Tracy Choi

Movie director, her documentary I’m Here won the Jury Award at the 2012 Macao International Film and Video Festival and was subsequently invited to various festivals in Asia and Europe. Choi received her MFA degree in Cinema Production from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Her graduation film Sometimes Naive was short-listed in the 2013 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. The Farming on the Wasteland won the The Jury’s Commendation Award of the 2014 Macao International Film and Video Festival. Her latest production Sisterhood was selected in the competition section at the 1st International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao and won the Macao Audience Choice Award at the festival. In addition, Sisterhood got two nominations at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards.

The resistance of Macao film to the world

08 2018 | Issue 28

There has been a huge increase in the number of local films in Macao in the last decade. However, as the local market is not enough to support the whole film industry, how should Macao film develop has always been a topic of concern. 


As a local director, I have seen many works by my friends in Macao in recent years. It is heartening to see those short films, feature films and documentaries becoming popular in other parts of Asia and even at different film festivals around the world. But we’re all asking the same question, so what’s the next step for these filmmakers? 


The production of films, especially feature films, can easily cost more than a million dollars. In an industry with such a high starting point, how should this group of new people in Macao go, and how to find appropriate funds, become the key to whether Macao films can connect with the world in the future. 


When it comes to millions or even tens of millions of dollars of investment, whether in Macao or not, it is hard for new directors to get it. One reason is that the director himself does not have many works for reference, and the other is that when it comes to investment, a good story is not enough. Few people or companies are willing to try to invest in films in Macao. The film investment is already at high risk, and people have no confidence in the local films in Macao as they think that the filmmakers in Macao are still in the “raw” stage. So, in many times, looking for local companies to talk about film investment in Macao is fruitless. To change the current situation, I think local filmmakers and Macao enterprises can work together. 


If investors are not confident in themselves, it is certainly the responsibility of the filmmaker to make others feel confident in the work itself, including the accumulation of experience and work. Except for the director, another character is also very important in this early part, that is, the role of producer. To find a producer who knows a lot about creation, finds the right investors as well as brings the work to different film exhibitions around the world, not to mention in Macao, it is hard to find all over the world. In Macao, it is very difficult to look for a producer only to help you find the right investment and handle some non-creative administrative procedures. People interested in the film industry always want to be the director. They feel that director is the soul of the whole movie, but they forget the movie is the creation of the team. Without the proper person to do the appropriate things, the film will not succeed. How to own a dream team is the direction that the new generation of filmmakers are striving for. 


In addition to the filmmakers, local companies can be more supportive of local film development. Due to its cultural characteristics, Macao attracts foreign films to shoot in here every year. We could easily see that every time, any movies involved Hong Kong or the mainland movie star will be supported a lot by local companies or hotels, hotel rooms or venue sponsor is secured. Unfortunately, when local producers knock on doors, they are often turned away. We know, of course, that when it comes to business, investment is about making a return. Movies with stars guarantee box offices, so it ensures that the products sponsored by enterprises can be seen by the audiences. However, don’t local businesses have social responsibility? In addition to making money, can local companies be a catalyst for the local film industry? There are many examples in foreign countries. Local enterprises will give priority to support local artistic creation. Although there is no relevant policy in Macao at the moment, I think it is worth discussing whether it is possible to refer to this model so as to enable enterprises contributing to Macao in addition to making money. 


When it comes to connecting with the world, it is more straightforward to find investment and distribution channels outside Macao than to find a way out here. For the filmmakers who just started in Macao, it is hard to contact. Macao has also organised many investment and trade fairs in recent years to attract foreign investors or producers to see its film projects. But how to ensure that so few projects could attract quality investors? For the time being, it is a tough question. On the other hand, the filmmakers of Macao can also try their hand at other large-scale investment and trade fairs around the world. But competing with the best filmmakers around the world, whether Macao people can stand out from the crowd is another question.