Lio Chi Heng

Lio is a writer and the film adaptation of her novel Diago was one of the competitors in the Official Selection Competition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2010.

An endless flow of film ideas

07 2015 | Issue 7

It is not surprising if someone talks about Macao films these days. It was astonishing how things have changed over last few years. I remember back then people would question if the city had sufficient resources for filmmakers. Many were skeptic about the government included film-making as one of the key industries in the cultural and creative development.


It is a fact that Macao lacks film professionals such as producers, directors, screenwriters, photographers, lighting technicians, and prop designers, etc. Nevertheless, the city’s rich historical and cultural resources are proven to be invaluable. When the missionary came to Macao more than 400 years ago, the door to the Mainland China was also opened. The mixed culture of the East and the West is still visible today: Buddhist temples adjacent to Catholic churches, Chinese and European buildings standing next to each other, Macanese with Portuguese ancestry living among a Chinese community.


Over the years, many important domestic and foreign historical figures have left footprints and their legacies in Macao. For a long time, the law-abiding workers and the outlaws all have come to this free city and made a living.


Apart from these remarkable stories of people, the urban scenery of Macao is also unique. On one side of the city there is the Historic Centre of Macao, which is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List; on the other side there is the Cotai Strip, which is a newly built entertainment and gambling district. Macao is a city with two extremes, one can experience the rich cultural connotation and the danger of the hidden world of crime. The delicate balance between the two worlds provides endless inspirations for filmmakers.


A city with unique history cannot be duplicated, nor made. Nevertheless, talents can be cultivated. Since we lack film professionals in Macao, we should get all the help we can get from the Mainland China or our neighbour cities to train and provide more opportunities for the younger generations. This is also good for the development of a diversified society.


Over the past five or six years, we have accumulated a considerable number of short films, and even a 90-minute standard film. Many young and talented filmmakers start to shine, which proves that there are people with potentials are longing to join the film and television industry. Now they do not have to leave their hometown to look for opportunities or have a feeling that their future can only be tied with the city’s gambling industry.


Of course, there are a lot of unsatisfied productions along the way. However, we should not see these as a setback because we just started. Even the short films would not become blockbusters, they are necessary because such productions are good training for our upcoming filmmakers. One can only learn how a film is made by handling the equipment. All countries or regions with successful cultural and creative industries need to go through a long period of trial-and-error in order to find their own way.


I must give the Cultural Affairs Bureau my compliment for their effort in helping the film industry to be more productive and thus, become an important part of the entire cultural and creative industry chain in Macao. In 2013, the Bureau launched the Support Programme for the Production of Feature Films to help young directors to make 90-minute films. The MOP 1.5 million subsidies covered only the initial capital, but the meaning behind was so much more than that. It indicated the government’s strong support to the industry. The directors could raise capital with the subsidy to made a film and look for potential film distributors.


(Films and the development of cultural and creative industries in Macao series 1)