxy’s integrated resort in Cotai, including Galaxy Cinemas, Galaxy International Convention Center, and Andaz Macau, as well as at Cinematheque Passion in September.

The screenings will include five sections: “Macao Shorts,” “New Voices from Horizon,” “Director in Focus,” “East Asia View,” and “Special Screenings.”

According to Variety, these events are scheduled for September 14–21.